At Tuesday’s workshop, we were divided into five groups and given a task to create a useful resource for students. Each group received an envelope of resources to help them complete the task. My group had an envelope full of paper, pens, elastic bands, envelopes, post it notes and much more. As we began the task, my group came up with an idea quickly and began making our resource. We had so many pieces of equipment to help us create the resource yet we only used paper and pens. As each group explained their resource, our group was continuously praised and we received positive feedback for our ideas. However, other groups were questioned on their resource and received little or no praise for their ideas. We were then rated out of ten by our lecturer and my group received the highest mark and other groups received ratings as low as a half mark.

Throughout this task I was very unaware of the mistreatment and inequality in the room. I was so focused on the amount of resources in our envelope that I had not to think about the other groups. It was not until I looked around the room near the end of the task that I realised every other group had limited resources to help them. This showed me how oblivious I was to others in the room as I was focused on the privileges I had. At the end of the task I noticed the stress caused to the other groups due to not only their lack of resources, but also the lack of support they received. As the lecturer showed no enthusiasm or positivity towards these groups, they felt demotivated. From this workshop, it became clear to me that some children do not have the same support or resources as others which ultimately affects their learning and their ability to reach their full potential. The inequalities in the wider community can also affect children as they may lack support and resources due to deprivation. Although each child should be given the same opportunities and treated the same, it is also key to remember some children may need more support than others.

Overall, the workshop showed me that in my profession as a teacher, equality is key to develop each child’s learning and to be aware of every individual’s needs. It is important to always create a positive atmosphere in the classroom and act as a motivator for each child to learn. This is not only the structural inequalities in the classroom, but in the wider community.