Thursday, July 16, 2020

Fairness, private schools, and the COVID 19 pendemic

This post was prompted by an article published in the New York Times on July 16, 2020:

In the Same Towns, Private Schools Are Reopening While Public Schools Are Not


Evolution leads species to evolve traits that enhance their ability to survive and pass on their genes. We are accustomed to this idea when it comes to physical traits. Fish develop fins so they can swim; birds develop wings and feathers so they can fly; snakes lose their legs so they can slither. (That last one may not be exactly accurate, but you get the idea.)

Evolution also has lead some species to develop traits that are mental rather than physical. For example, primates’ sense of fairness is an evolved trait. Both monkey and human children, at very young ages, exhibit the sense of fairness. They object when others receive more than their fair share.

These conclusions are well accepted in the scientific community. My additional sense is that the sense of fairness trait exists on a spectrum. Some people have a highly developed sense of fairness; others have little or no sense of fairness. We can easily identify people at the extreme ends of this spectrum. Mother Teresa has a developed sense of fairness; Trump has little or none.

Although I understand parents’ desire to give their children the best care and education, it seems clear that this article raises serious issues of fairness. Is it fair that the good fortune that wealthy parents have enjoyed leads to their kids having profoundly better educations than everyone else? It’s one thing, in normal times, for children from wealthy families to get a somewhat better education. It’s another thing during a pandemic, when most people have to delay a year or two of schooling likely causing developmental impairments and even risk exposure to infections that can cause permanent damage or death, for children of wealthy families to be able to forge ahead untouched by the catastrophe unfolding around them.