Fair Vs. Equal
The United States of America was built on the foundation of equal opportunity and freedom. Throughout history, the ideals surrounding education and equality have been challenged. Brown V. Board of Education has served as a landmark for equal opportunity, in which the federal courts affirmed that segregation within public education was illegal. Following the same principles of Brown V. Board of Education, the segregation of disabled students from mainstream classrooms has also been challenged. Under the Individual with Disabilities Act of 1997 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the federal courts have stated that students with disabilities are guaranteed a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Does appropriate mean equal? This midterm essay will react on the statement “fair does not necessarily mean equal, fair means appropriate,” and will determine the pros and cons of this statement.The Constitution of the United States requires that all children be given an equal public education regardless of their race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, or socio-economic status. In the film, “Separate But Equal,” the basic question of whe
According to the article The Myth of Fairness, the con to this statement is that fairness is only a concept that sets children up for disappointments later in life. The author describes fairness as a way sugar coating the harshness of an unjust world. “Life is not fair. By suggesting to children that it is, we create adults who are more likely to be frustrated and bitter about the disappointments in their lives.” In other words, if we as educators provide disabled children with fair accommodations, we are creating an illusion that the world is going to accommodate them as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Brown V. Board of Education case has served as an example for other equal education issues, particularly in the area of special education. The Brown case clearly displayed that discrimination on the basis of race, was not equal. Children of all races were to be given an equal educational opportunity with equal facilities. However, is education considered equal if a child with disabilities is learning with non-disabled children in the same classroom? For instance, if I give an assignment to all of my students, with equal time and information to complete the assignment, am I providing all of
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Approximate Word count = 851
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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