The Matter of Justice

Maxine Greene questione th l al r s Fo raised with regar Christopheo t d r Jencks' f statistio e sus - ca l relatee evidenceth l al d r questionfo , s havin wito d ho gt forensic social sci- ence,1 there is a general agreement on the main finding in Inequality. Among the many reviewers, Christopher Lasch states it most succinctly: "There is little corre- lation between qualite incomth d f schoolingyo ean schood an , l o reforn n mca longer be regarded, therefore, as an effective means of equalizing income. To put the matter more broadly, equalizing opportunity will not guarantee equal re- sults." wisI 2 responho t thio dt s fro vantage mth e poineducaton a f o t r interested in finding way f enablinso g diverse individual learno t learo st w .n ho Concerne d about deprivation injusticesd san I recogniz, e that they canno overcome b t y eb treating peopl samee eth matteo n ,importan w ho r t equalit f resul yo seemy ma t . As I see it, "the quality of schooling" is in part a function of its fairness. Fun- damenta conceptioa o t l f fairnesno e notioth s si n "that distinctions shoule b d made if there are relevant differences and that they should not be made if there are relevano n t difference basie th f irrelevan so n o r o s t differences." impresy m s i t -3I sion that the intention behind school reform in the last decade was to make dis- tinctions (through compensatory and remedial education, for example) on the basi differencef so achievemenn i s largn i e e tdu measur previouo et s neglect, segre- gation, humiliation, and the ravages of poverty. Hobbled by lack of support, never adequately tested ,t beereforno n s failura mprove ha e b eo nt unless e on insists on income equality as the criterion.

1 Alic . RivlineM , "Forensic Social Science," Harvard Educational Review, , Feb1 . - No Vol , 43 . ruary 1973, p. 61. 2 Christopher Lasch, "Inequalit Education,d y an Yorkw Ne . e , 1973Review,19 17 Th " . y ,p Ma 3 R.S. Peters. Ethics and Education. Chicago: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1967, p. 51.

Maxine Greene teaches educational philosophy t Teachersa College. mostr He recent book, Teacher as Stranger: Educational Philosophy for the Modern Age, was published this year by Wadsworth Publishing Company.

December 1973, Vol. 75, No. 2 18 / 2Teacher s College Record

I am fully aware of the numbers of people who find their economic situations —and their life situations in general—to be insufficient. I am aware of the relative inequalities on which Jencks put so much stress. As Lee Rainwater has pointed out, "the degree of inequality in income distribution has changed only marginally since before World War H" in spite of improvements in material base. Even more significantly: "The peopl felo t ewh themselve s poo deprivedd an r , oppressed dan waste society db n 195yi 9 still see mfeeo t l poo d deprivedan r , oppressed dan wasted today."equalization a e b therf I o t s e i f condition no , Jenck probabls si y 4 correc sayinn i t g tha "direca t t approach necessarys "i e Americath f I . n people ever come to believe it desirable to equalize incomes, political action to redistrib- ute income will undertakee havb o et largea n no r scale than ever before t thisBu . fact does not itselfn i , , rende schoole th r s "marginal Unitee th n "i d States except with respec insurino t g economic equality. Assuming a prevailing inequality in this society, I think we also have to assume a pervasive injustice that affects the functioning of all institutions, including the public schools. Jencks writes that "until we change the political and moral premise whicn so h most American operatew sno , povert d inequalityan - op f yo portunity will persis t pretta t y much their present level." e sam Th 5s tru ei e with regard to injustice and corruption and dehumanization. It seems to me that the way for educators to resist "marginality" today is to make justice—"a matter of equal and universal human rights"—the central value, as Lawrence Kohlberg says, of the school.6 Justice, however, cannot become the central value if teachers do not learn to act consciousl principlen yo thef i , y hav meano en f determininso g whe distince nth - tions they make relevante ar , whethe distributioe th r f educationano l benefits i s fair. Justice is not likely to become the central value unless something is done to deal with the inequalities existing in a particular school in such a fashion that "the long term expectation e leasth f t o sfavored, s Joha " n Rawl- im se ar put , it s proved.7 This could mean that more attention will be paid to the better endowed, stimulato t besy e ifth wa thatlease e eb th tt o turnt endowed t crie sou th - t Bu . terion mus fairnesse b t fairnesd an , s demands thapoorese th t t reader mose th , t apathetic participant receive the most help and the most care. Rawls talks about the focal rol f educatioeo enablinn ni g each perso o enjo n"t culture s th yhi f eo society and to take part in its affairs, and in this way to provide for each in-

dividual a secure sense of his own worth." I would want to enlarge this concep- 8

