Abstract

The role of allies in social movements is an area of social justice activism that is at times celebrated and at other times contested. Sometimes, allies are celebrated for the “good work” that they do to support marginalized people in their struggle against oppression. They undertake challenging and demanding social justice work, often with little to no institutional support or training motivated by a desire to support all the students they teach. In other circumstances, allies are criticized (in some cases quite appropriately) for being naïve, self-interested, privileged, and—put pejoratively—”do-gooders.” Despite the discomfort that discussions of allies and their contributions may cause, particularly for some allies themselves, the role that allies play in social movements is an important area of exploration. In this discussion, I argue that teacher allyship needs to be envisioned differently, but not completely discontinued. Drawing on data from interviews with educators in Ontario, I argue that teacher allies must become responsible assets to social justice by resisting the dominant narrative of allyship and strive for on-going reflexivity.

摘要

盟友在社会运动中的作用是社会正义行动主义的一个领域，有时受到赞扬，有时受到争辩。有时，盟友因其为支持边缘化人民抗压斗争所做的“出色工作”而受到赞誉。他们从事具有挑战性和苛刻性的社会正义工作，通常很少或根本没有机构支持或培训，其目的是支持他们所教的所有学生。在其他情况下，盟友被批评（在某些情况下是相当适当的）天真，自私，特权和贬义的“善行”。尽管对盟友及其贡献的讨论可能会引起不适，尤其是对某些盟友本身而言，但盟友在社会运动中扮演的角色却是一个重要的探索领域。在此讨论中，我认为，教师结盟需要有不同的设想，但并不能完全终止。根据安大略省教育工作者的访谈数据，我认为，教师盟友必须通过抵制盟友的主导性叙事并争取持续的反身性，成为对社会正义负责任的资产。