Otterbein University helps students learn about social justice

For the past two years, students at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, have learned about social justice and activism through a special Social Justice Academy they helped create.

This school year, they invited high school students to join them through the Columbus Alternative High School internship program.

Each Wednesday, seven Columbus Alternative students link into an hour-long class on Zoom where they examine topics such as identity, privilege, civic discourse and engagement. The class is led by James E. Prysock, director of Otterbein’s Office of Social Justice and Activism, Otterbein chaplain Judy Guion-Utsler and Otterbein student Kay Mitchell.

“It’s become a place for students to process their lived experiences and a place for them to practice and learn skills that help them engage with others about social justice,” Prysock explains. “And it gives them a language to use as they engage, as well as a way to respond in conversations in a way that is helpful rather than confrontational.”

The class came about, in part, because many of the internships the Columbus Alternative students would normally participate in were cancelled because of the pandemic. Teachers and administrators were searching for other opportunities and came across the Otterbein curriculum.

Four teachers from the high school, which is part of Columbus City Schools, also participate in the classes and that has led to a further expansion: A five-part social justice training program for all the teachers at Columbus Alternative.

That program includes training about student identities, how to manage difficult social-justice moments in the classroom and teaching with inclusivity, says Prysock, who is both a Columbus Alternative and an Otterbein graduate.

The mission of Prysock’s office is to foster a diverse and inclusive community and to promote respect, open-mindedness and personal and civic responsibility. He says expanding the Social Justice Academy to high school students is one step towards meeting that mission.

The internship and teacher training, he says, have been successful enough that he hopes to expand them to other schools.

“We’re using Columbus Alternative as a pilot to see how well it works, for both students and teachers,” he says. “It really may be something we can carry to other districts.”