4 Lee Rainwater, "Economic Inequality and the Credit Income Tax," Working Papers for a New Society, Sprin, 1 . VolgNo , . 19731 . 50 . ,p 5 Christopher Jencks et al. Inequality: A Reassessment of the Effect of Family and Schooling in America. New York: Basic Books, 1972, p. 9. 6 Lawrence Kohlberg, "Educatio r Justice,nfo n Moral"i Education: Five Lectures. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970, pp. 67-68. 7 John Rawls. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971, p. 101. 8 Ibid. The Matter of Justice 183

tio emphasiziny nb playee parb e g th o educatio y t t db liberatinn ni g persono st authenticate themselves.

Justicee Classroomth n speaeducao n i a T f ko - tional benefit, aftespeao t t rf som ko no all s ei , sor f paymento t t simplno , o yt speak of a measurable skill. Educational benefits refer to possibilities for personal growth and enriched experience, "a widening and deepening of conscious life," as John Dewey put it, "—a more intense, disciplined, and expanding realization of meanings."9 They refer also, I believe, to increased opportunities for choosing and for transforming personal reality. Whe nconsideI inequitiee th r discontentd san s in our society, I think educational benefits ought to encompass the capacity to direct the course of one's life. This requires an ability to engage in praxis, a mode of knowing that involves problem-posing and problem-solving with respect to the social situatio whicn i individuae hth l lives Jean-Paus A . l Sartre see praxis, sit s i kine thinkinth f do g that signifie refusae sth somf o l e given name realitth f en o y"i realita produced."e b o yt knowere Th , move rejeco dt t powerlessness, conceives 10 himself as engaging with others in a type of cultural action intended to transform what is into what they think ought to be. Paulo Freire describes praxis as a kind of critical reflection that increasingly organizes thinkin d leadgan s peoplo "t e move fro mpurela y naive knowledg f realiteo highea o yt r level whice on - , hen ables the mperceivo t causee eth reality."f so This would mea ngrowta e th n hi 11 ability to perceive the cause of feeling "poor, deprived, oppressed, and wasted." It would mea ngrowt a abilite th n perceivhi o yt cause eth feelinf eo g manipulated, conditioned, depersonalized t woulI . d mea ngrowta insighf ho t int causee oth f so specific inequalities and injustices. Aroused to reflect in this manner, persons are likely to reach out for the skills they need for making sense. Once they do so, they are not only provided with a "secure sense" of their own worth; they may reach t consciouslou createo yt themselve worths sa s theya y choose themselvee b o st subjects, potentially in charge of their own lives. Justice in the classroom may demand that individual freee sb thin di s way—that each person e matteo h n , o rwh is or what his endowment, be awakened to speak for himself. teachere Th , then, must fin meana d f helpinso g individuals break with what Alfred Schutz calls "the social world as taken for granted." He must find a 12 mean helpinf so g them break with commonsense notion f equalitso oppord yan - tunity. The meanings of equality are always relative; they differ from individual to individual, group to group. Frequently they are responses to individuals' defini- tions of their own life-situations; they are functions of the domains of relevance in which people are involved. No poll, no statistical accounting can ever encompass

