Justice forms the backbone of a healthy society. Justice is what we as a society regard as « right » based on our moral concepts of ethics, rationality, law, religion, equity and fairness. A healthy society is the product of the actions of the people who are a part of it. Therefore it becomes important to educate our students from an early age about social justice.

Education is a powerful tool for social justice and we, as teachers, have the important task of inculcating this sense of justice among our students.

When our students enter the classroom, they should forget that they maybe coming from different religions or cultures, and even if they do bring in their own unique identities they should remember that instead of bringing in differences, it actually stands to enrich them. We as teachers have to establish the connection between what is being taught at school and what is happening in the world outside.

At present, the world has become so interconnected and the concept of global citizenship has become so important that it is impossible to view any nation in isolation. Therefore, the more our children are exposed to sharing of ideas and opportunities to form meaningful conversations, the more they learn.

Our aim as teachers should not be to dictate to our students « what to think »; but to guide them and teach them « how to think ». Because the concept of freedom is an important component of justice. Every child should be free to learn, to play, to dream and to be themselves.

Today’s child has the potential of becoming a responsible citizen of tomorrow. Thus if today at school our students learn the value of equality, unity, need for equal opportunities and the sense that humanity is one, they would carry it with them into adulthood and we can hope to create a just world.