“That’s not fair!”
How many times have we heard that phrase from kids (and adults), young and old? Well, we heard it this week in class and it became the topic for our blog this week as it was a wonderful discussion where some good points were made.
We now live in a society where people are confused about equality, sameness and fairness. Many people use the terms interchangeably. Does something have to be equal to be fair? What about something being the same? Some said yes and some said no, so our lesson was serendipitously derailed.
We used dimes to demonstrate the differences in fair, equal and same. Here was the consensus.
- If a dime is traded for a dime
- Same: Yes.
- Equal: Yes
- Fair: Yes
- If a dime is traded for two nickels
- Same: No
- Equal: Yes
- Fair: Yes
- If a dime is traded for one nickel
- Same: No
- Equal: No
- Fair: Answers from no to maybe
Regarding the last question, while most students said no, some said maybe. When asked why, one student responded that it depended on the perceived value of the nickel. She said that perhaps the nickel was special to the person wiling to trade the dime because the mint year was relevant to her in some way, or perhaps it was rare. Regardless, the student argued that fairness is a perception rather than the more concrete terms of same or equal.
The discussion them morphed into more practical discussions on how this changes with political philosophies such as capitalism, socialism or communism. They discussed how with capitalism, fairness is determined by two agreeing parties, with same and equal being less relevant. They determined that socialism and communism was concerned more with same and equal, with fairness being less relevant and determined by a third party.
Our students never cease to amaze us. They rise to the occasion when challenged and are discussing things that are meaningful for their lives, now and in the future. They will walk away from this discussion more aware than many adults. Next time you hear someone say, “That’s not fair!”, you can quote Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride in saying “I do not think that word means what you think it means.”, and discuss how fair and equal are not always the same.
