Equality and Equity in Education

Original Source Unknown.
Please let me know if  you know the original source!
Update 8/5/16 - Discovered the original graphic source
 is Dr. Craig Froehle when this random post
popped up in my Facebook feed!

Earlier this month, I participated on a panel about BYOD Equity at SXSWedu. In the weeks leading up to the panel, the graphic to the right came across my radar. I thought it was an excellent visual of the difference between equality and equity. I used it when introducing our SXSWedu panel, and it seemed to resonate with others as well, as it was photographed and Tweeted during the presentation several times.

Last Thursday while I was in a breakout session during our Spring TEC-SIG meeting, session presenter Wendy Jones referenced this graphic as she discussed teacher professional development and access to technology. Wendy had seen it when attending the aforementioned panel at SXSWedu.

After Wendy mentioned the graphic in the TEC-SIG session, other attendees requested that I Tweet it out. I did so, and after being re-tweeted by a couple of folks, it has gone viral and still continues to be passed around via Twitter. Check out the number of re-tweets and favorites on the Tweet below!

Why giving everyone the same isn't fair in one simple graphic shared by @EdTechSandyK #truth #txed #education pic.twitter.com/kH4s0Rh5it
— Amy Mayer (@friEdTechnology) March 27, 2014

Why has this graphic resonated with people? I think it's because it captures in a simple picture concepts that are difficult to communicate with words: Equality connotes treating everyone the exact same way regardless of need while equity references providing each individual with the resources they need to operate in as level a playing field as possible.

By providing all of the kids in the picture with the same box, in other words, treating them equally, we give the tallest student help he does not need, the middle student exactly what he needs, and the shortest student gets closer to the goal but still does not have his needs entirely met. If we look at each student as an individual through the lens of equity, we see in this case our tallest student does not need extra support, we are meeting our middle student's needs, and we need to give an extra boost to our shortest kid. Suddenly, everyone is successful.

Equality and equity are not the same thing; a focus on equity will probably achieve the ultimate purpose of equalizing the playing field in education. When we say we want all students and educators to be successful and have equal opportunities, equity is probably where we need to focus.

Are You Planning for Equality or Equity?

As I have contemplated the resonance of this graphic over the past few weeks, I've begun to think about how we approach decision making in education, especially when it comes to large-scale endeavors. And I've begun wondering about areas where we usually talk equality but instead might do better to talk about equity. Here is what I have come up with so far:

• Replacing technology for teachers: Does everyone need the exact same (equal) setup? Or do different teachers/grade levels/subjects need different types of technology (equitable)  to meet their learning goals? (Thanks Wendy Jones for planting this one in my head!)
• Replacing technology for students or offering it for the first time: If you are moving into or moving on with 1:1 deployments for students, are you providing the exact same device for all students K-12 (equal) or have you taken into account their unique needs based on their developmental stages and the learning they need to accomplish (equity)?
• Professional development: Is every teacher going to be expected to complete the exact same sessions (equal) or are you providing multiple tracks or choice based on their individual development needs (equity)?
• Planning new buildings: Are you building your next elementary/middle/high school campus on the exact same template that has been used for other campuses on your district (keeping it "fair" and "equal") or are you looking at the latest research on best practices for learning spaces and planning accordingly? Consider that you could at some point retrofit existing campuses to aim for equity.
• Course offerings and graduation plans for students: Do we need to provide the same course plans for every student in order to prepare them for college (equality) or should we be providing multiple, flexible options to prepare them for what they are interested in after high school (equity)?

I know I am missing some important topics regarding equality and equity. What are your thoughts on these concepts in education? What other areas do we need to contemplate through the lens of equity? I hope you will share your thoughts in the comments so we can continue to learn together.

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 All original work in this post by Sandy Kendell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please see specifics on my re-use policy in the right-hand column of my blog before re-posting/re-using any of my blog content.

A Principal, a Superintendent, and a 1:1 iPad Initiative

This is a nice interview with Principal Patrick Larkin and Superintendent Eric Conti on the 1:1 iPad initiative currently going on at Burlington High School in Massachusetts. This is definitely of value as a "why-to-do-it" resource.

I particularly love what they have to say about letting the students have their own iTunes accounts and letting them load their music and apps on the devices and the learning opportunities those decisions have created in regards to responsibility and balancing appropriate use of the devices. Another interesting point - technology integration has increased because teachers can no longer say that there is an issue with student access to technology.

I'm posting to my blog to share with you and so I do not lose track of it for future reference. Hat tip to Tom Whitby of the Educator's PLN for bringing my attention to this by posting and Tweeting the video.

Do you have similar resources bookmarked or curated somewhere on the web? Please share links in the comments so we can all learn together!

Qualities of Leadership

Whatever your role in education (or any other profession), you are probably a leader of someone. The leadership role may be formal, such as that between a teacher and students or between a superintendent and district staff, but it may also be an informal role as well. Perhaps you are the teacher in your grade level who is most innovative with technology or you are a content area specialist who consults with educators on an informal basis. Certainly, in your non-work roles, there are children, other relatives, or friends who look to you for leadership in some area of their lives.

We are all leaders somewhere or somehow. As such, we should aspire to become better leaders, for the sake of those who look to us for guidance.

Last weekend I had an opportunity to participate in a Leadership Forum sponsored by the Texas Computer Education Association. What I appreciated about this forum, in addition to the fact that the contents gave much food for thought, was the fact that it was open to any member of TCEA who wanted to participate. And, it was free! Can't beat that - a self-improvement opportunity that cost me only an investment of time and gasoline.

The principles shared in the forum were based on the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. I was fortunate to win a copy of the book as a door prize at the end of the event and look forward to reading it. We discussed levels of leadership and what different leaders look and act like and how we could work on improving our leadership skills. I could recount that here, but, I think you'll get more out of reading the book or taking part in a similar workshop. :-)

What I do want to share is the results of one of the first activities we did during the day. We were asked to list the Characteristics of the Greatest Leader We Personally Know. It could not be a famous person, unless we really knew them. I had no trouble picking my person. I reflected back on the first principal I ever worked for, Dr. Jo Ann Ford.

These are the qualities that came first to my mind in the time limit we were given:

• Believed in her people
• Encouraging
• Spoke to your weaknesses in a way that inspired you to work on them (not feel ashamed or embarrassed)
• Confident
• Gave people opportunities to make a difference
• Joyously recognized people's accomplishments
• Always put others first
• Made everyone feel like they were her favorite person
• Did not dwell on her own struggles
• Inspired others "quietly" through her own accomplishments
• Focused on what was best for kids and teachers
• Gave me a chance when I was young and inexperienced

You can read books and attend seminars to increase your capacity for leadership, but those are not the only ways to improve. Think of the people in your life who are a joy to follow, and then think about why. Choose one of their qualities that most appeals to you, and strive to appropriate that quality for yourself.

If we all made it a goal to become better leaders for the benefit of others, think how much we could accomplish together!!!

What are some of the characteristics of a great leader you personally know? Share in the comments, or reflect on them in your own blog post and share a link below. We can all be inspired to grow by the great leaders you share!


Leadership photo by Flikr user sqrpix, used with permission under a Creative Commons license.