There is a touch of irony to the notion that an overhaul of America’s education system is what is needed to initiate social change on a grand scale, as the education system itself is often viewed as a system that facilitates oppression, taking on various forms depending on the geographical context and the participant in question. This method of educating does a disservice to large portions of the population in that it produces citizens that cannot and do not function subversively in their respective contexts, an ability that is proving increasingly valuable in efforts to address present-day social issues (Giroux, 2011). For the scholars explored here, though there is an array of problems to be named, the overarching pitfall of the American education system revolves around the identity formation of students and the tendency of the education system to engage said students as patrons rather than as inherently valuable human beings (Bracher, 2013; hooks 1994).
With scholars like bell hooks, Henry Giroux, and Mark Bracher addressing and working to remedy similar flaws, I reflect on the ways that God can be seen as (1) intervening in the education system through the slow work of reform as well as (2) through the invitations that we have as followers of Jesus to experience that transformation in our own educational trajectories and personal narratives.
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