ABSTRACT
Steven Camicia's response to the question: How might public policy engagement and political activism be situated within social studies teacher education programs? suggests that the authors share commitments to social justice in contemporary teacher education. In this chapter, the author focuses on the four-point plan for infusing social justice concerns into teacher education that Camicia advocates: an emphasis on positionality, democratic dialogue, discourse analysis, and action. These components will promote social justice-oriented teacher education programs that support future teachers in making judgments and considering responses to local policymaking and political issues. The author also focuses on two examples, first, school choice and charter schools, and second, inclusion of LGBTQ topics in curriculum. Many advocates of parental choice, charter schools, and vouchers see themselves as working "for the kids", as they like to say, with the implied contrast being educational policies that protect adults, aka teachers and teachers' unions.
