Educating For Social Justice
In the short time since Golden Mean concluded an unprecedented instructional year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, it feels like our country has simultaneously imploded and exploded from the wave of racial violence and the resulting protests crying out for the lives of Black people. We are at a critical nexus that will likely shape who we are as a people and as a culture for generations.
Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.
~ Maya Angelou
Golden Mean is taking a definitive stand against injustice in our society by restructuring our 2020-21 curriculum. We acknowledge that we have an obligation to step outside our comfort zone of white privilege and use our entitlement to demand better from ourselves and from our communities.
Our small size and the agile nature of our program provide GM with the unique opportunity to pivot our academic lens to face the truth of racial injustice, to engage in an uncensored examination of ourselves, and to confront systems of inequality.
What can we do to break the cycles of racial violence that plague our history and our present?
The tutors at Golden Mean are designing an intensive, immersive, interdisciplinary study of systems of inequality in the United States. We will ask questions to guide our learning.
What is the history of injustice in our society?
What are our relationships within our communities and with our governments?
What is our responsibility to act in the face of injustice?
How do we work for greater social justice?
By studying racial, economic, ethnic, and gender inequality, GM members will examine how each individual occupies a complex intersection of identities that shapes our experiences, our opportunities, and the challenges we encounter.
We will work together to expand our knowledge of social issues through critical discussion, interactive activities and projects, and service-learning in our community.
We will identify and reflect on our own privilege and biases in order to embrace a growth mindset: I understand that there are systems of inequality in the world; I am a part of this system; and, I have a role to play to help make my community better for us all.
At Golden Mean, we commit to using our resources to prepare young people with the critical thinking skills and thoughtful curiosity necessary to become compassionate and engaged citizens working toward a more just society.