Students need help if they are to develop confidence to participate in creating a more peaceful, just, and ecologically sound world. This challenge raises questions about what we teach, and how our schools are structured. It demands that we find ways to balance personal competence with social skills and social responsibility. In spite of its challenges, this effort can renew our sense of purpose and meaning as educators. Most teachers enter the profession because they care about children and care about the world.
Teaching is our vehicle for making a difference in the world.
This world offers all of us an occasion for seeing our work as part of the world we hope to create. Shelly Berman is president of Educators for Social Responsibility.