The principal of being fair and equal are indeed not the same and have kept many educational professionals struggling to grasp them especially today when we have diversity among children in the classroom like never before. There is a conflict in interpreting these two issues because something that is fair to one student may not be necessarily fair to another one.
In a classroom situation, the idea of fair not being the same as equal means that we treat each student as per their needs, bearing in mind that the students are not the same. In line with this, equal has an implication that all students are not treated exactly in the same manner. However, being fair implies that the teachers will do their best to offer each student what they need to be fruitful.
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Even though the meaning of fair and equal may be confusing, it important to understand that different students have different needs and aspiration. As a result, defining fair as “treating every student the same” is rather the most unfair approach. All students in a classroom have different characteristics and enthusiasms for the choices and goals they make. If a student is misbehaving, they also have different causes for this. All these differences make the world a better and an interesting place.
An example of a fairness issue in the classroom is having a student with a learning disability, hence unable to grasp some concepts as fast as others. As a Mathematics teacher, for instance, I will solve this issue by giving the student close attention and if necessary more problems as compared to the rest of the class. For example, if I am giving the whole class 10 take-home problems, I will give this student 20. In this case, I am being fair, not equal.