9 John Dewey. Democracy and Education. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916, p. 417. 10 Jean-Paul Sartre. Search for a Method. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1963, p. 92. 11 Paulo Freire. Pedagogy Oppressed. e oth f Yorkw Ne : Herde Herderd ran , . 197098 . ,p 12 Alfred Schutz, "Equalit Sociae th d l yan Meanin g Structure, Collectedn "i Papers , StudiesII n i Social Theory. Haguee Th : Martinus Nijhoff, 1964 . 229,p . 184 / Teachers College Record

the many subjective meanings of equality; but, to a large extent, it is these sub- jective meanings which determine how individuals locate themselves in their soci- etr theiyo r group. Ther those accepo ear ewh t their subordinatio a given s na , sinc domaine eth f relevanco s whicn ei h the e involveyar d includ a etakin r gfo granted of exclusion or inferiority. There are those (like the members of certain militant minority groups) who not only reject that subordination but use what- ever equality they attain as a transition point in their lives. They may decide that it same th e n t enoug o leve isno e thosb s onca lo o ht ewh e acte theis da r superiors; they may decide to overturn the ladders, stop the "balance wheel," break through sociathd eol l forms. Ther those ear e (lik liberale eth f timo s e pastbelievo wh ) e that equaf ,i l opportunitie providee sar d everyone, troublethere neeo b n o s det i d by inequalit resultsf yo .kind e Thesth peoplf e so e believar o ewh e that advantages and disadvantages are both deserved. If someone does not take advantage of the opportunities provided, they may say, that person deserves to fail. What can be fairer (theasky y)ma than treatin l humagal n beings equally? Doe t respecsno r fo t the individual entail the end of all distinctions? Does it not mean that all in- dividuals should be treated alike? teachee Th obligates ri meaningreflece o dt th n o t himsele sh internalizes ha f n di the course of his growing up and his education, since he is now asked to create situation whicn si h student articulatn sca e what they tak granter efo considd dan - er eminently "natural." What is taken for granted as a given and never questioned may become a mode of oppression for some, a mode of dehumanization for oth- erspersoa f I . n considers himsel objecn a f remainsd an t consequencen i , , perfectly lifn e ow theme(because silens th hi n f o t so e they have been mad seeo et m insig- nificant, unworthy of articulation), he is likely to be unable to reflect on his own reflecting, likely to find it hard to learn. If a person distances and makes objects of others, he may find it unthinkable to reflect on his own assumptions. Like Sartre's anti-Semite attractee b y "thma y db e eh , durabilit entirele b y stonef yma o d "an

unwilling to change. Anyone who chooses a certainty impervious to experience, 3

wh afrais oi probabilitief do approximationsd san 1 , resists learnin reasonind gan g t oncea doee t understanH . no s d than wantin"i t g freedo discovee mw r that i t depends entirely on the freedom of others, and that the freedom of others depends

on ours... ,"Suc amone hpersoa b y mose gnth ma t favore groupy t i an t n di ;bu 4

takes at least1 as much effort to launch him into learning as it takes for the op- presse poorle th r do y endowed poiny M .tha s i t t cognitive action wil inhibitee b l d under any circumstances if teachers and students cannot work together to disclose wha backgrounde t th lie n si t ,disclosed whano f (i t ) submerge graa s then i y l mal everydayness and prevents them from moving to "a higher level... to perceive the cause reality.f so " Learning involves a willingness to pose disturbing questions, to take risks, to look through new perspectives upon the familiar life-world. It should involve,

13 Jean-Paul Sartre. Anti-Semite YorkJew.d w an Ne : Schocken Books, 1948 . 53-54pp , . 14 Jean-Paul Sartre. Existentialism. New York: The Philosophical Library, 1947, p. 53. The Matter of Justice / 185

