Description:  Personal inquiry of the issues related to education and Social Justice was the main focus of GDIT 819, Social Justice.  Guided by the ten major themes of Catholic Social Justice and our own interests, cohort members collaborated in small groups to create instructional and thoughtful presentations related to learners with diverse backgrounds, characteristics, and abilities. The artifacts included are a few of the presentations I created for this course, with a particular emphasis on knowing the learners in order to foster the appropriate learning environment.  I have included a video of the Phase 3 learning presented in Collaborate.  There are also PDFs of the power points created for understanding Ethnographic Research, and power points by Natalie, David and myself addressing issues of poverty, culture and response in education settings. Finally, I have included an artifact representative of a curriculum created in collaboration with a colleague last summer, which we presented to a local K-6 Catholic School. The picture is the cover of the curriculum and if you click on the picture you will see a PDF of the presentation.  Teachers were given individual copies of the curriculum book, which contained lesson plans and resources for K-6, at the presentation. The experience and knowledge gained from GDIT 819 was instrumental for informing the Social Justice curriculum in this final artifact.

 

Reflection: As stated in the video, this course was pivotal in my understanding of leadership in creating learning environments for a diverse group of individuals.  The focus and awareness of each learner’s needs and their place in humanity is the heart of Catholic Social Teaching and the Dignity of the Human Person.  The inquiry based learning experienced in this course allowed me to pursue personal interests as they pertained to the goals and objectives of the class.  I researched both physical and spiritual poverty,  Catholic Social Justice, poverty in American educational systems, character education, and service learning particularly as it occurs in higher education.  In order to gain a clearer perspective, I walked the streets of an urban, poverty stricken city with a local friar, meeting street people and hearing their stories.  This time was essential in building an appreciation for diverse backgrounds and an understanding of resources for meeting the needs of all learners. New knowledge gained from my studies and new confidence in sharing these perspectives with others provided the perfect groundwork for the development of the curriculum for Catholic Social Teaching.  In each of these artifacts there is a thread of appreciation for the individual and their diverse needs.  This awareness, appreciation and ultimately tender charity towards the community empowers others to grow and thrive no matter what environment they may find themselves in.