Fair Isn't Equal

How many times have you heard students say, "That's not fair!" in your classroom??  Ugh!  Why can't they all just automatically know and trust that you have each of their best interests in mind?!?  Oh, right, they are kids.  Ok, ok.  So, let's teach them what fair REALLY means.

My definition of fair has always been - Fair means everyone gets what they need to be successful in this classroom.

Still, some kids do not care about that.  They want the "easy homework" or the "easy test".   That's just how some kids see it.   So, we have to show a different perspective to help kids see that providing appropriate work for students is not about what's easy or hard, it's about what a person needs.

When my dear friend Sarah and I co-taught together, we illustrated this point to our class in relation to visiting a doctor's office.  She is brilliant and gets ALL the credit for finding this great idea and making it work for us!!!

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Suggested Materials:

- Medical costume, because, come on, wearing costumes in school is just fun, although optional.  
- List of medical conditions (You can find a FREE page of these to use here.)
- Box of bandages

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Set the scene.  

You are the doctor.  The students are the patients.  

Each student is assigned a different medical condition from the list provided (or your own!). You will not likely need to use EVERY SINGLE student in your class for this, as kids will lose interest after a bit.  You know your kids, so you can determine an appropriate number.  We usually did around 5-8. 

Starting with the student who has a scratch, one at a time, students will come to the "doctor" to receive treatment.   The student will describe their symptoms, illness, or condition to the "doctor", and you, the "doctor" will hand them a bandaid and send them back to their seats.  No matter the condition.  No matter if it is a scratch, broken bone, stomach bug, etc.  And be super mater of fact about it!  "It's what we do for all patients.  It's fair for everyone to get the same thing.  Next!"  

Then you discuss why it is actually NOT fair that someone with ANYTHING OTHER THAN A SCRATCH would receive a bandage to heal.  It's not what the person NEEDED to get better.  It's not what they NEEDED to be successful in their recovery.

Next, discuss what fair WOULD look like from the doctor.  

And finally, apply that concept to class work.  Point out that we all have areas that are strengths and areas that are weaknesses.  All of us.  ALL. OF. US.  We all bring something different to the table, AND we all are expected to learn math, reading, science, whatever it is.  Our job is to make it fair, our NEW definition of fair, for everyone.

You will find some suggested talking points and questions to pose to your class here.

As a reminder, throughout the year, when any students complain about FAIR work, you can simply hand them a bandaid and walk away.  

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I would LOVE to hear how this goes in your class!  What changes did you make to make it work for you and your group?  How did the students react?  Did you see any changes?