wherever possible, an examination of cultural assumptions, as well as a conscious effort to make coherent sense. The teacher's function is to work with students in a join co-questionea t s efforunlikels a i t clarifyprobe o o t t h t ac t d o yt ean d Bu . ran co-investigator if he remains blind to the systems of relevance in which students have identified themselves t asid se probleme eo th T . relevancf so subjectivd ean e meaning, to concentrate wholly on equality of outcome objectively conceived may be to promote dehumanization. And that, on the face of it, is neither just nor fair. t suggestinno m a I g that justic societe th n ei y wil guaranteee b l justicf di - ebe comes centra classroome I suggestin th m n a i l r No .g that direct political action will be unnecessary if persons learn to engage in praxis and work to transform their common lives. Grantin face kinw g th f equa t ne do callintha m a a I lr t gfo opportunity (to authenticate, to choose), 1 am not falling back on the old com- fortable faith in what the schools have the potential to do. I do have in mind that political action differen a migh f o e b t t sor morf ti e individuals com understano et d that they have constituted their own worlds, that heightened consciousness can lea changeo dt thosn si e worlds realizeI . factn i , , tha changee tth s migh more b t e radical than some would moro liket thern e eBu . ear guarantee s thaschoole th t s will arouse peopl praxiso et thakine th transformatiof n do f thero e ear n mosf o t them would choose. Educators must realize, however, how laggard they have been in acknowledg- inambiguitiee gth equalitf depredatione so th d yan f injusticeso . They mus- un t derstand how dazzled they have been by the promises, the traditional rationales for schools. The citizens of what Michael Harrington called "the other Ameri- ca," along with outraged minority groups, had to take the initiative in calling 15 attentio injusticee th o n t societ a f so y discriminatinthas wa t wholln go y irrelevant grounds. Marching, demonstrating, speaking out, they tried throughout a decade exposo t r pietieseou mako t , e clea degree th r whico et h American institutions have repeatedly failed their constituencies e onu th genetin t o s efforo pu N .c o t t determinism, environmental attrition, family deterioration, or what Jencks calls "luck disguisn "ca waye schoolee th sth s have faile vere dth y poora y . Thiwh s si deliberate search for justice must be undertaken within as well as outside the schools e correlatioTh . betweeindeew y lo nma e db n qualit f schoolinyo d gan equalization of income; but people are still demanding equitable treatment for their childre schoolse th n mano i To . y persons have been demeane injuredd dan ; anhave d w thin o et termn ki f redresso s wherever somethin stiln donee gca b l . Resources will be required, resources of a kind never yet provided for the schools. They will allocatee havb o et thay mose sucn di th twa hta deprived benefie th t most thid s;an mean particulasa r effor poorlequie o t t th poo e d pth y ran endowe d refleco t t upon their life situations combao t , t their immersio realityn i creato t , e their own equality.

15 Michael Harrington. The Other America: Poverty in the United States. New York: The Mac- millan Company, 1963. 18 / 6Teacher s College Record

Inequality's Implications Rawls make e pointh s t that redress cannot be achieved if the value of education is assessed "only in terms of economic efficiency and social welfare."16 Jencks's book, for all its flaws, makes it possible to conceptualize the educational process apart from the cash nexus and the ladders of social mobility. Indeed, I cannot see how we can support the rights of person authenticato st e themselve schooln si s preoccupied with inputs, outputs, efficiency d myta an s i ht i tha f schooe I . th t effectiveln ca l ys i equalizet i f i d an , als omyta h tha skille tth s taugh schoon ti specificalle lar y relevan occupationan i t l besd ha life t e begiw , n seekin justificationw gne schoolsr sfo same th t e A .time e w , d besha t begin—fro n educationaow r mou l vantage point—challenging what Mark Kelman describe "ths sa e rapidly growing schoo anti-interventionists.f lo n "I identifying "the social costs of inequality," he writes: "What is needed (short, that isf whao , s realli t y needed a restructurin, l propertal f go y relations such that income is distributed more equally) is that governments supersede the market and provide medical care, housing, and education according to nonmarket criteria."17 It will become relatively meaningless to plead for justice in the school if there are no resources to make justice possible. Because of Jencks's approach to categoriza- tion and correlation, the implications of his view are anti-interventionist with regar schoolso dt , although the obviousle yar y interventionist whe t comeni o st the redistribution of income. Inequality, therefore, is contributing to the "benign neglect" now being suffered by the educational enterprise; and a search for new justifications must becom aspecn quese ea th justicr f fo to t f thaei t negleco t s i t give way to renewed concern. Educators, therefore, must engage, as James S. Colema suggesteds nha "serioun i , s examinatio sociaf no l ideal sociad san l reality in this area."18 They are responsible, within and outside the classroom, as never before. examinAe sw r sociaeou l ideals muse w , t com termo et s wit radicae hth l cri- schoole tiquth f eo wells sradicae a Th . l critics wels i s la , known, claim thae th t school (through its "I.Q. ideology," its tracking arrangements, its unequal re- wards) prepares for and legitimates submergence in the stratification systems of the larger society. s obvioui t I s enough thaexistence th t f hierarchieo e d an s 19 stratification incompatibls si e wit hcommitmena justic o schoolse t th n ei . Such mode f organizatioso n (like bureaucracy itself) functio restrico t n truncatd an t e expectations, convince bottoe thosth t ea m that they belon t lowega r economic and social levels, reconcile too many of them to failure. On a descriptive level the radical critique is convincing; but the Marxist premises on which much of the critique is built assume a determinism and a necessity that, in my view, remain

