1
Fairness
Running head: FAIRNESS REFLECTION
Fairness Reflection
Wade E. Bell
Western New Mexico University
Fairness Reflection
Fairness is something that is very important to children. Many see the world in only aspects of what is fair and is not fair. Ironically many of the student’s parents and teachers in various situations also see many situations in only black and white continuums of fairness. Welch (2000) stated fairness is complicated because of its multiple meanings consisting of equality, equity and need. Equality is where every participant receives the same reward, equity occurs when the reward is proportionate to the input given by the student, and need develops when those who have the greatest need receive the greatest reward (Welch, 2000, Considering cultural differences section, ¶ 2). At Lincoln Elementary, I have faced many students, parents and teachers that have felt they or their child has been treated unfairly due to various reasons. Through observation, I have seen individuals argue that they have been treated unfairly in all three aspects of fairness. As a result, I have had to support my decisions in each circumstance on how I deal with fairness to students, parents and my colleagues.
The group of individuals teachers have the most influence on is their students. If students feel issues are unfair, they usually are very vocal in their arguments to correct the situation. In dealing with equity, in which “the person who contributed the most or scored the highest receives the greatest reward” (Welch, 2000, Considering cultural differences section, ¶ 2) this form of fairness occasionally occurs and causes classroom controversy. I personally try to be fair to every child in my classroom but when one child refuses to do their part in the classroom assignments I usually reward the others for their achievement or effort in doing their work by giving them free time to do tasks of their own choice. The one that refused to work usually gets upset and I must have them verbalize why the others were rewarded and they must complete the task they refused to do earlier. In my statements, I try to describe how in the real world if one does not do their job they will be fired and try to relate this situation to the lack of work the student completed in the classroom. Usually, the child calms down but they still do not like the results of their actions but they realize they must try to do the tasks expected of them in class to be rewarded. Because of actions like these, I rarely have a child that absolutely refuses to work. Instead many are willing to attempt tasks so if there is a potential reward they will get it in turn.
Parents, on the other hand, are very verbal in protecting their children’s rights. I had a parent during my first year of teaching that believed every child should receive the same reward or be treated with equality (Welch, 2000). This occurred during the awards assembly at the end of the 1999-2000 school year. Eight children in my class received awards for perfect attendance throughout the year. A parent of a child that had been tardy 53 times during the year was angry their child did not receive the same reward. This child had been present every day but was late 30 minutes to an hour each of the 53 days. At Lincoln, similar to every other school in the Gallup McKinley County School District, every five instances a child is tardy equals one absence, therefore, this parent’s child received ten absences. To the parent this associating excessive tardies to absences was unacceptable and to the general education teacher and myself this child actually missed ten days worth of lessons by being tardy. In the end, the school decided to maintain that the child’s tardies disqualified him for the award making the parent angry but, as a result, during the next two years the child received perfect attendance because the mother never again got him to school late.
Teachers are another group of individuals that view fairness differently. One teacher is infuriated that next semester I am getting a new walkway to my room. This is because when the state department of education came they found that Lincoln was cited for not having wheelchair access to my room. In fact, I currently have a mud puddle leading to the ramp making students leap to get to the room. The teacher in question also wants a new ramp, which I agree with, because during snow storms one will slide down and fall. However, the district has chosen to do my walkway first because of the previous documentation that my ramp is inadequate under current laws providing students equal access to my room. This is an issue that I am currently unable to deal with because I did not make the decision to change my ramp first, but if I do not get wheelchair access to my room I fully understand that it would also be unfair for a potential student in a wheelchair to not be allowed access to my room because of a inadequate ramp. Therefore, teachers views fairness in their own ways as do parents and students and can get their feeling hurt if they see someone else getting something they are not, even though their reasoning is valid.
In conclusion, it is true that issues about fairness occur throughout society. In my school, many individuals feel that they are being treated unfair if they see others reaping the rewards of their efforts or getting something the other individual wants. Students are usually the most vocal if they see things occurring that are unfair in their eyes. The scenario of the child in my room not being rewarded because they placed no effort in the classroom on a certain day may seem unfair but this caused him to try harder on other occasions so he could feel the accomplishments of his efforts. The parent that was upset about the attendance award also realized that she had to get her student to school on time if she intended to get him recognized for having perfect attendance. The teacher that is currently upset because I am getting a new ramp to my room also realizes that I need the devise but is hurt because she also sees her need for a new ramp not being met. Therefore, the world in many situations is not fair, but with a little effort and self-advocating this can change. In each of the aforementioned situations the person in question changed their behaviors to get what they wanted. As a result, individuals do not see everything occurring to them as being fair but if offered the opportunity to see why these situations are not fair they usually can change their actions so they will reap the benefits being offered.
References
Welch, A. B,. (2000). Responding to student concerns about fairness. Retrieved October 21, 2002, from University of Kansas Web site: