For our first Values: Self society and the Professions seminar, we were separated into different groups. Our lecturer allocated each group a different package containing various resources/stationary. Our task was to create something, (using only the resources our own team were given) based on the idea it would be used by a Year 1 MA Education student, like ourselves.

My group was extremely fortunate! We had a large variety of materials that would be useful for our creation, {pens, paper, post-its, rubber bands, envelopes, erasers, etc.}. As a group, we collectively came up with different ideas and opinions, all of which reflected our own personal experiences as a student so far. After discussing, we soon realised that each person’s ideas had a common factor; having great difficulties understanding the timetable and keeping up with all the tasks we had been assigned. Our plan was to come up with a concept that would simplify these problems for a first-year student and so we decided to create our own “Personalised Planner”. This consisted of a timetable including all three modules, a map of the Dundee University Campus with a colour coded key chart to make it easier to understand and some post-it notes to write down any reminders or last-minute updates to the modules or course.

Our team worked extremely well together by communicating with each other effectively and being open to others suggestions. We found this workshop enjoyable and reasonably straight-forward. We were praised from the lecturer throughout the duration of the task for our efforts, whilst receiving the offer of any help.

We were the first to present, each taking it in turn to explain to the others the reasoning behind our work. However, as the presentations carried on, the other groups didn’t quite get the same reaction! Our class all had the same ideas and opinions with a similar outcome, yet they didn’t receive the same recognition as we had. It soon became apparent that the rest of the class were not as fortunate to receive as many resources as we had and were at an extreme disadvantage compared to us.

When it came to our lecturer giving us scores out of 10, my group received the highest mark and the mark for those that followed decreased every time. Despite this, the rest of the class did not shy away in reassuring the lecturer of how much effort they put into the task considering the fact they did not have the same amount of resources as we did. I had been totally oblivious to everyone else’s situation other than myself and my teams and can admit I felt slightly ashamed.

As a class, we discussed how this is a recurring issue in our modern society. While we may sometimes tend to overlook the misfortunes of others, in our professions, (Education, Social Work, CLD), it is vital not to.

Every child deserves the same provided attention and opportunities regardless of their background. As future teachers, it is our job to recognise those who may need additional support instead of overlooking them.

19/09/17