16 Rawls . cit., . ,op 101 p . 17 Mark Kelman, "The Social Costs of Inequality," Dissent, Summer 1973, p. 298. 18 Jame . ColemanS s , "Equalit f Opportunityo d Equalityan f Results,o y " Harvard Educational Review, op. cit., p. 137. 19 Samuel Bowle Herberd san t Gintis, U.Se "I.Qth .n .i Clas s Structure," Social Policy, Nov./Dec. 1972, Jan./Feb. 1973, pp. 65-96. Mattee Th 7 Justicf 18 ro e

open to question. Because they are open to question, I choose to entertain the possibility that de-schoolin onle th y t responsno s gcharge i th o et e tha schoole th t s indoctrinate, manipulate demeand an , . Recognizing that, with some significant and notable exceptions, schoole th s hav ofteo eto n damage oppressed dan e dth 20 children of several social classes, I still believe that something can still be done within the schools to combat oppression and free people for self-determination. Again, however, nothing will done b teacherf ei t concerno o sd n themselves with principles, and new justifications are not found. Jencks t happensi , , says nex nothino t g about wha radicae th t l critics consider so fundamental: the centrality of the schools in shaping the attitudes required of worker consumerd san capitalisa n si t society admite H . s "tha noncognitive th t e effect schoolinf o s likele more gb ar o yet important tha cognitive nth e effects,t bu " t knono hwo e d say enouge w s discoveo ht e naturth r f thoseo e noncognitive t knono wy effectsenougma e W isolat.o ht measurd ean f thos o l eal that playa part in human action; but we certainly know enough to say, as Dewey did long ago, that experience canno consideree b t d pure cognition, "leavin accounf o t gou t its intrinsic active and emotional phases."21 And we surely know enough to under- stan e effectdth f hopelessneso s d felan st inferiorit n learningo y . Paulo Freire agrees with Dewey and, perhaps, Jencks when he writes that men "are authentic only when engaged in inquiry and creative transformation";22 but he makes it very clear that authenticit f thiyo s soronln attainee ca tyb contexa n di f dialoguo t e pervaded by love. There is, in fact, a whole educational literature highlighting the fallacy of isolating cognitive development from the total life of the person. I un- derstand that Jencks's difficulty has to do with the problem of identifying those noncognitive traits which are outcomes of schooling and which, at the same time, explain variations in later success; but I do not understand how he can proceed fro admissios mhi ignorancf no consideratioa o et educationaf no l attainment that doe t tak integrae sno eth l involvemen noncognitive th f o t e into account.

The Relativism f Jenckso When Jencks proposes that schoolin considere e itselfgn b i notee d h , en sn da tha t "sinc value ew e ideas minde th favo e e liff w o th e, rd schoolan s that value these thingse h too" t bu ; favors educational diversit wels hasyd a an l , perforce acknowledgo t , e other than cognitive attainments. Actually, what appears to be most important to him is the quality of the lives lived in schools, the "enjoyable" and "satisfying" experiences made possible by purposeful activity. Like Philip Jackson, I find all this insuffi- cient. I also believe that "Jencks has not given sufficient thought to what our schools are trying to do."23 In his own challenge to Jencks's evident relativism with

