In the Lakeitha case study Payne describes a 15-year-old
girl who’s parents are unavailable and who is responsible for younger
siblings. Payne explains that one of
Lakeitha’s key issues is time and recommends giving her extra flexibility
around due dates, such as an extra day to get assignments done. While I agree with this recommendation I have
recently struggled with similar differentiation attempts this year. Other students notice the differential treatment
and demand the same opportunity. A
student in what can be an embarrassing situation – can’t read at a high school
level, difficult home situation – is put in the spotlight. Angry peers can get pretty aggressive about
the injustice they perceive. I see this
becoming more of a problem as I teach more academically focused students. Students in my chemistry class compare point
by point every problem on assignments I pass back to check that assignments
have been graded correctly. I know of
examples at other schools where parents have collected assignments from various
students and compared grading similarly.
Folks don’t seem particularly open to equal is not always fair. Things can be worded in ways that sound a bit
scandalous. Is the best approach to try
to fly under the radar or is there another option?
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