By Gabrielle Abad
Educator explains need for “systemic change” to achieve goals
What is my philosophy in teaching? That was the question asked as I was sitting in one of my third-year education classes. It’s such a broad question that it was hard to put into words what matters most to me and how I want to approach teaching. After pondering for a while, I thought about equity versus equality -what I’ve seen in the real world and its implications in the classroom.
I recalled a quote by Albert Einstein, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Although I feel the education system has made vast improvements in inclusive education, there’s still confusion about what it means to be inclusive.
I remember seeing an image online of a man with several animals – a bird, monkey, penguin, elephant, fish, seal and dog. He says to the animals, “For a fair selection, everybody has the same exam: please climb that tree.” In the classroom, people may argue that inclusivity is equality. That if we’re giving everyone the same things and the same amounts, we’re doing our job, including everyone. This seems fair in theory, but is it effective? Going back to the animals trying to climb the tree, we know that the animal that will find the most success with this task is the monkey. The animal that won’t even attempt is the fish.
However, the irony of this is that if you change the task, the fish may be better than the monkey. This is what it’s like for students. Every child has different needs and strengths. Inclusive education is about ensuring all students, regardless of ability, gender or background, are welcome in the classroom. It’s about breaking barriers and making education accessible for every student. If someone were to argue that equality is enough, I would ask them what about the children with disabilities or the children who’ve just immigrated to Canada? Do we approach these students the same way as those who can work independently or have been here their whole life?
Equality defined
Equality is defined as the state of being the same or equal, especially in status, rights and opportunities. The paradox of this is that it sounds good on paper, but in practice, it fails to take into account inequities. It assumes that everyone has a fair start or is in the same position. While equality pushes for identical treatment, equity adjusts and adapts to those disparities.
When I’m not in the classroom, I tutor children. Typically, these students are having difficulty comprehending material the way that they’ve been taught in class. It’s my job to catch them up to their grade level by implementing various methods and tailoring each session to their challenges. One child I assisted has dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). After several sessions, there was an improvement in her spelling and the direction in which she wrote certain letters. I can understand how hard it is to be a single teacher in a class with twenty-four students. At times, you’re just focused on classroom management, and fitting the time to help everyone could feel like a tremendous feat.
The Race called Life
Oftentimes, as educators, when we see our students day in and day out, we lose sight of the fact that they also lead their own lives outside of school. We could forget that the injustices they may face in the classroom could be magnified in their everyday life. Truth is, we can’t be “fair” in a world that doesn’t play fair. For example, the “Social Inequalities Explained in a $100 Race” video on YouTube. I remember viewing it for the first time years ago when it went viral. The video starts off with a man holding a one-hundred-dollar bill. He tells the young adults to remove their belongings and line up behind the line.
Before the race begins, he explains that for each statement that applies to them, they’re allowed to take two steps forward. If the statement does not apply to them, they have to stay where they are. He then instructs them to take two steps forward if both their parents are still married, if they had a father figure in the home, had access to a private education, never had to help with bills or never had to worry about where their next meal is going to come from and so on. He then asked the people at the front to look behind them. He made it clear that none of the statements had anything to do with what they had done or the decisions they had made.
Although the people at the front have a better opportunity at winning the bill, it doesn’t mean the people behind them can’t race. This so-called race highlights the fact that although some people get a head start, in the real world, there’s no excuse. Those people in the back, just like everyone else, still have to run their race. He exclaims, “It’s only because you have this big head start that you’re possibly going to win this race called life….” This video points out the difference between equity and equality, something to think about.
Not a “One Shoe Fits All” concept
This dawned on me during my practicum placement days in inner-city schools, as students have told me their families don’t have enough money to eat, and that’s why they come to school early for breakfast. Other times, I’ve been told by some that they can’t focus because one of their parents has passed away or they’ve just been evicted. On the other hand, while assisting in a private school, I’ve met students who could take a vacation with their family any time of the year. These experiences reinforced my belief that every child deserves inclusive education regardless of their socio-economic status, while recognizing that to reach that goal, systemic change needs to happen.
Inclusive education is not an equal, “one shoe fits all” concept. If we want to achieve inclusivity, we must understand that although equality is the goal, we must not lose sight of the fact that it’s equity that is the necessary means to achieve it.
About the Author:
Gabrielle Abad is a graduate of B.A. English, minor in Psychology from the University of Winnipeg, where she is also an incoming 4th-year Faculty of Education student.