20 See, e.g., Lawrence A. Cremin. The Transformation of the School. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961 Charled an , . SilbermansE . CrisisClassroom.e th n i Yorkw Ne : Random House, 1970. 21 Dewey, op. cit., p. 322. 22 Freire, op. cir., p. 81. 23 Phili Jackson. pW , "After Apple-Picking," Harvard Educational Review,. . cit.,53 . op p 188 / Teachers College Record

regar educationo dt , however, Jackson summon Dewey'p u s s principle- in f o s teractio continuitynand call He .min sto d Experiencewhain tsay Deweto yhad and Education about the nature of educative (as compared with miseducative) experience. Grantin e importancth g e vieth w f o etha t educative experiences "should do something," as Dewey said, "to prepare a person for later experiences of a deeper and more expansive quality,"24 granting the likelihood that individ- uals who have enjoyed such experiences will increase in their ability to extract meaning from diverse future experiences t thin no a sufficien ko e d b thi I ,o t s t response to the challenge posed by Inequality. For one thing, it does not take into account the effects of inequality upon the classroom r anotherFo . t doei ,t taksno e into accoun bombardmene th t f diso t - parate, often miseducative stimuli outsid schoole eth r doe No t .responsi e th o dt apathy, the aimlessness, the cynicism permeating so many people's lives. It does not confront the continuing appeal of drug experiences, transcendental ecstasies, induced expansions of consciousness. Nor does it allow for subjectivist rejections bot "sociaf ho l control "myte th f objectivd ho "an e consciousness" that refero t s

applied intelligence and scientific expertise. The perceived threats of "invisibil- 5

ity"falsd "an e consciousness adequatelt no e "ar y appreciate thos y reldo b o ys ewh 2 hopefully on interaction and continuity; nor are the ambiguities of a culture in which luck or chance may indeed be as important as the explanatory deter- minisms favored by people committed benevolently to imposing behavioral con- trols. What Jules Henry called "vulnerability" is scarcely acknowledged: "vulner- ability—the susceptibilit destructioo yt r culture," defeat—od ou n an n i n e 26th ma f kin susceptibilitf do requiree b y corporate thay th ma tf d i e societ continuo t s yi e alon s presengit t s whai track r t No .Dewe y describe e nonmorath e s da th r o l anesthetic properly acknowledged: capriciousness, aimlessness, automatism- in , difference, lack of care.

The Suggestion of Indifference Although I agree with Jackson that educational principles must be held in mind, I do not believe it sufficiene b o t t simpl remino yt d Jenck f "thso e cas educatior efo life-ena s na -

hancing process." coursf O e education oughlife-enhancinge b o t t t oughi t bu ,t 7

also to involve th2 e creation of humane and just communities where individuals can learn to transform their lives. Objecting to Jencks's retreat "behind the 'dem- ocratic' principl degustibusf eo disputandum,"t es n no Jackson mildly remindm shi neee o fth convinc o dt publi e "importancee eth th f co education.f o " Again whan i , t sense can public education be justified as "important"? Moral skepticism and relativism tend to be the rule in many schools today, as well as in the Harvard

24 John Dewey. Experience Education.d an Yorkw Ne : Collier Books, . 196328 . ,p 25 Theodore Roszak. The Making of a Counter Culture. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1969, pp. 205-28. 26 Jules Henry, "Vulnerability in Education," in Jules Henry on Education. New York: Vintage Books, . 197223 . p , _ 27 Jackson . cit.,. 60 . ,op p The Matter of Justice / 189

Graduate Schoo Educationf lo . They are partn ,i reactio,a n agains charged ol t f so absolutism; in part, they are a response to a general prudentialism, a feeling that anything with a reasonable pay-off "goes." More fearful to me than Jencks's rel- ativism is the suggestion of indifference, the implication that all options are equiv- alent—since domaie th n i , educationf no , nothing really matters anyway. (Jencks claims wilt , i recalled e lb , tha eliminatioe tth disparitief no s between schoolt no s si likel mako yt e adults more equal schoolse Th . ' stated objectives, likdegree eth f eo their desegregation, make little difference. Compensatory education affects future chances only minimally e sam Th .s tru i e f busino e d opegan n admission into colleges l imaginablal f o , e educational reformseasilo to l readeye al forTh .n -ca r get that equalit outcomf yo issuee th s ei , most particularly economic equalitye H . can all too easily overlook what Stephan Michelson calls the real issues, "which involve the nature of work and social relations, determination of social, political, and economic outcomes controd ,an l over one's life.")28 In any case, I am proposing that action be deliberately undertaken to overcome indifferenc skepticise th d an e m that makes dialogue impossible proposinm a I . g that teachers turn their attention to moral principles; because only by so doing can they begin to justify the beliefs they hold that certain things are clearly right —and others dreadfully wrong. Care is required, care along with commitment. Justice, as I have said, is required if the damages stemming from inequality are to be undone, if redress is to be achieved. Only if teachers consider the principles by which they have chosen to live, can they identify their moral purposes. Only if those principles have somethin wito d ho g t justic r fairnesseo then ca y, awaken individual thein si r classroom tako st e cognitive actiochooso t d nan e themselves. Stuart Hampshire says ther gaia s ei n whenever people define guiding princi- ples pointe H .t tha sou t moral beliefs "ar just ejumblechaono a a t d san " when the consideree yar d instance generaf so l principles: "ther hol e reasoa w s dei y nwh

