‘That’s not fair,’ is a common refrain for children who feel they are getting the short-end of the stick. Every parent has had to navigate this at some point in time, and most teachers have done much the same. Interestingly enough, as adults, we tend to replace the word ‘fair’ with ‘equitable’ in that we are trying to make a fair and level playing field for all involved so that one group is not disproportionately disadvantaged (or advantaged) over another. (Disclaimer: this blog is looking at equity between schools and not necessarily equity between different minorities or groups, that’s a topic best left to better minds than mine)

I believe this is an ideal that we should be pursuing where possible, but I also think that this will always be difficult to achieve since ‘fair’ is always relative. Let’s look at the following example.

Tom has worked at a particular school for 10 years, Marty is a brand new teacher fresh out of university and eager for his first job. Tom feels that Marty gets a lot of support and attention in his new role and receives praise for things that Tom has been doing for years. Marty feels that Tom is well established in his role and is well accepted and connected to both staff and the wider teaching community. Tom feels it’s unfair that Marty seems to catch a few more breaks whereas Marty feels it’s unfair that he has to work so hard to prove himself. 

This may not be the best example, but, both Tom and Marty feel the situation is unfair because of their perspective and the things they are placing value on. It would be somewhat difficult to remedy this situation completely so that both parties feel it is fair. It becomes even more difficult when you bring in every teacher and every viewpoint and try to ensure that all involved feel the situation is equitable. This being said, anytime we encounter these inequities we should do what we can to try and remediate them, or at least be sure that all viewpoints are heard and taken into consideration.

While equity is a worthwhile pursuit we must be wary that we do not suffer from ‘equity paralysis.’ Equity Paralysis happens when we do not move forward because we feel that a decision or program is not accessible by all so we end up not doing anything. Rather than do nothing, we would be better served to find ways to include them rather than not move forward for anyone. Equity as a barrier to implementation is a problem. To be clear, it may be worth pausing temporarily to ensure that we have done the best we can to be equitable, but it cannot be used as an excuse to maintain the status quo or stifle innovation either. 

As another example, we have a huge financial inequity amongst schools. Some schools have significantly more or less fundraising ability than other schools. So a school in a more affluent neighbourhood may run a fundraiser that brings in $15,000 and another with a similar population size, but in a less affluent neighbourhood may, only be able to raise $5,000. As such, the buying power of a school, and thus the resources available, remain proportional to the social economic demographics in which they are located. There seems to be a reluctance to create a general fundraising fund that all schools in a region add to and draw funds out of.

For fundraising, it is fair for parents and the school community to know their money goes to their neighbourhood school and their neighbourhood kids. They don’t want to donate their hard earned money to other schools that they have no interaction with. However, this also means that due to differences in fundraising ability, some students will have access to more opportunities than others. One school may be able to send their students on trips, access to better technologies, etc than the other school. So to be equitable, which criteria do we use?

In this example, we have a ‘Selective Equity’ in that we are deciding some things are worth making equitable, and some things we do not. If we are trying to be equitable to ensure that all students have the same learning opportunities, but failing to find ways to achieve equitable resources amongst schools, then we are essentially choosing where we want to apply the concept of fair and equitable, which is ironic given that is what we are trying to eliminate! 

Again, the purpose here is not to say that the pursuit of equity is not something that we should be doing, because we absolutely should be doing our best, the part to note though is that this pursuit of equity cannot be a reason that we do not do something (Equity Paralysis), nor can we double down on trying to be equitable in some places and decide it’s too hard to achieve in others (Selective Equity). It is also a reminder that in many ways this will always be a pursuit and not something we can achieve because ‘Fair’ is always relative.