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fandomhigh2018-12-30 11:42 pm
biotic_psychotic) wrote in fandomhigh2018-12-30 11:42 pm
Entry tags:
Civics - Art of Civil Disobedience Monday 4th Period
Jack sat on the corner of her desk. Her feet didn’t touch the ground and one swung idly back and forth. She was waiting for the students to arrive. A new fresh batch of Gifted kids unlike any she’d worked with before.
This whole ‘nexus of realities’ island was a trip. Sometimes it was even a good trip, like now when she got to watch a new class file in and do the ‘seat where I can see everything but not in direct line of teacher fire’ choice. Her lips curved in a bit of a smirk.
Once the kids were seated she looked around the room and met their eyes in turn. Taking their measure.
"Listen up," she began, "My name is Jack. Not ‘Ms. Nought’, not ‘M’am’, not ‘Miss’. It’s not an attempt to be buddy-buddy or treat you like equals. We’re not equals. I’m the teacher, you’re the students. I don’t hold with any bull...crap; Jack is my name, that’s what you’ll use." Jack watched the students to see how they were taking that.
"How many of you know how to break the law?" she asked, "How many of you know when and why to break the law?" She didn't wait for an answer. She wanted them to think about it, not make them admit it in front of the class. Jack stood from the desk and moved to turn on a projector. "In this class, you’re going to learn the laws and you're going to learn when to break them and you’re going to learn why you might need to."
She met their eyes in turn again.
"And then? I’m going to show you how. Let's talk about the difference between laws and social justice to give you an overview."
The first slide read: What is Justice?
Justice, in a tradition going back to Aristotle, means treating individuals in accordance with their deserts. Justice has to do with the treatment of persons by other persons. The lion is not being unjust to the antelope in killing it. The lion is not a moral agent, and no right or wrong, no justice or injustice, is involved. Justice depends on desert, and desert is a matter of past performance, not of future possibilities. The grade a student deserves in a course depends upon his past record of achievement in the course. If a man deserves a punishment for a crime, it is because that person committed a crime in the past, not because (for example) it would be useful to punish him as a scapegoat; punishing the innocent is always unjust. Nor is it just to punish him because he might commit a crime in the future.
The second slide read: What are Laws?
The system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties. It has been defined both as "the Science of Justice" and "the Art of Justice". Law is a system that regulates and ensures that individuals or a community adhere to the will of the state. The adjudication of the law is generally divided into two main areas. Criminal law deals with conduct that is considered harmful to social order and in which the guilty party may be imprisoned or fined. Civil law deals with the resolution of lawsuits (disputes) between individuals or organizations and may also result in imprisonment or fines.
LAWS ARE NOT ALWAYS JUST.
The third slide read: What is Social Justice?
Social justice is justice that follows the principle that all individuals and groups are entitle to fair and impartial treatment. Social justice attempts to prevent person's rights abuses. Social justice is based on notions of equality and equal opportunity in society. It focuses on the full and equal participation of all citizens in economic, social and political aspects of the nation. Social justice derives its authority from the codes of morality in each culture and differs from culture to culture.
The fourth slide read: Problems occur when..
=> When laws are unjust.
=> When individuals and groups are not considered entitled to fair and impartial treatment.
=> When the governing code of conduct for a society outpaces outdated or antiquated laws.
=> When the system for changing a law is written in a manner that makes the changing of the law difficult or impossible.
=> When laws are written specifically to infringe on the rights of an individual or group.
Jack looked around the room again. "Let's discuss. I doubt any of you are from a world that has no laws, because any group big enough to become a society will end up making some. Give an example - one - of a law that doesn't meet the definition of social justice. If you come from somewhere all the laws are just, give an example of one and tell me why it meets the definition."
[Syllabus is here.]
This whole ‘nexus of realities’ island was a trip. Sometimes it was even a good trip, like now when she got to watch a new class file in and do the ‘seat where I can see everything but not in direct line of teacher fire’ choice. Her lips curved in a bit of a smirk.
Once the kids were seated she looked around the room and met their eyes in turn. Taking their measure.
"Listen up," she began, "My name is Jack. Not ‘Ms. Nought’, not ‘M’am’, not ‘Miss’. It’s not an attempt to be buddy-buddy or treat you like equals. We’re not equals. I’m the teacher, you’re the students. I don’t hold with any bull...crap; Jack is my name, that’s what you’ll use." Jack watched the students to see how they were taking that.
"How many of you know how to break the law?" she asked, "How many of you know when and why to break the law?" She didn't wait for an answer. She wanted them to think about it, not make them admit it in front of the class. Jack stood from the desk and moved to turn on a projector. "In this class, you’re going to learn the laws and you're going to learn when to break them and you’re going to learn why you might need to."
She met their eyes in turn again.
"And then? I’m going to show you how. Let's talk about the difference between laws and social justice to give you an overview."
The first slide read: What is Justice?
Justice, in a tradition going back to Aristotle, means treating individuals in accordance with their deserts. Justice has to do with the treatment of persons by other persons. The lion is not being unjust to the antelope in killing it. The lion is not a moral agent, and no right or wrong, no justice or injustice, is involved. Justice depends on desert, and desert is a matter of past performance, not of future possibilities. The grade a student deserves in a course depends upon his past record of achievement in the course. If a man deserves a punishment for a crime, it is because that person committed a crime in the past, not because (for example) it would be useful to punish him as a scapegoat; punishing the innocent is always unjust. Nor is it just to punish him because he might commit a crime in the future.
The second slide read: What are Laws?
The system of rules which a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and which it may enforce by the imposition of penalties. It has been defined both as "the Science of Justice" and "the Art of Justice". Law is a system that regulates and ensures that individuals or a community adhere to the will of the state. The adjudication of the law is generally divided into two main areas. Criminal law deals with conduct that is considered harmful to social order and in which the guilty party may be imprisoned or fined. Civil law deals with the resolution of lawsuits (disputes) between individuals or organizations and may also result in imprisonment or fines.
LAWS ARE NOT ALWAYS JUST.
The third slide read: What is Social Justice?
Social justice is justice that follows the principle that all individuals and groups are entitle to fair and impartial treatment. Social justice attempts to prevent person's rights abuses. Social justice is based on notions of equality and equal opportunity in society. It focuses on the full and equal participation of all citizens in economic, social and political aspects of the nation. Social justice derives its authority from the codes of morality in each culture and differs from culture to culture.
The fourth slide read: Problems occur when..
=> When laws are unjust.
=> When individuals and groups are not considered entitled to fair and impartial treatment.
=> When the governing code of conduct for a society outpaces outdated or antiquated laws.
=> When the system for changing a law is written in a manner that makes the changing of the law difficult or impossible.
=> When laws are written specifically to infringe on the rights of an individual or group.
Jack looked around the room again. "Let's discuss. I doubt any of you are from a world that has no laws, because any group big enough to become a society will end up making some. Give an example - one - of a law that doesn't meet the definition of social justice. If you come from somewhere all the laws are just, give an example of one and tell me why it meets the definition."
[Syllabus is here.]
Re: Slide 3 Discussion/questions
It was easy to deny people equal and fair treatment if you didn't let yourself think of them as people in the first place.