the various beliefs we do." Where teaching in an inegalitarian society is con- 9

cerned, it is not simply a questio2 n of the teacher trying to overcome chaos, trying to offer good reasons for what he does. It is a question of thinking what one is doing—achievin gwideawakenesa s with respec one' o lift n e sow situation o t s i t I . be presen conscioua s ta s human being, encountering other human beings wite hth capacity to be concerned. It is to understand the meaninglessness and the injustice of making what Freire calls "pious, sentimental, and individualistic gestures" with regarlese th s o fortunatd t lese th s d well-endowed.an e 30 Freire talk f riskino s g acts of love, of discovering the kind of solidarity that becomes possible when those being taught are recognized as persons with the potential for transcending life situations understoo oppressive b o dt unjustd ean . John Rawls writes that justicprimare th s ei y virtu f sociaeo l institutiond san

28 Stephan Michelson, "The Further Responsibility of Intellectuals," Harvard Educational Review, op. cit., . 105p . 29 Stuart Hampshire, "A New Philosophy of the Just Society," The New York Review, February 24, 1972, p. 34. 30 Freire. . cit.,35 . ,op p 190 / Teachers College Record

that it signifies "a general and intuitively acceptable standard for the assessment of the distributive aspect of social organization as either fair or unfair."31 I have been suggesting that justicprimare th alsy e ob ema y virtupublie th f eo c school. Peters has said that the principle of justice—or fairness—is usually taken for grante beins da g more tha nmattea tastef ro f anythin"I . principlea s gi o , S thi . sis fro expositorn ma y poin saie r startinb f viewdfo o o tt t ,g lo ther wita e s ei hth justificatio fairnesnof rocto justiceskor get botto ,can whicm neain we as hris as the attempt to establish ethical foundations." A teacher, appropriating justice as 32 guidina g principle positioa n t upoi ac s perceptioe i , no th nt n that inequalities, like deficitst deservedno e ar , . Rawls see moro sn e reaso alloo nt questioe wth f no income distribution to be settled by the distribution of talents, natural assets, and other such advantages than by "historical and social fortune." The same can be said about the distribution of educational benefits, if those benefits are under- stoo meao dt n learning, choosing growthd an , assessmene Th . distributive th f o t e aspect of the classroom or the school must, in other words, be governed by the criterio fairnessf no . Justice must becom justificatioe eth schoola r nfo . feeI l strongl academif o y y da tha e ctth debate about these matter drawins si o gt a close. The time has come for teachers to take the responsibility for liberating the personpietied ol e ssth ignored time coms Th .eha combao et t social injusticy b e helpin creato gt communitea whicn yi h each membe unhamperen a s ha r d share. tha e have b w ty reconceivo et Ima t e educatioef th o d f teacheren no e th o t s freeing them to resist marginality and rebuild the schools on visible new grounds. It thae seemm t o thet s y will onl able y b resis o et t inequity, mindlessnessd an , mechanistic imperatives if they themselves are freed to be present as persons, prepare tako dt riske eth s involve enablinn di g other learno st . Being presena s a t person demand a kins f self-consciousneso d s that mus e deliberatelb t y sought through ethical choosin engagemend gan praxis,n i t "actio reflectiod nan . . . n upon the world in order to transform it." Jencks and his colleagues have con- tributed at least to the extent of making it more difficult to rely on the ancient legend of the common school, more difficult to mask what is actually happening with constructs havin wito Americae d hth o g t n Drea "thd man e equalizatiof no conditione th men.f so " No teacher finds it easy to work without guarantees and without the feeling that he is doing something important to confirm or to change the social order. But guaranteeo thern e eeducationaar e th n si l process e therd th an , f ei shoule b t dno end is conceived as growth and the capacity to choose oneself. There can be no guarantees if praxis is the end in view. There can only be a continuing effort to enable student articulato st themee eth s within theibiographiesn row confrono t , t their background consciousness and to discover how they have built up the mean- ing whicy sb h they interpret their worlds. Ther onln questione ca y b poseo st : questions respecting technique and technology, moral uncertainties and failures, dominatioe th experiencf no mediay eb impacte th , f consumerismso e naturth , e

