September | 2016 | My Teacher Training Journey

This workshop was one of my first therefore I was apprehensive about what to expect. Not long after we had sat down we were back up again and split into groups; I was in group 3. Each group was given an envelope with materials in it and we were told to make a product for a university student. I thought to myself, I’ve done this before, it’s just another team building exercise, nothing new. Oh I was wrong….

Each group was asked to present a brief to the class of what they were going to make and explain the resources they were given. I decided to take the plunge and present my group’s brief to the class; a scary but beneficial move. As my confidence grew throughout the talk I was glad I did it.

After all the groups had presented it came to light that two groups (1&2) had far more resources than the remaining groups (3&4). I did begin to wonder why…Until I realised we only had 15 minutes left to create something exciting out of 3 bits of paper, some blue tac and a pen!

We knew we weren’t doing well, we could feel the disappointment of our lecturer. While other groups received praise we went unnoticed and began to loose motivation. We observed group 1 receive encouragement and positive comments on their wide variety of materials while group 4 were discouraged and told they were limited in what they could achieve. After a frantic 15 minutes the exercise came to an end and it was time to present our masterpieces.

Group 1 & 2 received smiles, attention and positive comments about their projects while 3&4 received the opposite. After my group had presented we were simply told to sit down with no feedback. It then came to group 4 who weren’t even given attention, never mind feedback! Our lecturer was checking her watching and gazing out the window throughout their whole presentation.

Anyways ; Surprise, surprise, group 1 were the winners.

It was obvious by this point it was deliberate the way the groups had been treated and the resources they were given. It was to teach us about inequality in todays society and how it can feel when you are in direct competition with those who have so much more than you. It was also to demonstrate how important and valuable encouragement can be. I found myself thankful I was in one of the disadvantaged groups, I was able to experience and reflect on how this felt first hand. I realised; We’re university students and we still got grumpy and a little upset at the way we are treated for that hour workshop; therefore its hard to imagine how a child who faces that everyday must feel.

This workshop taught me a valuable lesson that I will carry for the rest of my Career. Inequality, in most cases, reduces motivation to achieve yet motivation is key to escaping inequality. Therefore by doing your best to treat everyone equally this motivation could be increased. This rule is extremely important in the class room. No matter the child’s background I will strive to ensure every child has the motivation to achieve; whatever this may mean for them as an individual.

My inspiration to become a teacher comes from a common answer many students will give you- My time at primary school.

Before I begin you should know, I come from a small primary school, very small. My year had 10 pupils – 4 boys and 6 girls. This meant on a daily basis I built strong relationships with my teachers throughout my time at school. I looked up to them and knew from a very young age I wanted to be just like them (sounds cliché I know). At that age they were my biggest role models and helped to develop my kind hearted and patient nature I have with children.

On a one to one basis my primary 6/7 teacher in particular helped me closely in building my confidence before transitioning into secondary school. Six years later when I reflect on this time I realise the impact she had on my life; the impact I am excited to have on others.

After finding my interest in teaching I began to take it more seriously. My little brother was born when I was 5 and I have always had an extremely close relationship with him. I was at an age where I could watch him learn new things and I became excited when I was part of that learning process. Whether he liked it or not he became my own little student in my own little class. I loved helping him with his homework from p1 right through to p7 and showing him creative ways of remembering things. Even though I had just learnt many of the things I was teaching him I found a love for sharing my knowledge. Now, as he begins secondary school and I start my 1^st year in teacher education I understand the impact I had on his learning journey and I am assured this is what I want to do.

So there you have it. To be honest, there are far too many reasons why I want to do this. All I know is nothing compared to the exciting idea of becoming a teacher and I can’t wait to get started.