There seems to be an imperialism involved with this topic of equity. Everybody has to be equal. That’s only right, right?
Except, does equity really mean equal?
Can we all be equal but still have inequity?
I’m seeing a lot of people who seem to think that if the student doesn’t leave the classroom knowing exactly what every other student knows, then — somehow — that’s not equitable.
I left a comment on a student’s blog post about equity and peas. In it I made the point that equity didn’t mean that every student ate the same number of peas, but rather that every student had the opportunity to eat the peas he or she wanted.
Notice I’m using the term “wanted” and not “needed.” How many peas do you need, after all? One? twelve? a thousand? Sure, I’m willing to accept that in a well ordered society, we might need to put some kind of reasonable limit on how many peas you get. Beyond that number, it’s up to you to figure out how to deal with your legume habit, but up to that number, it’s pretty reasonable that you might want to have peas now and again — with, perhaps, a nice meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
Maybe we live someplace were peas aren’t really that common and we need to try to find social rules for sharing out the peas among those that like them most. Some people might be willing to trade a share of peas for some green beans — or even venture into the cruciferous and try brussels sprouts.
So is it equitable? Does everybody have to eat their allotment of peas? What about those that don’t like them? Or perhaps have an allergy?
Does this seem kinda silly?
Then when we approach things like education, why are we talking about equity in terms of making sure every student learns the same thing?
I’ve been harping on this “one size fits all” problem for awhile in variety of contexts. I see it as part of the overall picture in Education. Standards work great when you wanna plug in an electrical appliance and be sure that it will work and won’t burn the house down in the process. Standards and Education are a bit more troubling because by adopting standards you’re saying everybody has to know the same thing. Or at least some of the same things. And when you assess based on standards, what you get are measures of the things you’re looking for but not necessarily the things you need to know.
You find out how many peas I ate. But you don’t find out that I gave half of them to my sister who likes them better.
In the first case you find out how well I conformed to standards.
In the second you find out something about me.
Where’s the equity?
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I think that it is impossible for all students to learn at an equal pace. Students are different. The amount they can learn is different and the pace they learn it at is different. I have a student right now they may never learn to read. He will get his modifications on the standardized tests, but there is no way even with those modifications that he will perform close to the level of other students. Equity for him is developing the skills he needs to make it in life it is not taking a stupid test to show how he compares to other students. How are all students suppose to be at a proficient level in writing by 4th grade? They are still babies and many of them have not developed the skills they need. Maybe it will take some students an extra year to fully develop writing skills. Is there something wrong with that? Education has these standards and when they are not met it means the teachers are not doing their jobs and the students are not learning what they should. It is ridiculous!!! We are pushed to give all students an individualized education, but still requiring them to learn the same thing at the end of the day.
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:23 pm
In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter how many peas you eat…just similar opportunities. For equity to be possible, wouldn’t the peas need to have the same foundation? Not everyone will take from it the same information but the foundation is the same.
February 22nd, 2009 at 9:16 pm
This makes me think of the conversation we had about setting standards on my blog. Standards limits teachers to what they can teach, becuase they have to teach what is tested. The idea is that the children have to learn this set of curriculum and pass tests in order for them to move on to the next grade. What happens if they don’t pass? Sometimes we hold them back and then maybe they catch up to our standards or we let them go on and whatch them flounder in what we expect. Like you said we need to offer the choices and let them have oppurtunity to succeed by individual set standards. And by individual standards I mean by what the children set for themselves. The only pitfall I see is they are use to having everything set for them and I wonder how they would react to the freedom of education by thier own standards.
February 24th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
This is a great post. You know so many of us have been fed core content on top of core content and then our students are tested on it during CATS testing. I agree with you that we aren’t always teaching the kids what they need to know instead some teachers teach the test because the standards almost force us to. I will never be guilty of teaching the test and I do try to focus on the things they need to know and I always tell them why they need to know certain concepts. I also agree with the fact that as teachers we can only expose them to the knowledge and give them opportunities to learn, they must accept some responsibility for learning. I think this is especially true at the high school and college level.
March 1st, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I agree with Diana that there needs to be a solid foundation. Each student will take with them what they need, but there should be a solid foundation. Each student needs to learn how to problem solve and search for their own answers. I try to focus on teaching these skills rather than the content. Content can be forgotten but they need to be able to find information when they need it.
March 6th, 2009 at 11:11 am
I feel like the others do here. While it is important to have something as a guideline of what to teach there has to be an expectation that not all students learn at the same pace and some may never learn the material at all. However, the teacher is held accountable for this. I find it very stressful that my students who need readers or writers will probably do well. Even on the standardized tests. Some of my students may even require prompting or cuing. But does this prepare them for what is out in the real world. When they go to the grocery and need to write a check is somebody going to write it for them? If they have to figure out if they have enough money to pay for something is somebody going to count it up for them? I understand they need some extra help, but what are the limits? Are we doing too much? Maybe somebody is getting spoon fed too many peas!
March 17th, 2009 at 10:00 am
I don’t think students can learn same as all other students. That doesn’t exist in the real world. I may like peas but my friend may hate peas which I would consider normal. I have seen some students that are good in math but can’t read and just the opposite. I do think something needs to be done to see why it is that way and what can be done to fix the problem if anything can be done. If all things were equal then where would we be today? We wouldn’t have people that would be working at Wal-Mart. They would want your job or my job. I am not willing to give my job up just because someone else can do what I can do. I am not willing to give my job up to someone who can’t read. People can’t be equal because the world wouldn’t work because everybody would want the same things and that is not possible. Children are different and they are not going to learn the same no matter how hard people think that they are going to learn the same.