Last week @SchleiderJustin & I collaborated on a talk about equity and justice in everyday #PhysEd. For me, equity conversations have become routine when we think about forming fair teams for a game. Two highlights from today: A 1/

Today's conversation with 4th graders was similar to others. 2/
Students: Would *you* please make the teams?
Me: I could, but what would you be learning?
Students:
Me:
Students:

We confirmed that there were two big things involved:
1) They wanted to play a game with fair teams
2) They know that friendship bonds tend to get in the way of making fair teams.
Then I asked them: How much of this is under your control? 3/

The student who made the request answered for the group: All of them?
From there I could argue on behalf of them training up their individual agency and group efficacy (in more kid-friendly terms) and let them know that this is actually my master plan for our #PhysEd year. 4/

In a 5th grade class (the one where I assign working groups each time), I had a different talk with a team about equity. Within their 7 person group, they formed 2 teams for a mini softball game. The teams were lopsided and a student complained. 5/

When I called the students together, they could agree that an imbalance existed and they suggested a few options for correcting it. I left them to figure out a solution on their own. 10 minutes later, another complaint about unfair teams.
Me:
6/

Turns out, the teams have remained the same but they tweaked the rules: no outs, everyone gets 2 times at bat. I asked the unhappy students how they chose to stick with the lopsided teams.
The dominant group didn't want to split up.
Aha.
7/

Me: Friends, let's talk about equity. Do you know what that means?
All of them nod.
In a nutshell I said, you can't leave the dominant group to create fairness on their own. They'll shift a few things but they'll keep their advantage.
They nod in recognition.

I can tell that they've been talking about injustice in their classrooms. The terms dominant and non-dominant make sense to them. I can practically see them making the connections in their heads. I don't need to hold a lecture, just lead them to a familiar junction. 8/

They changed their game again to a 1 v all which was a very creative solution. Each person gets to keep batting until they get around all the bases. I wondered why someone was batting from 1st and then 3rd base! 9/

So much of #PhysEd comes down to building sound decision-making models. That's time consuming and patience-grinding work. Deciding in favor of equity requires sacrifice (i.e., parting from your bestie) which can make it tough. 10/

That said, it gets better with practice. In this year of interruptions, building effective, pro-social decision-making has been a little more challenging, although the reception feels greater. Kids really want school to work; to make it a place they want to be. 11/

There's a different urgency around being happy together. Our challenge becomes putting the work into our wishes. That's true for the students and me every lesson. I'm very grateful that this is what I get to do for a living. 12/12