Why silence in the classroom equals complicity and the case for resistance education

John Dewey, the American philosopher and educational reformer (1859-1952), asserted: “If education doesn’t teach you to resist injustice, it has failed.” This is not a mere philosophical flourish but an ethical challenge to educators, institutions, and societies.

In a world fractured by inequality, conflict and the relentless pursuit of human dignity, Dewey’s words demand urgent attention. Education is not a sterile transfer of information, it is a living, social process that is bound to democracy and justice.

Education is never neutral

If we reflect, we will realise that education is inherently political. Every curriculum, every classroom reflects choices about which values to uphold and which to ignore. To educate is to intervene in the world, to shape not only what learners know, but how they understand their place within systems of power and possibility. Education, therefore, is a moral imperative. It must cultivate three things: the ability to recognise injustice, the courage to name it, and the agency to resist it. Anything less is complicity.

South Africa: Lessons from our history

South Africa’s experience offers a powerful lens. Under apartheid, education was weaponised to entrench inequality. The infamous Bantu Education system was designed to limit black South Africans to servitude, teaching compliance rather than critical thought. Classrooms became instruments of oppression.

Post-1994, the transformation of education was central to dismantling systemic injustice. Curriculum reform aimed to promote equity, human rights, and democratic participation. Yet, the struggle continues. Persistent inequalities in access, resources and outcomes remind us that education can still reproduce injustice if it fails to interrogate power.

South Africa’s story underscores the universal truth that education is never neutral. It either sustains systems of domination or disrupts them.

Global echoes: Why this is not just our problem

Around the world, education systems face similar challenges. In the United States, debates over race, history and curriculum reveal deep ideological divides. In India, the politicisation of textbooks reflects efforts to shape national identity. In parts of Europe, rising populism has sparked attempts to sanitise history and suppress critical discourse.

These examples illustrate a global pattern: when education avoids uncomfortable truths, it becomes complicit in injustice. Conversely, when it embraces critical inquiry, it empowers learners to challenge oppression.

From knowledge to critical consciousness

Education must be more than content delivery. It must be a vehicle for resistance. The concept of critical consciousness — the ability to perceive social, political and economic contradictions and act against oppression — offers a roadmap. This consciousness is not innate; it must be nurtured through intentional pedagogy that challenges dominant narratives, exposes structural inequalities and affirms the dignity of marginalised communities.

Any form of education is incomplete unless it equips learners with the intellectual and moral tools to interrogate the status quo, challenge oppressive systems, and imagine more just alternatives.

The moral purpose of education lies not in conformity, but in courage.

We need to embrace education as a practice of freedom, a space where learners are empowered to question, to challenge and to act. It is about creating classrooms where silence does not shield injustice, and where learning becomes a rehearsal for liberation.

This courage is not abstract. It is those teachers, especially in institutions of higher learning, who refuse to sanitise history. It is those institutions that prioritise equity over expediency, and curricula. They centre human dignity rather than market utility. Silence in the classroom echoes as complicity.

Teaching with courage

In an era of rising authoritarianism, deepening inequality, and global crises, from climate change to democratic backsliding, the stakes could not be higher. Education that fails to teach resistance does more than fail learners. It fails humanity.

The question is not whether education should engage with justice. The question is whether we have the courage to make it so. DM