New Social Justice Learning Standards

 We are so proud that the NJDOE has created an online hub for diversity and inclusion resources. I am sure they have added the new Social Justice Learning Standards from Learning for Justice. Here's a description from the LfJ website:

Promote Social Justice Learning  

Social justice education is essential in the current hostile learning environment created by censorship laws and policies aimed at prohibiting the teaching of honest history and further marginalizing LGBTQ+ students and educators. Helping children understand their own identities without devaluing others; encouraging them as they find the ways we’re all connected and deserving of respect; teaching them to recognize injustice and showing them how to act against it—this is the work of social justice education.

The Learning for Justice Social Justice Standards are designed to guide in the development of inclusive curricula to make schools safer and more just and equitable. The standards are divided into four domains: identity, diversity, justice and action. Walking through each domain one at a time can help you understand and apply each standard in practice so young people develop the skills they need to reduce bias and prejudice to make schools and communities safer places for all.

LFJ Social Justice Standards: Identity 

Our identity consists of the various characteristics we use to categorize and define ourselves and the various characteristics that are constructed by those around us. Students need to first understand their own identities and celebrate the diversity of those around them to be in a community where justice can exist. You can start here with the SJS about identity.

LFJ Social Justice Standards: Diversity

There are five common characteristics of a classroom based on shared inquiry and dialogue: listening, respect, humility, perspective and trust. Humility is critical when learning about diversity because it pushes us to recognize that our own ideas and opinions are only part of the story and that other people may have access to pieces of the puzzle that we don’t know about.

LFJ Social Justice Standards: Justice 

When examining justice with students, it’s important for them to have concrete definitions of both justice and injustice so they can celebrate justice and also call out injustice when they see it. Explore this LFJ resource to learn more about our Justice domain—and how you might share it with students. 

LFJ Social Justice Standards: Action  

Give young people the skills to take what they have learned about identity, diversity and justice and apply it by taking action in their communities. In the context of the Social Justice Standards, “action” includes honoring and celebrating identity and diversity, as well as actively engaging to bring about justice.

Reading for Social Justice: A Guide for Families and Educators

This guide is designed to support a group of caregivers: parents, guardians, teachers, librarians and others as they plan and lead an intergenerational social justice reading group. Along with models and resources, you’ll find practical recommendations for establishing a framework, inviting student input and organizing a series of meetings during which children and adults in your community can read, talk, teach and learn together.