Social Justice in the Classroom

For my self-inquiry into social justice and why we should teach this concept in classrooms, I came across an article by Christina Torres titled "Why Teaching About Social Justice Matters." She teaches 7th and 9th grade in Honolulu, Hawaii. The driving idea in her piece is that as teachers why we cannot just "let teaching social justice go." As a part of my inquiry, I wanted to explore the meaning of social justice outside of a classroom. After a google search, it means in a general sense "justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society." So, how does this idea apply to a classroom. The things that we talk about in a classroom all are interconnected to social justice. When discussing current events or themes within a story there may be a lack of social justice evident within those issues. The author mentions that all teachers realize that they are not in control of the world that our students face when they leave our class so shouldn't we teach them about the things they will need to be successful in the world. The author of this article would argue that social justice is one of those things. Students do not just see the issues that we discuss in class they experience them. The teacher/author goes on to discuss her own upbringing and that societal knowledge is most commonly taught at home but outside of their family education who validates the feelings that students of color must navigate in a system that was not built for them. Conversely, how will you make students who do experience privilege aware so that you can give them the tools to align themselves with the "disempowered."
As a teacher isn't it my job and all teachers' jobs to teach students to look at the world and problem solve with empathy and with understanding. Isn't that the job of a teacher? Isn't that social justice? Therefore, social justice does have a place in the classroom because it has a place in this world. Students need to experience the things in the classroom that are happening in the world. The author mentions that students cannot just be taught social justice because it is relevant in the world but also because they need to explore how their stories fit into the whole story.
Students need to leave my classroom being able to stand up for what they believe in. Students need to leave my classroom feeling like they can tell their story.

Here is a link to the article that I am mentioning: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/why-teaching-about-social-justice-matters