Reading Analysis – Whom Must We Treat Equally for Educational Opportunity to be Equal?

I believe that equality is vital in education, but how do we define equality? I look at the way I treat my own children who are two and five years old. I definitely do not treat them equally nor do I try to in most situations. When my five year old wakes up in the middle of the night, I tell him he has to go back to bed. However, I will usually rock my two year old for a few minutes until she calms down. The difference is age. If I buy a gift for one, I do not make it a priority to find one for the other. Sometimes the five year old gets the gift and sometimes the two year old does. I believe it all balances out in the end. That does not mean that I do not try to treat them fairly based on the situation.

When it comes to dividing my time among them, I definitely struggle. It is easy and enjoyable to take the moralistic justice approach and spend the time with the one who is eager to learn. Sometimes I am forced to take the humane justice approach because my two year old is more dependent on me helping her. I often feel like I am shortchanging my five year old, because the time is not divided evenly as in the democratic equality approach. I believe in a classroom it will be hard because of the number of students that need your time.

I feel for Ms. Higgins and her struggle to decide who to spend her time with (Jencks). Instead of deciding on a theory that fits all, I believe she should take each day and situation separately to decide who should have her attention. Surely by the end of the school year she will be able to give each student the attention they need when they truly need it. Sometimes it will be the disadvantaged child who clearly needs help. Other times it will be the child who is eager and needs guidance to get to the next level. If we use all of the theories Jencks writes about educational opportunity will be equal.