Building Blocks to Inequality

What sticks out to me from the Rethinking Schools website is all of the ways that you can be a social justice educator...

I was originally inspired by the resources I found for a book called, The Line Between Us by Bob Bigelow. In it, he shares context, lessons, and other support materials to teach high schoolers about the border and Mexican immigration. The materials are helpful, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to say about them.

Then, I happened to see an article called "Why We Banned Legos," by Ann Pelo and Kendra Pelojoaquin, discussing issues of power, ownership, and equity in an elementary-aged after school program. When looking for resources and ideas, I usually quickly dismiss anything tagged "elementary" out of some irrational, arbitrary bias. But for some reason, I kept reading. And I am glad I did.

In the article, the authors describe their students' love for Legos, their creation of Legotown, and the resulting political struggles. The authors explain, "Other children were eager to join the project, but as the city grew - and space and raw materials became more precious - the builders began excluding other children." The problems that we see in the "grown-up world" of classist capitalism emerged in Legotown and the after school classroom.

So when Legotown was destroyed by other students who used the classroom, the teachers took the opportunity - not to rebuild the structure - but to rebuild the students' thinking about the injustice and oppression quickly emerging.

The authors cite examples of the students' opinions of how Legotown should be and explain how "the children denied their power, framing it as benign and neutral, not something actively sought and maintained." They then launched into further (year-long) exploration of power, privilege, rules, and ownership by designing simulations and visiting a farmer's market that pushed the students' thinking.

Finally, when the Legos were reintroduced to the classroom, the students generated their own new principles for building: "collectivity is a good thing...personal expression matters...shared power is a valued goal...[and] moderation and equal access to resources are things to strive for." These led to concrete, socially-just rules for play.

I was really impressed with the outline of events that took place in this classroom from what is usually just dismissed as "child's play." As the authors concluded, "Children absorb political, social, and economic worldviews from an early age. These worldviews show up in their play, which is the terrain that young children use to make meaning about their world and test and solidify their understandings." Like the authors, I agree that we as teachers have a responsibility to pay attention to this play (and other social interactions) and use it as a guide for what we teach. Using Legos is so powerful because that's where the kids are (as Vygotsky would say, it's their zone of proximal development). When the students can learn about inequality in a world that is immediate and that they are entrenched in themselves, I think the lesson is much more likely to make an impact on their thinking and actions.

All this talk about Legos also reminded me of these two videos: Lego & Gender - Part 1 and  Part 2 discussing Lego's stereotypical attempt to market to girls and their essential "kicking out" of girls from the Lego clubhouse. Makes me go humm...