|
..
-
-
-
-
-
-
| That's Not Fair |
|
Fairness is giving people what they need when
they need it. That means playing by the rules, taking turns and
sharing, and giving everybody a fair chance. You can play this
game to see how your kids are doing with the concepts of the
Fairness Pillar.
Directions: Read each statement aloud. Students
will decide if the scenario is fair or not fair. If they think
it's fair, they'll give you a thumbs up and explain what's fair
about it. If they think, "That's Not Fair," they'll
give a thumbs down, then explain what is not fair about it AND
how they could change it to make it fair.
|
 |
|
1. You take the last cookie from the cookie
jar.
2. Everyone passes the soccer ball around the weakest player
on your soccer team.
3. You allow someone to cut in line in front of you.
4. You only share with children who have a birthday in the same
month as you.
5. You wash the dishes and your brother or sister dries them.
6. Your brother shares his toys with you and then you make him
pick them up all by himself.
7. Only kids with blue eyes can earn prizes in your class.
8. You save a seat for your best friend every day in the caferia.
9. You change the rules in the middle of the game because your
team is losing.
10. You find some money and don't know whose it is, so you keep
it.
11. You play by the rules even though you don't like one of them.
12. When your friend goes to the movies, he always sneaks in
to see another movie when the one he paid for is over.
13. You can't find your pencil and I have an extra that looks
just like yours, so you take it.
14. There's a student in your class who does see very well, and
she gets to be the line leader every day.
15. Your 8-year-old baseball team is one player short and your
10-year-old brother is little for his age, so you give him a
jersey and let him play.
NOTE: Some of these scenarios may not have
a clear-cut answer, so play along and have fun processing these
with your little ones. As a reflection activity, have students
make up a few of their own scenarios to get a glimpse into the
kinds of things they wrestle with where fairness is concerned!
|
|
| Fairness Up Front |
| For something to be
fair, the criteria needs to be set ahead of time and shared up
front. For example, if a teacher does not specify that she wants
homework done in pencil, then it would be unfair to take points
off of the paper of the child who completed the work in pen. That's
why we set the rules ahead of time, before we play a game. |
 |
|
Try this simple experiment: Say to a group
of children that we're going to play a game of Knock It Off
and then simply say, "ready, set, go." No explanation,
no guidelines, no rules. They've never heard of that game before
and have no idea what to do. What will happen? They may sit there
with blank looks and lots of questions. But imagine if they were
to attempt to play the game - without guideliness, things are
confusing, chaotic, and out of control. This would neither be
safe nor fair.
This concept is abstractly albeit beautifully
illustrated in the clever children's book, Rotten and Rascal,
by Paul Geraghty. Meet Rotten and Rascal, two terrible pterosaur
twins, and journey with them as they fight over a single fish.
Read about their friends who try to help them decide to whom the
fish should go. Talk with your students about the validity of
each friend's criteria for who should get the fish in question.
Ask them why, for example, Buster thinks that the fish should
go to the toughest pterosaur and find out if they think that would
be fair. Probe to see if there's another way to problem-solve
this fishy issue other than the criteria that each friend sets.
Prepare yourself and your child for the shockingly-surprising
ending of this silly story as it's meant to drive home the point
that greed and inflexiblity really can eat us alive. Check out
this book and be ready for a juicy discussion about fairness and
sharing.
As a follow up, have students rewrite the ending.
What would happen to the twins had they done something differently
before their untimely meeting with the t-rex? What could they
have done and how would that change what happened to them? Where
are they now? What are they doing? Are they happy? Content? Getting
along? How did this situation affect the way they make choices
now? In other words, what, if anything, did they learn from this
challenge? It'll be interesting to let their imaginations fly
and see what changes, if any, they make.
|
|
|
| WOW |
|
An interesting activity that I've done with
students is tell them that I am going to give the WOW!
award. It's so cute to see them straighten up, sit flat and forward
with hands in their lap, quiet down and smile, anticipating being
selected for this award. Then I'll pick someone who has a similar
trait that I have - wear glasses, for example - and explain to
the rest of the class that I selected that student for that reason.
I will inevitably get protests of "that's not fair!"
Answering the question, "What would make receiving this award
fair?" we brainstorm "criteria" for my fictitious
WOW! award. Students will usually describe desireable character
traits like trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, etc. We
then spell out the word WOW with our fingers - middle three fingers
make the W, fingers and thumb together make the O, and then another
W using the middle three fingers. After that, whenever I see someone
making good character choices, I can give them the WOW!
award simply by spelling it out.
With older students or even faculty members,
try this similar activity:
The following students have been nominated
by their homeroom teachers for the WOW! Student Award. Characteristics
of each nominee are listed beside his or her name. After discussion
of the six candidates, have your group choose one student whom
they believe should receive this award. The recipient will receive
a scholarship to summer camp and School Board recognition.
1. Sarah Seniority - Sarah's teacher notes
that she is a "good student." She has been around this
school since she was little as she is the daughter of well-respected
veteran teacher, Mrs. Seniority.
2. Teddy Tryhard - Teddy has a B-minus average,
his family says that he has a learning disability he works hard
to overcome. He does have academic modifications.
3. Nelda Needsalot - Nelda qualifies for free
lunch and does well by maintaining a C average.
4. Matthew Merit - Matthew has the highest
grades in school and has been at the top of his class for the
last five years since moving here. He has a perfect SAT score.
5. Amanda Mighty - Amanda is an A/B student
who has some discipline problems in class. Still, her report cards
shows nothing less than Satisfactory in conduct. Her mom is the
President of the PTO.
6. Edward Equality, Jr. - Edward is an average
student and the only minority student nominated. His father is
an advocate of Affirmative Action and speaks often on the topic.
