Fair is not Equal

This week I was reminded that equal and fair are not the same things. It was a good reminder. Do all kids get the opportunity to learn in a small group environment? No. Do all kids have an adult following them around, helping them throughout their day? No. Do all kids have the same amount of money spent on them? No. But for some all of this extra help is necessary to learn the material that other kids are able to pick up with just a teacher's guidance. Fair is not equal and equal is not fair. That's the whole premise behind special education. Our kids are not lazy but need something extra in order to succeed in the classroom. But although we special education providers embody and demonstrate this everyday, we sometimes forget that this applies outside of the classroom as well. Our kids will turn into adults, adults who will be able to one day contribute to society but may continue to need that something extra to be successful at doing so. We may one day be working with them as adults and we shouldn't begrudge them the extra help that they're given in order to do the same job as us. Having a learning disability is a life long struggle. They're not lazy, they need extra help. Fair is not equal.