Erin Vander Hoff

EDF 485 03

Open-ended reflection:
Public morality are the principles of right and wrong, both as they apply to individual actions
and to character, and how those principles affect people as an organized community (Henderson).

In

education today there is a large movement towards equality for all students, a push for social justice
within schools so that all students have the same tools for success. In the book Reflective Teaching by
James G. Henderson, the author talks about social and personal justice and points out that while both
personal and social justices are necessary to have a balanced society, these are two separate concepts.
For me, the best example that I can give to illustrate this difference is one that was presented to me
during the GRPS professional development day for physical educators. Two pictures were presented,
one showed three children, tall, medium and short, all standing on boxes of equal size trying to see over
a wall to watch the baseball game. The second picture showed the same three children in the exact same
setting, except that now the tallest one, who can see over the wall without a box, does not have a box,
and the shortest one, who could not see over the wall even with a box, now has two boxes to stand on.
Providing all students with the exact same tools for success is a social justice, but modifying those tools
to meet the individual needs of the student is personal justice. I think that it is this distinction between
social and personal justice that has many law-makers choosing to create and defend educational policies
that focus on the community as a single entity rather than the many people who are a part of it.
Education Policy makers seem to consider social and personal justice to be interchangeable when
in fact they are completely separate concepts. It is the belief that these two concepts are synonymous
which creates divisions within our schools. Policy makers are creating laws and policies where the main
position is to give everyone the same tools and resources to be successful; the social value being equity
in education regardless of your background. However, without reciprocity between administrators,
educators and policy makers, these laws and reforms are creating environments where there is no
personal justice for students, and where there is no personal justice there cannot be equity for all.

Issue Identification:
One of the hot button issues in education today is the achievement gap between higher income
and lower-income schools; this gap is most commonly measured by the differences between outcomes
of standardized tests scores. The No Child Left Behind Act has created an environment in schools where
the pressure is on teachers to produce students who will score well on the standardized tests. The
question for me is, is there a better or a more rounded method that administrators and teachers can use
to determine the level of student achievement outside of, or in addition to standardized testing? There is
such a high level of teacher anger towards administrators and policy makers over this issue because
teachers are feeling that these policies regarding standardized testing are being made by those outside of
the education community; by those who have no idea about what goes on in the classroom day to day. In
the book by Sonia Nieto, the teachers who she spoke to expressed their anger over administrators and
others who would ask them for their input and then create policies and reforms which do not reflect
suggestions or concerns that have been voiced. Reciprocity is a form of social justice, and requires
policy makers to take a backseat and allow those who have a high level of experience and knowledge
from an out there in the trenches perspective to explain their point of view on different educational
issues.
One of the biggest issues for education with the current strong focus on standardized testing, is
that it promotes only rote learning, with the majority of the focus on only certain, specific topics which
greatly narrows the curriculum teachers present to their students. Standardized tests do not take into
consideration learner qualities such as, creativity, motivation, and curiosity and that the push for
teaching to the test, is actually teaching students to not use or develop these qualities in themselves.
The other issue surrounding standardized testing a the only measure of student achievement is that these
tests are discriminatory towards students still struggling to learn English, or for those who are behind in
certain areas like reading, writing ,or science. Teacher are angry because they have continually voiced

the concern that the students who need the most help, are those who are being punished for their low
achievement scores with lower funding for schools and school resources. They are concerned with the
lack of respect they are shown by those outside of their profession and by their own administration in
regards to their views on student achievement and student needs and even their own personal level of
knowledge and education.
Deep Self-reflection:
When looking at the issue of standardized testing from an administrators point of view, I can see
how the idea of a process for generating measureable outcomes of learning in a variety of different fields
in a way that can be compared to other schools across the country could be beneficial. Being able to see
the achievement level of both your school and individual students is a useful tool for identifying weak
points with a curriculum as well as areas were the individual student may need more attention. I can see
how as a teacher I would be concerned about a narrowing curriculum and teaching only for the sake of
test scores, however, I would ask if that is really the case; if the teacher is effective they should be able
to teach the required material in their own manner and still produce students who will to do well on the
tests. Teachers need to be involved in policies that will affect both themselves and their students;
however they need to take a more active part in being involved in those decisions rather than waiting to
be asked. After taking a moment to see this issue from the perspective of an administrator I can
understand the anger and the frustration that teachers feel, but I also believe that there are ways that they
can ensure their voices are heard.
I have always felt that it was ludicrous that educational policies and reforms are created and
implemented by persons with no or very minimal educational expertise or experience. I can see that a lot
of my feelings and views are the result of the big educational cuts, especially in my content area, that I
have experienced here in Michigan; cuts that affected not only school funding but which resulted in pay

freezes and reduced benefits for teachers in this state. I also realize that for me equity in education
means finding what each student needs to be successful and then providing them with those tools and
resources, however this is not always possible, especially with the increased class sizes and reduced
staff. The reforms that are put in place are usually intended to provide aid and extra support to a larger
number of students. The issues can come in how administrators and state or city officials interpret the
spirit of those reforms that can cause friction between teachers and those who create the policies. I also
recognize that teachers need to be involved in the educational reform process, and that instead of just
getting angry we as a community and as a profession need to come together and demonstrate a
willingness to take part.
Perspective Articulation:
Social and personal justice and how those concepts translate to educational reforms and polices
are a large area of concern for teachers and teacher anger within the school community. In order to help
make my voice as an educator heard, I will take the following steps to ensure that my students and my
school experience social and personal justices and policy makers consider my point of view when
creating new legislation and reforms: 1. I will be an active member on the school board 2. I will educate
myself on the points and concerns raised by the opposing side of education issues and policies 3. I will
write to my state reprehensive to inform him/her about my views on specific topics related to education
and will present relevant and specific data to illustrate my concerns 4. I will assess my students using a
variety of assessment tools to ensure that I am teaching effectively and that students are truly learning
what I am teaching; I will provide this data to policy makers and administrators to show I am really
teaching and not just playing games and that my field is a necessary part of the educational system 5. I
will work with colleagues to help keep myself hopeful and to provide myself with a support system
within my building and my profession.