"That's not fair!" How many times have you heard that expression? Maybe it's your own personal children, your students, or it's a topic of discussion at your team meeting. Anyway you look at it, children and adults would like our world to be fair and just. But, life does not always work out that way.
Sometimes we don't have all the information about why a decision is made. From the outside looking in, it might not see equitable. Mrs. Jones has received the last two new students on her grade level. She doesn't think this seems fair. If she and the other two teachers on the grade level have the same number of students, why is she getting both new students? Her teammate, Mrs. Smith, was recently diagnosed with a chronic health problem and confided this information to the principal because she is going to need to take some time off for treatment. She asked the principal not to say anything until she has had time to adjust to it herself. Her teammates do not know. There is a parent in her other teammmate's class that has complained to the Superintendent three times this year. This parent is causing other parents to lose confidence in Mrs. Brown. The principal realizes that on paper, Mrs. Smith or Mrs. Brown should have gotten one of the new students, but she felt like both of them have extra stresses this year. While in a legalistic sense, this might not be fair to Mrs. Jones, but when you look at the big picture, Mrs. Jones is the best place for both students.
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