The values workshop I attended last week was deliberately structured into groups who were given more resources than others. This had an emotional impact on the unfortunate groups who were given less resources as they began to feel sad and wanted to give up. Derek deliberately gave no encouragement to these groups and this resulted in them feeling neglected. In the workshop, group 1 and 2 were given a lot of resources therefore meaning they had more options to be creative with the task given. Derek gave both these groups lots of encouragement and complimented their ideas and work which made them feel pleased and proud of their work.
This workshop made me think about the different backgrounds and opportunities people come from and are given. In education, some children are more fortunate than others with the support their families give them. This therefore reinforced the idea to me that a teacher needs to be equal to all pupils and should show no favouritism in their classroom as this could negatively affect the students as it could lead to lack of confidence in their work.

For me, helping children to achieve their potential is an exceptional thing. This is the critical reason for my choice of primary teaching as a career as I believe that educators fulfil an essential role in young people’s lives. Having benefited from a fulfilling education myself, I am well aware of the impact of an inspirational teacher in creating a desire to learn and instilling knowledge and skills which will be valuable throughout life. Hopefully, as an enthusiastic, empathetic, well organised person, I have the ability and qualities to learn to become this type of teacher. I am interested in understanding child development, particularly how children all have individual needs and require support socially and personally, not just academically. It is also extremely rewarding to see a pupil’s sense of achievement when they complete a piece of work or grasp a concept, and knowing that I have helped that to happen. I am excited by the prospect of playing a positive role in shaping children’s lives. Teaching is an extremely rewarding job, yet I understand the challenges involved and as an enthusiastic, hard-working student.