When a child doesn't earn the results he or she originally desired, you hear him whining "it's not fair." And the truth is, it probably isn't fair, but there's a positive amount of equity that may be occluded from the naked eye, as the other child may have earned a little extra to assist him in attaining the results the primary child coveted. But, this wasn’t because this student was lucky and randomly assumed the extra help, it was because he needed that help to reach the same starting point as the first child. Equity is related to a student on an individual level, while equality meets the class as a whole. Imagine if a child’s parents are trying to find a satiating pair of shoes for each of their three children. Equality means each child receives the exact same gift, so each child would ip open the paper to find a pair of pink sparkly shoes. The five year old girl may be the only one who actually is pleased by the gift, while the other two may toss the shoes into the garbage. It is fair, for the children each earned the same exact item, not one was more expensive than the other, but only one of the kids was pleased. That is equality. Equity is if each pair of shoes represented the interests of the individual, so the five year old girl might open a box of pink sparkly shoes, and a thirteen year old boy may open a box housing a more expensive pair of basketball shoes, but they will put a smile on his face. The parents must pay more to boost him to the same level of excitement as the girl. Similar to education, as the teacher must insert more effort in the learning of a student who may struggle, and less effort into a student who already understands some of the learning to result in a complete knowledge of the curriculum.
In my mentor classroom, Mrs. Lane assigned a project about osmosis and diffusion that asked the students to follow the guidelines on the rubric. Each student received the same exact instructions, which is equality. When she was grading the project, the students who didn’t perform on the same level as other students were given the opportunity to summarize their knowledge in a paragraph after class to prove they comprehended the material. That is equity, for it was individualized to only the students who needed the extra help to assist them to the coveted grade. Because she offered this extra assistance, the students left the classroom knowing they did their best, and that they received the grade they had hoped for.
Osmosis and diffusion are difficult topics in science, lessons that I didn’t stumble upon until Honors Biology last year, and that has been the main concept of the student’s learning while I have been in the class. But, Mrs. Lane has explained this process in a sophisticated manner, as she has broken down each individual step to accommodate their confusion, with examples and analogies. She has even acted out diffusion using a hula hoop! When we return from break, everything is going to shift into a technologically advanced state because the students are receiving their iPads, and they’re thrilled to contain this opportunity.
In my mentor classroom, Mrs. Lane assigned a project about osmosis and diffusion that asked the students to follow the guidelines on the rubric. Each student received the same exact instructions, which is equality. When she was grading the project, the students who didn’t perform on the same level as other students were given the opportunity to summarize their knowledge in a paragraph after class to prove they comprehended the material. That is equity, for it was individualized to only the students who needed the extra help to assist them to the coveted grade. Because she offered this extra assistance, the students left the classroom knowing they did their best, and that they received the grade they had hoped for.
Osmosis and diffusion are difficult topics in science, lessons that I didn’t stumble upon until Honors Biology last year, and that has been the main concept of the student’s learning while I have been in the class. But, Mrs. Lane has explained this process in a sophisticated manner, as she has broken down each individual step to accommodate their confusion, with examples and analogies. She has even acted out diffusion using a hula hoop! When we return from break, everything is going to shift into a technologically advanced state because the students are receiving their iPads, and they’re thrilled to contain this opportunity.