Distributive Justice in the Classroom
Go to Tom Runnacles for (you may need to scroll as the permlink is bloggered) a wonderful post that starts with this story, originally from John Lemon:
- At the beginning of class I ask my students how many of them are in favor of progressive redistribution — taking from those who have a little more and giving it to those who have a little less. About half to 60% of the class stands up (I make them commit to their position by standing up.) I then tell them what I actually was thinking about was the progressive distribution of their grades, taking a few grade points from those who are above the median grade and distributing those extra points to those below the median. (I also propose less severe redistributions that would not put everyone at the median, but still would have the effect of collapsing the grades to the class median.) The immediate reaction is that almost all the students sit down, only one or two students actually remain standing or stand up. Assuming that most of them thought I was originally referring to income (or wealth, not the same thing), I then ask them to explain why they were in favor of income/wealth redistribution but not grade distribution.
And D-Squared has some smart remarks as well.