During our first values workshop we completed a task that would really open our eyes to inequality and its effects. We were split into five small groups and given an envelope filled with resources with which we had to make a resource that would help a new university student. My group set off with our resources and decided we would make parking tickets. We used many bits of paper and made them colorful. Half way through the task we had to present our idea so far to the rest of the groups, our lecturer loved our idea and we felt great. We continued on and finished our resource ready to show the rest of the class. Our group presented first and got a score of 9/10 which we were very happy with. The other groups were given worse scores than us and none to very little feedback- good or bad- about the resource they had made.
During our time making the resource my group had not noticed the lack of resources the other groups had compared to us. I was so engrossed in what I had I did not have a chance to look around at the other groups envelopes. At the end of the task when our lecturer Brenda explained to us that some groups has less than others it was then I looked around and realised what we had compared to them. This really struck my group as we felt ashamed we hadn’t realised before that the other groups had less than us. Not only did the other groups have less than us but they received no motivation which really effected their mood during the task.
This opened our eyes to the fact that children with less resources than others, whether its in or out of the classroom, are at a real disadvantage. They are a lot less motivated which then in turn effects their learning. It is our job as teachers to close this gap in equality in our classroom and make sure all the children in our care are given the same chance to that they can all succeed. However equality does not just mean all children getting exactly the same support and resources. It is about them receiving the level of support that they need, and that is the main message I took away from this workshop.
