Chapter 1

In this chapter the author introduces the idea that differentiated instruction is doing what is fair for students. He also brings up the point that is does not mean teachers are making learning easier for students but that it provides an appropriate challenge for students to thrive. The author talks about how people are concerned that when teachers do this they are making future not differentiated experiences more difficult for students. He addresses this by saying that when teachers differentiate, they give students the tools to handle whatever comes their way whether it is differentiated or not. I really liked that the author said “our goal as teachers is to be fair and developmental appropriate, not one-size-fits-all equal”. This statement confirmed what I believe teachers should be, fair. The goal he states is basically the title of the book. Fair isn't always equal. Most importantly, I feel, a teacher’s job is to be fair to all students. Equal comes with it because as a teacher you are giving each student an equal opportunity to succeed in your class.   The concept of fair but equal will impact the way that I teach and the way I treat my students. Grading tests in a math class is a good example of this, some students may get more points off on a problem than other students when they originally made the same mistake. If a student calculates a number wrong but gets the problem correct for the number they calculated, they wouldn't get as many points off as a student who calculated the wrong number and got the problem wrong for the number they calculated.