"Let's Tear Everything Down ... Start Over ... Change the World": Youths' Perceptions of Injustice in the Classroom

• In Event: Roundtable Session 27
  In Roundtable Session: Curriculum Practice and Student Experiences

Abstract

This paper draws on qualitative, ethnographic methods and critical discourse analysis in order to break down one 11th Grade American Literature class’s discussion about changes that should be made in their school in order to answer the question: What do adolescents perceive as unjust in their figured world of school? I argue that students’ collaborative ability to zoom in on the micro, daily realities that are perceived as unfair are crucial in enabling a macro perspective on systemic injustice. Such knowledge could then enable teachers, administrators, and other school leaders to capitalize on this already-existing understanding of injustice by empowering their students to make local changes in their daily realities.

Author

• Julie Rust, Millsaps College