I love receiving an envelope. There’s a sense of mystery and excitement when you are handed an envelope. It amazes me that something so small can hold something incredible with so much potential. You never know what you will find when you tear that seal off and look into that small space. Envelopes can hold pieces of optimism such as acceptance letters or they can hold disappointment e.g. those ever so depressing bank statements. You never know whether that envelope is going to make or break your day. On Tuesday, during my workshop, that envelope brought me hope; It contained several items with purpose.

As part of my course, I participate in workshop style classes which put our team work skills to the test. I was fortunate to be in group two (the group which received the second best set of resources inside their envelope). The aim of the workshop was to invent something using the materials in our envelope to create a resource to help a new student to the University of Dundee. Groups three and four had fewer items than groups one and two, making the task more difficult for them. Inside my group’s envelope was: post it notes, pens, pencils, paper clips, crocodile clips, coloured paper, scissors, two smaller envelopes, blue tack, sellotape and elastic bands. Within two minutes we had agreed on an idea- a survival kit for a university fresher containing various essentials for starting uni life.

We used the paper to make a tray with a handle to place the items in and sellotaped it together. As we had some extra paper, we made some flashcards for the student to use when it comes to making revision notes. Meanwhile, a few of us made the other parts of the kit including a shopping list and a to do list and using blue tack stuck a pen onto each of these lists. It can be hard to remember what you need to be doing and when at uni with so much going on especially during the first few weeks. This is why we created the to do list. We wrote down various tips for surviving at university on the pieces of paper such as “Hand your work in on time”, “Join clubs and societies to make new friends” and “Make a list before going shopping”. Additionally, we thought it would be nice for the student to have something to read before they get started at uni so we composed a welcome letter and put it in one of the smaller envelopes. Without a doubt, for many students, university is a huge change and they begin to miss home. Therefore, we agreed that the other envelope could be used to send a letter home to keep the student’s family updated on how they are doing. Finally, we created a contents page for the tray so the student could easily see what was in it. We also included a list of any other essentials the student may need such as drawing pins for putting up their timetable and photos, clothes hangers and a diary to write down their work deadlines and lecture times/locations.

During the task, Carrie came over to our group quite a lot. She encouraged us and told us that it was very obvious that we were training to be teachers with our organisational skills and love for stationery. Carrie continued to give us encouragement and told us she liked our idea. We noticed that Carrie was spending less time with groups three and four but we didn’t think much of it and just thought their ideas weren’t as interesting as ours. At one point, group three asked us if they could have one of our pens. We decided that they could considering we had several pens and didn’t expect anything back. We later discovered that this was because they had less resources than us. We noticed that during group four’s presentation of their idea, Carrie seemed bored and was looking out the window and checking the time. This seemed quite unfair on them but we still didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until all the groups had presented their ideas that I realised that each group had been given a different amount of materials and then I started to realise the point of the task.

When it came to scoring each group, Carrie awarded the highest amount of points to group one who had the most materials. We thought that our idea was just as good as theirs and gave ourselves an 8 out of 10, however, to our surprise Carrie disagreed and gave us a 6. Group four received a very nasty 2 points. We were surprised at how badly they had done. Personally, I felt it was unfair because groups three and four had tried their best with the resources they were given.

Carrie then revealed to us that the workshop had been set up and the scores had been decided before we even entered the room. The main lesson of the workshop was that in the classroom we are going to have children from different backgrounds with different resources. Some children will come from a good background where they can get help if it is required whereas other children may come from poorer backgrounds in which they can afford to get additional help. Some children will come into the classroom with top branded stationary whilst others will have poorer quality materials or maybe even none. Therefore, it is crucial that all students have access to equal resources and opportunities so that the classroom is a fair environment for everyone. By having equal opportunities for all pupils, those from poorer backgrounds are able to achieve the same things as those more fortunate. This is so important for a child’s wellbeing as they will feel more accepted for who they are in a diverse classroom where each student is treated equally and has the same chances as the others to achieve their potential.

Even though I wasn’t in the groups with fewer materials, this workshop gave me an insight into how to relate to those who don’t have as much and be willing to help them wherever possible e.g. giving the pen to group three. It also showed me the importance of giving pupils equal opportunities as I could see the disappointment and effect that rejection from the teacher can cause. No pupil deserves to feel the way groups three and four felt. Each pupil needs feel comfortable in the classroom so they can enjoy learning and do their best. They need to feel accepted by the others in their class as well as their teacher as their minds and behaviour are moulded by these early experiences. We as teachers need to ensure that the classroom is a place of equality and acceptance! No pupil should be left behind!