ABSTRACT
Social justice has become a buzzword among teacher educators, appearing in academic journals, conference presentations, and school of education Web sites. The following example illustrates the point:
Statements like this may present an unrealistic impression to potential teachers about the realities of contemporary classrooms. Such statements by Switzer and others who speak of social justice appear to overlook the resegregation in our nation’s schools (Frankenberg, Lee, & Orfield, 2003). Such statements appear to underestimate the increasing proportion of children who come to school hungry and sick from poverty (Johnson & Johnson, 2002). Such statements appear to ignore the life-altering consequences imposed on children judged as failures based on a single, end-ofyear test (Edley & Wald, 2002). From our combined 70 years of experience
in public education, working with preschoolers through doctoral candidates, we find that such statements ring empty for the thousands of teachers in underfunded public schools serving the children of poverty. A contrasting opinion comes from Katz (1971):
A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) further entrenched the model of educational oligarchy, arguing that American schools become more rigorous, decrying the practice of social promotion. This report initiated the public school accountability movement that engulfs the nation today. “High standards” and tests of these standards dictate that students work harder and teachers submit to more regulation. There is little mention of the accountability of policymakers and politicians who control the funds for public education.
