Fair vs. Written by Charlie Merrow. December 14, Social-emotional Learning. A popular SEL technique we use to explain fairness is the band-aid lesson.
What is the difference between fair and equal? If one student has a learning disability that means they have a hard time writing, would it be fair or unfair to allow them to use a computer to help them write, while everyone else in the class uses paper and pencil? If one student needs more time to read, would it be fair or unfair for the student to have more time to complete their tests? If one student has a difficult home life and unique emotional needs, would it be fair or unfair to allow them extra break times to use coping skills and cool-down strategies?
Empowering Minds Lesson The Empowering Minds program offers differentiated lessons on the subject of fair vs. Get The Full Lesson Empowering Education offers full lesson plans for teachers on teaching students about fairness vs. This would mean that two bakers would get the same pay, even if one of them baked 50 loaves a workday and the other only baked Two bakers should only get the same pay and the same benefits when they do the same job in the same way and produce the same amount of bread.
Obviously, it would be wrong to pay a black worker more than a white worker, if they do the same amount of work in an equally good way. But if the black worker puts in more hours and makes better products, of course they should get paid more.
In the above example of the two workers who put in different hours and quality of work, we are treating them fairly by treating them unequally. If they work more and produce better products, they will receive more money. If they work less and produce lesser quality products, they will receive less money.
Simple as that. Just and fair — and only unequal if the workers choose to do work that is unequal in any way. What if they are held back by things out of their control, like a disability?
The able-bodied among us sometimes feel like this is unfair to them, because they are now making the same amount of money as the disabled person, but they are putting in more work. To that I say, would you be willing to forfeit your able-bodied status in order to be on disability benefits?
I come out with a new one every Sunday. This was a great video. What they get upset about is when taxes and fees increase on the house they bought so that others can have that house and the cost becomes too great and they risk losing their house. My dad now walks with a cane because he has put off his knee surgery because he cannot afford to take time off for recovery. The solution would be to make it even easier still for people to afford necessities.
We need to be kinder to each other. More compassionate. Not more selfish and fearful of each other. That just makes the problem worse. If it had been disclosed at the start and they agreed, that would be different: It could have been optional.
I believe everyone should be paid for the value they provide, or for what they have contracted to receive or pay. Programs, nonprofits, donations, different benefit options etc. Changing or expanding how things are done, and made for different ways of working and living goes a long way to improving quality of life.
Embracing that people are different is much bigger than disabilities. Opportunity for education, choice and options are the answer. Yet treating students equally is problematic for several reasons. We work within an educational system that, since its inception, has not served and actually intentionally discriminated against entire groups of students. Our educational system was one critically important mechanism to create and preserve racial, class, and gender hierarchies.
To do otherwise—to treat students equally, or worse yet, to simply teach in the ways that we were taught without critically examining and reimagining how we can teach equitably—not only ignores historical disparities but replicates and even reinforces institutional biases.
A helpful way to think about equality and equity is that our goal in schools is that every student should have an equal opportunity to succeed, and that ensuring equal opportunities requires equitable treatment. One student does poorly and earns a D on that assessment. But this approach is actually inequitable and perpetuates achievement disparities. If a student comes to the content with stronger prior knowledge, or has more resources to support her learning the content, or is more confident taking exams, she is more likely to score higher on the exam.
The student who has fewer supports or a weaker education background is less likely to score well on that exam. But we know that this student can learn the material with more time and support. Therefore, after the exam, we can allow her to continue learning and to show that learning on another assessment of that content and then give her the grade that reflects her ultimate learning.
Felicia Darling is a first-generation college student who has taught math in grades for 30 years. Students come from a variety of backgrounds and have different identities, so their needs are widely diverse and are as unique as thumbprints. Our goal is not to treat students equally but to treat students fairly and equitably.
Treating students equally would mean providing every student with identical supports, materials, and scaffolding regardless of what they actually need to be successful. If we give students the same support, some students will get what they need, but others will not. On the other hand, if we treat students fairly or equitably, we ensure that each student receives exactly what they need in order to actualize their full learning potential. Inquiry-based, group learning : Using inquiry-based, group learning with low-floor, high-ceiling, open-ended tasks that have multiple-entry points is one of the best ways to teach fairly.
While faster-processing students may be frantically waving their arms to respond, a teacher can provide a few extra seconds of wait time for students who need more time. This gives reticent students time to think and write about what they are going to say. Grayson, did not know how to add It enabled them to act with agency without negative consequences. One of these students experienced recurring anxiety episodes and needed the freedom to stand up while working, step away from his group for a minute, put his head down, or do his secret, superhero pose with his hands.
Every student in class is not going to require this level of bodily autonomy. However, for those who do, it will make a huge difference in terms of actualizing their full potential as powerful learners. Assessments: Teachers can evaluate student progress with a variety of assessments in addition to the typical quizzes and tests.
These include projects, self-reflections, participation quizzes, peer-evaluations, journals, concept maps, poster sessions, portfolios, or exit tickets. Some assessments can be ungraded and untimed. Also, teachers can shift to more frequent assessments instead of just a few high-stakes assessments. Finally, teachers can provide a menu of options for final assessments, so a student can choose which final assessment fits them best eg.
Universal Design: Universal design is when a teacher adapts instruction to make content accessible to the largest number of students possible. For example, it is common practice to have students take their own notes and receive a notebook grade. The teacher can ask all students to take turns being the class notetaker—and then upload the notes to the course site for everybody.
This supports the students with disabilities as well as students developing note-taking skills or those missing notes.
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