Elizabeth Phelps
July 1, 2011
Teaching Composition
Biviano
Informational Essay: Multigenre Project
“Writing for social change or social justice” may sound very liberal, idealistic, or political to you. Isn’t this telling students what to think about certain issues? Won’t parents get mad that a teacher is bringing politics in the classroom? The short answer to these concerns is no. The practice of writing for social change in the classroom does not involve a teacher dictating to students what they should care or write about. Instead, it gives students the opportunity to think critically about social issues that are important to them. There is great freedom of choice in this type of writing, as there are many issues of social justice facing us daily. Likewise, there is no reason to bring politics into the classroom. This is simply another way to get students to think and write about the world around them.
Many people view adolescents as apathetic or unaware about the issues in the world. I say if they are apathetic and unaware, it is because we haven’t given them the chance to learn and care. Teenagers are capable of thinking deeply about important issues. They have opinions and insights that need to be heard. It is the responsibility of the teacher to encourage them to think and write critically about their world. We need to show them how writing is powerful, and how it can affect change. Encouraging students to write for social change respects their voices and opinions and connects what they learn in the classroom to real world applications. I want to spend this time to talk more about social change writing, how to teach it, why to teach it, and why teenagers are a good group for this sort of project.
Delane Bender Slack argues for writing about social justice in the English classroom in her article “Fusing Social Justice with Multigenre Writing.” A strong supporter of the multigenre research project, Slack decided to assign social justice issues for the multigenre project in her senior English class. She allowed students to choose any social justice movement in history. Examples include animal rights, women’s suffrage, pro-choice, migrant workers (Cesar Chavez), and other historical movements for justice. The only requirement for choosing a topic was that it be something about which students were passionate.
Slack highlights a common worry among teachers interested in social justice: “won’t I be accused of having a political agenda?” She writes that yes, she absolutely has a political agenda, (as we all do):
YES! I have a political agenda in my classroom. It advocates equality for all, regardless of class, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation; empathy for those who don’t share our class, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation; and optimism—a belief stemming from the hope that we, as individuals, can and will change ourselves and our world (Slack 63).
Slack further notes that her students grew as writers and thinkers as they researched issues important to them and shared their multigenre projects with the class. In her opinion, social justice is best explored through creative writing projects such as the multigenre project.
Teachers who are interested in social justice might also be those who are interested in service learning, as the two can inform each other nicely. In their description of service learning from “Composition as Community Action,” Thomas Deans and Megan Marie explain that part of service learning can be activist in nature. They write that service learning allows adolescents to “step back and reflect on pressing social concerns and to step up and act on them” (Deans 187). They write that activist service learning can:
…spur advocacy and social change. Beyond inviting youth to participate more actively in their communities, those taking an activist, sometimes even oppositional or radical stance aspire to change normative assumptions, encourage ideological critique, and address root causes of injustice (Deans 190).
It is important to understand those last two characteristics of activist service learning, or writing for social change: “encourage ideological critique, and address root causes of injustice.” This is hard work, but it is work that has to be done if students are to really “get it.”
If students volunteer at a sexual assault resource center, for example, and notice that the vast majority of people using the services of the center are women, then this should be a red flag for them. Anytime a particular race, class, or gender is overrepresented or underrepresented in a population, this is an opportunity to theorize about systems of injustice. Most students may not even find it strange that women are the main recipients of care at a sexual assault center; we understand from an early age that women are the victims of such crimes, and we have a hard time imagining otherwise. But going back to the above definition, what are the root causes of this injustice? There is no logical reason that women should be overrepresented in groups of people who have been raped or sexually assaulted, but they are. Why? For this example, a teacher will need to have made him or herself aware of feminist theory and its commentary on patriarchy, male privilege, and most importantly, rape culture. (This sort of writing requires hard work on the part of the teacher, as well). But since words such as “patriarchy” and “male privilege” can conjure up images of a stereotypical feminist, we can stick with getting our students to understand rape culture. An excellent resource for understanding rape culture is located at a feminist blog called Shakesville. In a post titled “Rape Culture 101,” the author begins a lengthy description with examples of what is meant by the term. Resources such as this help students get to an understanding of the root causes of the injustices that they daily witness. It is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that these important issues are not lost on them. If students are learning and writing about race, gender, class, ability, etc., and are struck by the injustices surrounding these identities, it is the teacher’s job to make sure they have theoretical and ideological understandings of what they learn. After all, we as educators understand that theory informs practice, but we don’t always explain this to our students.
Young people are capable of thinking and writing critically about the difficult and controversial issues that face us in our society. Racism, sexism, classism, and other systems of inequality are not lost on students; they witness them every day. They may not have the vocabulary to speak about the injustices they witness, but that doesn’t mean they are not aware of them. It is the teacher’s job to provide them with this vocabulary and to teach them how to speak and writing about these issues. Likewise, the teacher needs to show students that writing is powerful, and they do not have to be a highly educated political activist to move people towards social change with their writing. Writing for social change allows students to share their insight, think critically about their world, and become lifelong advocates for those whose voice has been taken away. It is a form of writing that should be encouraged and taught in every English class.
Works Cited
Deans, Thomas and Megan Marie. “Composition as Community Action.” Teaching the
Neglected ‘R.’ Newkirk and Kent, Eds. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2007.
186-197. Print.
McEwan, Melissa. “Rape Culture: 101.” Shakesville. 30 June, 2011.
Slack, Delane Bender. “Fusing Social Justice with Multigenre Writing.” English Journal
July 2001: 62-66. Print.