Teacher Talks: "That's Not Fair!"

If there's anything I have been hearing so much it's the following line: THAT'S NOT FAIR.

Recently, I was positioned into another classroom with a teacher for coteaching. I have been able to sit back and see the dynamics of this class as well as enforce some new discipline tactics coming in with an outside perspective. I learned very quickly that students just want to be treated fairly. They want to have the same chances as every other student in the class to have good behavior and be rewarded for it. I think at times, as we near the end of the school year, when we have become tired and have had to deal with the same behaviors over and over again, we can tend to become annoyed with specific students. Even more, we can decide absent-mindedly, to write them off and choose not to give them chances any longer. Say for instance, you have a clip chart in your classroom for behavior. S is satisfactory, N is needs improvement and U is unacceptable. Student A acts out and she gets a warning for the next time she acts out. Student B acts out and because it is a recurring issue he doesn't receive a warning and his clip gets moved straight to U. How is that fair to that student? Now student B has gotten emotionally upset and causes a bigger disturbance to the classroom climate because he didn't receive the same treatment. These situations can escalate quickly and students can become disrespectful, defiant, and develop hatred towards their teacher because of being treated unfair. Consistency can help these situations. A developed successful discipline plan can help these situations. No student should go from S to U immediately. If one student receives a warning there should be a system put into place so that other students know without question they are going to be given the same amount of chances. 

Being fair in the classroom will make or break you as a classroom teacher.