Education is emotionally draining. Consistently, it is among the occupations with the highest turnover rate. One source of emotional drain is making choices that are best for students, even though they may be unpopular.
Dr. Kelso (Ken Jenkins) is the Chief of Medicine at Sacred Heart Hospital on the TV series Scrubs. Depicted as the primary antagonist on the show, this episode shines a different light on Dr. Kelso.
Episode four of season five revolves around JD (Zach Braff) struggling to write an introduction for Dr. Kelso at an American Medical Association event where Dr. Kelso is receiving an award. Over the course of the episode, JD learns that Dr. Kelso is shutting down the prenatal unit for underprivileged women. To make matters worse, Dr. Kelso enlists a rich patient, over a poor patient, in an experimental drug trial that ultimately leads to the survival of the rich patient and the death of the poor patient. JD is sickened when he sees Dr. Kelso whistling while leaving the hospital. How can someone whose decisions cause so much pain remain unphased?
What JD fails to realize is that Dr. Kelso struggles with the challenging decision and that Dr. Kelso has reasons for his choices. Because Dr. Kelso opted to enlist the rich patient in the experimental drug trial, a large donation was made to the hospital which allowed for the resurrection of the prenatal unit. By being the “bad guy,” Dr. Kelso is able to bear the emotional brunt and provide an outlet for the hate that comes with the hardships of his decisions.
In education, equity is leveling the playing field to provide every child with a chance of success. It does not mean doing the same thing for every child………….that’s equality. It would be drastically easier if every decision was black and white. With gray decisions, educators are often not at liberty to divulge their reasoning.
A child lives in a dangerous neighborhood. In the past she has been a victim of sexual abuse. For protection, her mother does not let her leave the house without pepper spray (except when she is going to school). Every morning before she gets on the school bus, she takes the pepper spray out of her purse. One day she forgets. A student notices the pepper spray sticking out of her purse and reports it to administration. There are clear rules when it comes to bringing any type of substance on-campus that can cause harm. What should administration do?
A principal is justified in levying consequences concurrent with bringing a weapon on campus. However, this principal is aware of the girl’s home life. He knows that sending her home for several days is the last place she needs to be. By making the decision not to suspend, he knows that he will upset teachers. Most teachers are unaware of the girl’s history of abuse and the dangers of her neighborhood. The principal makes an unpopular decision in the staff’s eyes, but one that he knows is best for her.
An assignment is due on Thursday. Students have known about the deadline for several weeks. There have been reminders on the whiteboard, messages on the teacher’s website, and verbal reiterations provided at the beginning of each class. The due date arrives and neither John, nor Joan, have completed it. Based on school grading policy, both students should receive a 0 for failure to complete the assignment
The teacher knows that John is homeless. Over the past few weeks, he has moved from a hotel to an uncle’s house and finally to a shelter. The teacher has a strong relationship with John, who has been keeping her informed of his living situation. The teacher has a strong relationship with Joan too. Joan tells the teacher about her swim meets and dance recitals that she participates in. The teacher attended Joan’s most recent dance performance. The teacher decides to allow John a few extra days to turn in the assignment. The teacher informs Joan that she earned a 0 on the assignment.
Joan, and Joan’s parents, discover that Joan received a 0 on the assignment, and worse, another student who failed to turn it in, received additional time to complete it. Joan’s parents are outraged and want to know why their daughter is being unfairly singled out. They threaten to go to the principal if Joan is not provided the same extended time as the other student. The teacher holds firm, even though it means that she will ruin her relationship with Joan and have to address the complaint with her principal.
In both scenarios the teacher and principal made unpopular, difficult decisions. They were unable to share the justification for their decisions because they needed to maintain the privacy of the students they were supporting.
Educators would make the same decision 100 times out of 100, but that doesn’t make it easy.
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