Fair vs Equal

It has been made very clear that I need to challenge my class this year - they want to learn! So today, we discussed the difference between FAIR and EQUAL. Equal is when something is done the exact same for everyone. I gave the example of giving band-aids. Everyone came up with an imaginary booboo. Whether it was their head, arm, nose, or leg, everyone got a band-aid on their right arm. That's fair right?!

We realized that when we say, "Hey, that's not fair!" what we really mean is, "Hey, that's not equal!" So this year I am going to be as fair as possible, but that doesn't necessarily mean everything will be the exact same for everyone. We realize we all have different needs and abilities and I need to challenge those independent needs.

So, kiddos had a chance to tell me how they best learn – working alone or with others, with no noise or with music, sitting at tables or working around the room, etc. It is my goal, to make this year as FAIR as possible for each learner. Learning may look different for each of us, but that’s okay as long as we are all challenged and learning!

We decorated band-aid nametags today which states what we need as learners this year. Here we are decorating our nametags, as well as the up close of our nametags: