LEAD 2/2/21

KERI NEULAND
SCHEDULE:
• Connections: 10 minutes
• Nuts and bolts: 20 minutes
• Review discussion: 10 minutes
• Fairness Scenarios: 20 minutes
• Break: 5 minutes
• Breakout Rooms: 20 minutes
CONNECTIONS:
NUTS AND BOLTS:
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• 1. As seen in the memoir "Educated", Tara's father pushes an identity onto her, which causes her to
suffer in figuring out who she really is. As an educator, how can we encourage our students to explore
their own identities without giving them any preconceived ideas about who they are/should be?

2. Given the diversity of students teachers have to teach today, they sometimes struggle to figure out
what is fair and what is involved in equal treatment. What are two examples (or non-examples) you
have seen of teachers showing fairness and equal treatment in the classroom?

• Is it possible for unequal treatment to be fair?

• Is it possible for equal treatment to be unfair?
• “We have a classroom reward system to coincide with classroom expectations.  The class works
together to earn as a class and vote (equally weighted votes) on pre-selected rewards. Everyone is
treated equally (as a whole).   If the class works on meeting the class expectations a point is given. 
They try in our classroom (society) not just for themselves but for the whole classroom”. –Victoria

• “The short version is, we have a designated area to keep everybody safe and healthy.  It would be nice if
there were other options, but as far as my building goes, there aren't any”. –Levy

• “Being fair and have equal treatment sound like the same thing however they are very different. Equal
would mean that each student would get the same exact materials and advantages. While Fair in my
mind would look a lot like Equity where students would get what they need because as we all know not
all students have the same advantages and materials at times. A example of this would be in one of my
classes in HS a teacher refused to let a student with special needs go to the resource room during work
time and would only let them going during tests. The reason is that the teacher stated that since it was
independent work it would not be fair if that student got help when the rest of us did not”. -Klaryssa
 FAIRNESS SCENARIOS:
Scenario 1:

• At a high school, a girl named Stephanie wants to take shop class because she would
like to build things with wood and tools. The counselor smiled when Stephanie asked to
sign up for shop and said, "You don't want to take that class; you'll be the only girl in the
class. Let's get you into an art class." The school does not have a rule that prohibits girls
from taking the class.

• Discuss the scenario: Was the counselor being fair? Why or why not? Why do you think
the counselor discouraged Stephanie from taking the class? What do you think
Stephanie should do? Why do you think this decision could be difficult for Stephanie?
Can you think of a time when rules were fair but the practice wasn't fair?
 SCENARIO 2:
• Several students at a high school are still on the campus after school. A group of senior boys leave
the gym after basketball practice and approach one freshman girl who is playing basketball outside.
Two of the boys start teasing her. Some other senior girls see this and want to help the freshman
girl, but they are afraid that the boys will think they are “lame”. They don’t want to be teased in
school the next day, so they try to look invisible and hide even though they think they are acting
mean. The boys continue to harass the girl until she says she has to go. They walk away, and
everyone in the area relaxes.
• Teachers: Whose responsibility was it to do something in this case? Can anything be done after the
boys are gone?
• As a group, discuss whether you have seen or been part of a similar situation.
• Teachers: How would you respond if you saw someone being bullied outside of the classroom?
Do you remember the first example, (Stephanie and the school counselor)? What could another
student or teacher do to help Stephanie make the right choice about shop class? Please think about
how you would respond to this unfair treatment.
 SCENARIO 3:
• Billy is a sophomore in high school and has always hidden in the back of the crowd. He is very
quiet and keeps to himself because he has always struggled in social situations. Billy has a hard
time communicating with his peers as his social anxiety gets in his way of being himself and
making friends. Billy often times gets bullied within the classroom and outside of the classroom
for being “slow”, “having no friends” and being different.
• Teachers: Is there anything that we can do for Billy if he is a student in our classroom? What are
some ways that we can include him in the group without singling him out? How can we help
develop Billy’s social skills in order for him to develop alongside his peers? How do we
approach this situation if we are only seeing it from afar and Billy has not asked for our help? Do
we still intervene?
 SCENARIO 4:
• Wendy is a student in Mr. Fields’ English classroom. Wendy has been coming to school
everyday in the same clothes and un-showered for the past week and a half. There is a 10
minute snack break in the middle of the class period and Wendy never has a snack to eat from
home. Wendy’s peers make comments to her that she smells and therefore avoid sitting next to
her in class. Furthermore, the “popular” girls are starting to notice that she always has the same
outfit on and they are not afraid to tell her that. Wendy tends to keep her head down on her desk
for the majority of the class period.
• Teachers: How do we approach this situation? Do we pull Wendy aside and call her out for these
things or do we take a different approach? What are ways that we can make sure Wendy knows
that we are on her side and want the best for her despite whatever she may be going through?
Discuss your thoughts as a group.
SCENARIO 5:
• Elliot is an 8th grade student figuring out his identity. Elliot likes to express himself through the
way he dresses and the way that he talks. Elliot loves to talk about how much he enjoys
listening to Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift. Elliot’s peers are not afraid to call him
names and bully him for expressing who he is. Elliot does a good job of keeping up a brave
face, but his teacher often times sees him escape to the bathroom and come back with puffy red
eyes like he had been crying. Elliot’s peers call him all sorts of names in the hallway and even
behind the teachers back in the classroom. Elliot does his best to ignore it but it has come to a
point that it has gone too far.
• Teachers: How would you approach handling this situation? Would you pull all of the bullies
that you have noticed aside and talk to them individually? Would you pull Elliot aside and ask
how he is feeling, or would he feel singled out? Would you have a whole class discussion about
how to treat people that are different from you? Has anybody experienced a situation like this in
their own classrooms? Discuss as a whole group.
FAIRNESS CLASSROOM RULES:
In breakout rooms, we are going to be:
• 1- Talking about what it means to be “fair” as an educator. What
does fairness mean to you personally? Discuss and develop a group
definition of fairness within the classroom to share with the class.
• 2- Coming up with a list of rules that we can use in our future
classrooms. Since we are all different content areas, make them
broad rules that relate to equality, equity and fairness within the
classroom.
 FEEDBACK:

•Email: kneuland@iu.edu