K Bechtel

In researching equity, I find many articles looking at equity from various perspectives.  I have read articles regarding school finance, school funding, resources, gender, SES, and race.  There are also a number of laws regarding equity in education including Title IX, IDEA, and NCLB.  To begin let me define equity in my own words.

I begin school each year with my fifth grade students with a discussion of the difference between equity and equal.  (This same “talk” was given to me by a teacher and it stuck with me.)  At some point during the first few days of school I try to explain to students why I do the things I do in my classroom.  I provide an analogy of a car accident.  The three people in the accident had various injuries.  Upon arriving at the scene, the EMT’s must decide what actions would be equitable given the situation.  Let’s say one victim is unconscious and bleeding badly, another victim is conscious but appears to have a broken leg, and yet the third victim is  crying and shaken from the accident but appears to only have some bumps and bruises.  To treat each of these victims equal would be to give them the same treatment which of course is ridiculous.  To treat each of them in the way that best fits their needs at the given time is what all of us would expect.  That to me is equity.  I may give more attention to one person right now because that person needs that attention.  Equality is treating everyone the same while equity is treating everyone fairly.

I read information provided by the Region X Equity Assistance Center located at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) in Portland, Oregon (http://www.nwrel.org/cnorse/)  While perusing their site I found what they called the “Key Components of Educational Equity” (http://www.nwrel.org/cnorse/booklets/training/KeyComponents.html)  which includes access, instruction, materials, attitudes, interactions, language, and assessment.   This site defines each of these components and offers ways to promote an equitable educational environment.  It’s worth a look.  For me the first three components are largely mandated by the district, however the last four components are largely mandated by the type of people employed by our districts.   In other words, equity in the classroom is in large part subjective to the teacher’s beliefs, biases, and attitudes towards diversity.

Something to remember about equity is that it occurs when an underrepresented population is being treated unfairly.  When you look at the Title IX law, it protects females from being discriminated against but does not offer the same protection for males (”No Boys Allowed”, Principal Leadership, April, 2007). 

After reading Chapter 9 and discussing it (with whoever was willing), I have determined that the gender divide is something that is not necessarily a bad thing.  I do what I do because its natural for me to do so.  When comparing myself to my husband, we both use the computer for different reasons.  He programs it, uses it to find a solution, builds things with it, etc.  (I say “things” because I really don’t understand the true scope of his use of the computer!)  I use it to talk to other people, make my job easier, and do specific functions relevant to me.  This is exactly what the research has shown as presented in Ch. 9.  I think these differences are certainly a result of our upbringing, our education, and our society, but I think these differences make us individuals.  I don’t program computers because I don’t think that is something that would be rewarding or beneficial to me not because I was raised thinking it was a man’s job.  Telling girls they can’t do something because they’re girls is not fair.  Women deciding what they want to do given their abilities and interests is perfectly fine.