Fair Is Not Always Equal!

1. Fair Is Not Always Equal! Mrs. Murray

2. Let’s Experiment: • If I put a piece of candy up on the top of my bookshelf – then I asked the shortest student in the class and the tallest student in the class to come get it. • That would be equal but unfair. • If the shorter student got a boost up, that wouldn’t be equal, but it would be fair. • In classrooms at BCMS teachers want everything to be fair.

3. At some points in your school career, you may find that one person seems to be getting a lot of help or special privileges over everyone else. You may feel that you are not getting any help at all, hopefully it’s because your teacher has thought about that situation and is doing it on purpose. • Teachers try to do things with purpose. You may not understand it. You may not know all of the information behind the reasons…you may never know because your just not allowed to know or you don’t need to know.

4. A Quote To Ponder & A Discussion • “What’s fair isn’t always equal and what’s equal isn’t always fair”. • Equal does not mean the same – take a minute and think about what that means to you – chat with a partner about what this may mean and then we will discuss.

5. Wouldn’t It Be ABoring World If We All Learned The Same? • Each student learns at their own pace and style. • Some students are ‘book smart’, some are ‘street smart’ - It’s like the game of Survivor…every contestant is different…it’s my job as the ‘team leader’ to help build the strengths of students so that we can all play the game and contribute. • Teachers work as hard as they can to meet with each student – we are always available! • What students do over the course of the year is different from each other - based on need, interest, and skill in a particular area at a particular time.

6. Fair Isn’t Always Equal

7. Are You A Fair Person?(Take this self-evaluation and decide for yourself) • I treat other people the way I want to be treated? True or False • I treat people equally and without favoritism True or False • I am open-minded and reasonable True or False • I play by the rules True or False • I don’t take advantage of people True or False • I consider the feelings of all people who will be affected by my actions and decisions. I think I am/am not a fair person because: ____________

8. An Assignment The Jury Is In • A jury’s job is to make a fair decision. • Students will work as a jury to decide the fairness of each statement on the next slide. • If the group cannot agree you may try to convince them to change their minds based on your opinion. • You must reach a consensus, meaning only one group judgment per statement.

9. The Jury Is In (cont’d) • For each statement write agree or disagree & why. 1. An allowance should be based on doing chores around the house. 2. Sometimes promises have to broken. 3. When sharing, everyone should get an equal amount. 4. If my friends can do something, then I should be able to; too.

10. My Opinion Matters • Students have opinions on current topics that are important to them and you may often feel no one is listening. • Our class now has a container and we are going to label it “My Opinion Topics”. • During now until the end of the month you can put in topics that you would like to discuss. • During Health classes I will draw a slip and give you an opportunity to give your opinion.