The Fire Project
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  • The 7 Phases of Fire Project
    • Phase 1: The Philosophy of Social Justice >
      • Collection of Definitions
    • Phase 2: The Proposal >
      • Choosing a Topic
      • Brainstorming Questions
      • Proposal Google Doc
    • Phase 3: The Research Paper >
      • Plagiarism
      • Research Sourcing
      • Annotated Bibliography
    • Phase 4: The Action >
      • Interviewing an Expert
    • Phase 5: The Resolution >
      • Sample Resolution
    • Phase 6: The Portfolio >
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    • Phase 7: The Presentation >
      • Presentation Guidelines
  • Library
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  • Philosophy of Social Justice & Intro
  • Historical Context & Root Causes
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  • Interdisciplinary Investigations
    • Applied Psychology
    • Statistical Analysis
  • Action
    • Action Plan
    • Documentation of Action
    • Action Reflection
  • Conclusion
  • Annotated Bibliography
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Philosophy of Social Justice


Nobody should graduate from Social Justice High School without being able to explain what social justice means to her or him.  Your Philosophy of Social Justice statement should be no less than 250 words and no more than 600 words.  In light of your four years as a social justice student, you have studied many topics and issues locally, nationally and globally.  Your Philosophy of Social Justice essay should draw upon those learning experiences and articulate how they have shaped your personal definition of social justice. 

This statement will provide a clear philosophy and a vision for struggle.  Each statement should be unique. Nonetheless, the following guidelines should be helpful to you as you prepare your statement. Your Philosophy of Social Justice Statement should consist of at least five paragraphs that do the following with concrete examples: 
  1. What is social justice? 
  • You have heard these two words thousands of times in the last four years.  But what do they really mean to you? Use specific examples to describe what social justice is.  Your examples may have to begin by describing what social justice is not, but they should not be limited to negative examples.  You may use examples from your life but you also must include examples from your classes. You may want to describe how your understanding of social justice has changed over the last four years.
 2. What obstacles do we face while struggling to achieve social justice?  
  • If we all want social justice, then why don’t we have it?  What are the historical and current obstacles to achieving social justice?  Again use specific examples from your classes and from your life.  
3.What is your vision for struggle?
  • How do people effectively struggle towards social justice?  In other words, what strategies and techniques help us achieve social justice?  How will those of us committed to social justice move forward during your lifetime?  Provide evidence for the effectiveness of these strategies by citing personal or historical examples.  ​
4. What is your role in the struggle?
  •  How do you imagine yourself contributing to the vision for struggle you explained above?  What will you do right now? What is your Fire? What will you do in your career or life in the future?
5. Introduce your topic. This paragraph will serve as the introduction to the rest of your research project and must include a strong thesis statement.
  • What is the issue?
  • Why did you choose your Fire Project issue? 
  • Why are you passionate about this issue? 
  • Why does your issue matter? 
  • What do you hope to accomplish through this project?
  • Why is this issue so important to me? 
  • What experience(s) have I faced in my life related to this issue? 
  • How might this issue be of critical importance to other people in the world who are different than me? Explain. 


The Philosophy of Social Justice Statement should include concrete examples of specific topics, drawn from your life experience and from your courses at Social Justice High School. 
Your essay must included at least 1 academic scholarly source, which is cited in your annotated bibliography. ​
TIPS FOR WRITING A STRONG THESIS STATEMENT
A well-written thesis statement must contain a subject and an assertion (opinion). The thesis is the backbone of the essay. It includes the following: a specific topic, a bias for the topic, and an arguable reason for the stance on the topic. The thesis stateme
nt, a single sentence, appears at the end of the introductory paragraph and becomes the foundation of the essay. 
 
A strong thesis statement is not a fact; it takes a firm stand on a topic and makes a logical 
argument for that choice. 
 

Statement of Fact 
The media has infiltrated our everyday lives. 
 

General Thesis Statement 
Today’s media messages manipulate youth into making mindless choices based loosely 
on facts due to weak analytical skills. 
 

A strong thesis statement uses precise vocabulary to convey intent and clearly focuses on a specific bias for the chosen topic and the reason for that stance. 
 
Broad Statement 
Today’s media messages manipulate youth into making mindless purchases, which are 
based loosely on facts, due to weak analytical skills. 
 

Strong Thesis Statement 
The latest cellular communication innovations manipulate adolescents, through carefully 
designed advertisements, to make product choices based on promises of increased social 
status in order to increase sales of merchandise.

  • What do you hope to prove through your research? 
  • What is your thesis?
Historical Context