NOTE: While the group may agree on someone,
the discussion generated should come around to the group being
unable to select a finalist for this award fairly without knowledge
of specific qualifying criteria.
|
|
|
| Mixed Up (Adapted
from an idea by Memori Ruesing) |
|
Using Trail Mix or other snack-sized candy
bars, granola bars, or raisins, try this interactive way to show
students the concept of needing everyone involved in playing a
game to follow the same set of rules.
Arrange students into groups of six. Before
passing out the treats to each student, give each student a slip
of paper with instructions - their rules for playing this game
- on it. Tell students NOT to share with their group members what
their specific instructions say. Each student's slip will say
something different using the following instructions:
1. Eat the treat.
2. Don't eat the treat.
3. Eat the treat but discourage others from eating theirs.
4. Don't eat the treat and discourage others from eating theirs.
5. Eat the treat and encourage others to eat theirs.
6. Don't eat the treat but encourage others to eat theirs.
Have students begin playing the game by reading
and following their instructions when you say "go."
Give them a few minutes to play. After the activity, you can stop
the class and have one representative from each group tell what
happened in their group. Ask how "fairness" is compromised
when each person gets a different set of rules or instructions
for a game. Can it be fair? Or does everyone need the same rules
to make a game fair? Why or why not? How does it feel to have
the treat but not be able to eat it? How does it feel to be eating
the treat when the person next to you can't? As a bonus, you can
also discuss self-discipline and peer pressure with this activity.
|
|
|
| When Fair Isn't Equal |
| The concept of equality
versus equity is a difficult one for children - and sometimes
even grown ups! - to grasp. When we think of fair, we often think
of sharing, of equal portions. But fair isn't always equal. Equity
asks us to level the playing field to make things fair, essentially
giving people what they need to even things out. |
 |
|
For example, I need my glasses to make life
fair for me. My dad now uses a hearing aid to make his life fair.
Some people need medical interventions to make life fair. Others
use wheelchairs or walkers. They may also take advantage of a
parking spot situated closer to the entrance of their destination.
I've even noticed lately that some stores offer reserved parking
for people with small children - that's a great example of equity
in action.
Looking After Louis, written by Lesley Ely
and illustrated by Polly Dunbar, elegantly tackles this very challenging
topic. The book's main character has sort of adopted Louis, a
new boy in her class with special needs. Louis doesn't always
act like or interact with his classmates. But that doesn't matter
to the narrator. She has accepted him as he is, she looks after
him, and she encourages him to draw on his strengths. But how
will she feel when one day he has a break-through and gets extra
recess with someone else?
Check out this book; it can serve as an insightful
springboard for a riveting discussion about when fair isn't equal.
|
|
|
| Do A Ditty |
|
As evidenced by the widespread popularity of
Mother Goose, children love easy-to-remember rhymes and ditties.
Here's a fun one that you can teach with the hand-jive motions
to help students remember some of the essential concepts of the
fairness pillar.
Gotta Be Fair
by Barbara Gruener
Gotta be fair, you gotta be fair,
Gotta take turns and you gotta share.
You gotta be fair, just gotta be fair,
Gotta play by the rules, all the time, everywhere!
After you get this down rhythmically with the
motions, play with it. You can speed it up, use different voices
at different pitches, try a southern accent, anything to help
it stick in their minds. They'll have it memorized in no time.
Then, it's their turn. Encourage students to write the next verse
of Gotta Be Fair or a catchy poem or ditty of their own. Have
them teach it to the class before you make a booklet of all of
their little ditties that'd make Mother Goose proud.
|
|
|
| Fair Students .... |
- play by the rules, take turns and share.
- are open minded and listen to others.
- don't take advantage of others.
- don't blame others carelessly.
|
|
|
|
-
 |
Character Counts at Westwood! One pillar at a time, we are laying the foundation
for a lifetime of good character choices. It is our goal to build
'value-able' citizens who will eventually become tomorrow's leaders.
The Six Pillars of Character are integrated into everything we
do.
We hope that the following list will help
you acquaint yourself with the Pillars and what they encompass
so that you can help us by reinforcing them at home.
|
|
Westwood Pledge
I will make good choices today.
I will respect myself, my teachers, and
others.
And give my best effort in all I do.
|
|
-
| Trustworthiness February / August |
| Trustworthy students.
. . . . |
- are honest; don't deceive, cheat, or steal.
- are reliable and do what they say they'll
do.
- have the courage to do the right thing.
- have a good reputation.
- are loyal - stand by their family, friends
and country.
|
|
| Respect September / March |
| Respectful students.
. . . . |
- treat others with respect, follow the Golden
Rule.
- are tolerant of differences.
- use good manners, not bad language.
- are considerate of the feelings of others.
- don't threaten, hit or hurt anyone.
- deal peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements.
|
|
| Responsibility October / April |
| Responsible students.
. . . . |
- do what they're supposed to do.
- persevere and keep on trying!
- always do their best.
- use self-control and are self-disciplined.
- think before they act and consider the consequences.
- are accountable for their choices.
|
|
| Fairness January / July |
| Fair students.
. . . . |
- play by the rules, take turns and share.
- are open minded and listen to others.
- don't take advantage of others.
- don't blame others carelessly.
|
|
| Caring December /J une |
| Caring students.
. . . . |
- are kind and compassionate and show they
care.
- express gratitude.
- forgive others.
- help people in need.
|
|
| Citizenship November / May |
| Good Citizens.
. . . . |
- do their share to make their school and community
better.
- cooperate.
- stay informed and vote.
- are good neighbors.
- obey laws and rules and respect authority.
- protect the environment.
|
|
|
|
..
|
