Most conceptions of fairness are childish, so said Richard Lavoie in his 1989 How Difficult Can This Be? workshop.

Lavoie explained that fairness does not mean providing everyone an equal amount of something, such as instruction or resources. Fairness means providing individuals what they need. Speaking to parents of learning-disabled children, he proved his point: [Sandra] falls from her chair and has seizures. I'm qualified to assist, but accommodating to her special needs would be unfair to the rest of the class?

Although I'm not learning-disabled, throughout my formal education, from kindergarten into college, I have heard educators repeat the same refrain time and time again — "that wouldn't be fair to the other students."

• In seventh grade, I wrote an essay while misunderstanding the instructions and criteria. The instructor told me that he would not permit me to rewrite the essay to conform to the instructions and to satisfy the criteria because "that wouldn't be fair to the other students."
• In college, I had a mathematics professor whose exams required far more time to complete them than the time allotted. He prohibited retesting, believing that would be unfair to those who completed the exams within the allotted time.

I have argued that education is not a race. In a race, every runner has an equal distance to run. A race is inherently competitive. Runners come from different backgrounds, they have different coaches and training, and they have different attitudes about the race. They are given equal distances to run to clearly set each runner apart. Races are always unfair because each runner is not given what he needs to win.

Timed examinations and such other devices treat education in these competitive terms, that students are somehow racing each other to the finish line. Sure, there are friendly competitions for higher scores, which incentivize those students with competitive spirits. Yes, there is competition within an educational institution's system of rules and procedures (e.g., admissions.) In the classroom, however, each student is there to learn for their sake, to obtain a degree for themselves, and to further their self-interests.

If you want to be fair, help people to the extent that they are able to get where they need to be. Fight for fairness. Fight equality.