31 Rawls, op. cit., p. 10. 32 Peters, op. cit., p. 46. The Matter of Justice / 191

o fworkplacesf o wor d kan searce th , freedomr hfo , "peace with honor," violence and containment, class structures, equalit inequalityd yan e struggl- th ,hu r efo manization in a dehumanizing world. There can only be a continuing dialogue, engaging teacher studentd san conscioua n si s searc meaningr hfo possibilid san - "widenintiesa r ,fo deepenind gan consciouf go s life,surpassina r "fo thingf go s sa they are. There will be—there hav be—o et a variet educationaf yo l opportunities among which parents and their children can choose. But this need not result in a "chaos an jumbleda answeo t f school "o p u t r smomentarse y desire vouchee th f I . r sys- tem Jencks espouses is to be widely adopted, there must be a deliberate effort to engage parents in praxis with regard to their own lives and their expectations. Thi muso sto conductee b t d accordin .tho gt e principl justicef terrible o th r o , e inequities wil perpetuatede lb , whethe incomet no r ro equalizee sar timedn i . Indifference, skepticism, and a lack of principle: these seem to me to be symp- toms of what Albert Camus called the "plague." Educators, I believe, must re- spond to Inequality by exerting new efforts to create themselves as responsible subjects articulato t , reasone eth whar sfo t they doine ar thes ga y work withie nth schools. They, too, must break wit worle hth takes da grantedr nfo , reassurins ga that world may have been. They must be aroused to take a fresh look at what is so familiar it has receded into the background, a new look at preconceptions, accom- modations inequitiesd an , .avoio t Ther otheo y n ds i ewa rsubmergenc n a n i e inequitable reality, no other way to escape the boredom that haunts an unreflec- tive life of frustrations and routines. I am suggesting that, where educators are concerned, the only proper answer to Inequality is a decision to become princi- pled, ethical human beings—rebels against inequity and indifference, against lim- itation and the plague. Dewey said in Freedom and Culture that "the source of the American democratic traditio moral—nos ni t technical, abstract, narrowly politi- cal nor materially utilitarian. It is moral because based on faith in the ability of human natur achievo et e freedom... ."33 t convinceno m a I d tha source educationar th tou f eo l traditio moras ni than li t sense, although John Dewey certainly thought it was. Perhaps there will be op- portunitie educatorsr fo w sno , actin moran go l principle discoveo t , r criteria other than those tha"technicale ar t , abstrac r materiallo . .. t y utilitarian." Perhaps, recognizing that schooling cannot guarantee equalit f result o ya societ n i s y marremano to y d b inequities, thebegin yca ponde o nt r what justice ougho t t mean. School reform—or the allocation of sufficient resources to education—may last justifiea e neetb e th liberat o dt y db e individual achievo st e theifreedomn row , to seek out their own equality. But the men and women in education will have to break with much of what they have taken for granted. They will have to discover new mode f reciprocityso modew ne , f lovethed so yAn . will hav expeco et e th t world as unexpected when they peer into the unpredictable future. The days of acquiescence r whao , t Dewey describe s "sociada l stability buil cohesion,n o t " may be nearing an end.

33 John Dewey. Freedom and Culture. New York: Capricorn Books, 1963, p. 162.