Recently we undertook a challenge in which we were given a pack of resources as a group and asked to create something which could help a student in their first week at university. Unbeknown to the groups at the time, we were actually part of a much more important lesson than just a group work task.
Within Education, teachers will have to face some difficult situations such as deprivation and handle it with a professionalism and enthusiasm. This exercise demonstrated this well as each group’s packs were unequal in materials and some were very limited in what could be used. I was in a group with very limited materials and at first I was very confused as to why this was. Remaining positive, we decided to do the best we could with what we were given and ended up creating a useful idea of a map/board game of the “must do list” on campus. Throughout the process of creating our map, however, other groups were receiving biscuits and lots of praise whilst our group and one other were being ignored and deprived of praise and approval.When it came to presenting our ideas, it was starting to become apparent that this was more that just a group task as our task leader would not pay attention to our idea and came across as uninterested. We then realised it was actually an exercise to demonstrate deprivation and inequality within schools and communities and how we would react to it ourselves.
Upon reflection I think that the task was extremely useful and valuable and as a group we dealt with it well. It taught me that children will come from all kinds of backgrounds and as a teacher, it will be my responsibility to ensure that although there may be a divide out of school, in the classroom all the pupils are presented with equal opportunities and support. It also showed me that I will have to show resilience and commitment to my career choice by having to overcome challenges that are sometimes out of my own hands by supporting children to the best of my ability and inspiring them to remain positive whatever their situation may be.
