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.
