VIII of 10
Every Child is Different
Fair is not the same as identical.
3 min read
Read this slowly
Two children do the same thing on the same morning for entirely different reasons.
The idea
One response can't possibly serve both.
We know this, and still consistency pulls the other way. It feels safer to treat everyone the same than to explain why we didn't.
But consistency belongs to our values, not our methods.
Why this matters
A strategy that works beautifully with one child can be exactly the wrong thing for the next. Knowing why it worked matters more than the strategy.
Adjustment isn't lowering the bar. It's removing something that was never part of the task.
In the classroom
Two children haven't started the same piece of work.
One needed the first sentence started for them. The other needed thirty seconds away from the desk.
Same expectation. Two different doors into it.
Read this slowly
Children rarely resent a classmate getting what they need. They resent unfairness they can't understand.
Take this with you
Treat them all the same, and you'll only reach the ones who were already fine.