I have strong feelings about the theme in week 5, sameness as fairness. Throughout all of our readings this week, I couldn’t help but think of a class I took last semester with MaryAnn Brittingham. In this class we addressed the topic of sameness as fairness. Often as teachers we here students crying “That’s not fair!” What do we respond with? Johnny gets more time on a test than Brittany and Brittany is clear in stating that this is inequitable. Is it? I certainly don’t think so. In order for both students to be successful, for both students to have a FAIR chance at the test, Johnny needs a little bit more time than Brittany. This is not unfair; this is, in reality, making it FAIR.
Let’s look at an example provided in my textbook “Respectful Discipline” by MaryAnn Brittingham. Say for example, I decided to be nice and bought everyone a pair of shoes in the same size. They are all getting the same size shoes but is this fair? Clearly, sameness does not equal fairness. “Students believe that fair means treating everyone equal or the same. This is not true. In fact, this is the most unfair thing a teacher can do to a student” (Brittingham, 35).
The aspect that I really enjoyed about Brittingham’s class was that she addressed ways to deal with a student complaining about something being “not fair”. Brittingham suggest teaching your students about need vs. want. Educators give students what they need, not always what they want. Brittingham also recommends that teachers help students understand invisible handicaps. Just because one can’t see a handicap, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.
The lesson in Brittingham’s class perceptibly has a lot in common with our reading for week 5. Purcell-Gates, on page 126 writes that “Children from economically stressed home had less knowledge of written language and how reading and writing work than children from more middle class homes.” Additionally, “Students with more literacy background were most active learners and most successful readers at the end of first grade.” So how can we treat everyone the same and expect that to be fair? Each individual may be on a completely different academic level. By treating them all the same, they will not get the educational techniques to help them, as individuals, succeed.
“The experiences they have as young children are culturally driven” (Purcell-Gates, 128). This is also worth noting. Children in public schools come from many different backgrounds and cultures. We are in a society today where, as seen in the Gutierrez article, educators are trying to treat the students as if they all have the same heritage which is simply not the case. We are robbing these children of their identity because we think that it is fair to treat them all in the same way. Maybe we do this because “if we assume a problem is due to a deficit, it is easier to write them off” (Purcell-Gates, 129). Is it possible that teachers are plainly looking for the easy way out – a simple way to get through the day? I think that this is the case. For these teachers – you shouldn’t be teaching. Teaching should be a passion; it should be a field dedicated to those that want to help the underprivileged, the ones that get ‘written off’. Educators should not give students ‘permission to fail’ like the teacher we saw in Ladson-Billings chapter on page 110.
Remember that Carter Forshay, again in Ladson-Billings chapter in The Skin That We Speak, found a way to relate to his students and by doing so, they were all able to be successful in writing a wonderful story. The important thing here is that Carter acknowledged that these students were different from them, from a different walk of life. Carter realized that he would need to find a way to relate to them, and so he looked to their backgrounds – what was important to them. By realizing that there are differences between him and most of his students, he was able to teach effectively. This is another example of how treating students DIFFERENTLY is fair.
Also, I think we need to take a look at the fact that Carter Forshay never once blamed his students or made them feel stupid for not wanting to write. Instead, he questioned his own teaching methods. Every teacher can learn from this. If students aren’t learning, you can’t blame it on them – you need to do something differently! Try taking a look at the students as individuals rather than treating them all the same!
While reading chapter 16 in Adolescent Literacy by Yvette Jackson and Eric J. Cooper, I was hit by a shocking fact: 7,000 students drop out of school daily in the United States. These students are more likely than not to be students of color, poverty, male, and they have most likely failed at least one grade. In addition, they probably read at levels that are below their peers (243). Perhaps this is due to the fact that we are simply passing these students on. How many teachers are really taking the time to question their own practices and alter them so they fit the needs of each individual? I am strong in my beliefs that if we do not treat students as the individuals the are, if we simply clump them together and think the all learn the same, there will be way fewer success stories than there could be.
There is an example in chapter 16 of Adolescent Literacy. On page 247, we read that "textbooks are loaded with technical content language that leaves students feeling overwhelmed and dumb". Teachers know this but have a fear that by not assigning textbook readings, they will fall further behind. Needless to say, if the text is at a level that is too difficult for the students, they will not read it. "Too often tis is interpreted as students not learning which isn't the case" (Jackson & Cooper, 247). Other times, teachers leave the books on the shelf and lower their expectations of the class - providing them with easier worksheets and easier readings.
So what then is the answer? Do we leave the books on the shelf so the students do their work? Or do we force the students to struggle through a reading that may make no sense to them when they are done anyways? I think the answer is to "start with high expectations" (Jackson & Cooper, 247). Instead of worrying about what needs to be taught, educators need to worry about the teaching strategies that will maximize the learning of the students. We need to make the adolescents feel smart again. The only way to do this is to treat them as individuals, to see that they are all different and to know that is okay.
The only fair classroom is one in which each students are treated differently in order to succeed on their own terms.
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