Recently we took part in a resource allocation workshop. Here we were split into 5 groups, each receiving an envelop with resources inside. I was in group 1, which we were first to receive our envelop. Straight away we realised that we had the fullest envelop but didn’t really think much of it. We were then asked to make something which would be useful for a first year student at university, using only the resources we were provided.

My group loved this task as we were giving coloured pens, pencils, coloured card/paper, sticky notes, sellotape, blue tack, more envelops, paper clips etc. We started of by going around the group, each giving our ideas of what we could make. We decided on a pin board which had a timetable on it, a reminder section, a map and an events section. Firstly our tutor got each group to stand up and just explain their ideas. Our tutor seemed very pleased with our idea compared to the rest of the groups, however again, we didn’t really think much of it and just thought it was down to our team work.

We then had to make our idea. Again our team worked really well together and found it easy as we had more than enough resources to make it. Throughout the process of making our idea our tutor kept coming to our table and giving us a lot of praise but again we just put this down to good teamwork and inclusion of everyone in the group. We didn’t really pay attention to what the other teams were making and what resources they had as we just concentrated on getting our idea made. (looking back now we should of noticed that not everyone had enough resources and maybe could of shared the resources we weren’t using or needing out.)

When it came to presenting our ideas, this is when we began to notice that our group was the only ones that had been giving coloured pens and paper and genuinely much more resources to make our ideas. Our tutor gave us so much praise and attention and it made us feel, as a group, that we had done a great job at the task and had really worked well together.As the other groups began to present their ideas we began to realise that the tutor was being really horrible and snidey towards them and not giving them very much attention and no praise at all. This is when as a group we clicked and realised that this was all a fixed task and it wasn’t at all about what we had designed it was about the principle of how sometimes people/children who have everything and need the least amount of help receive all the tutor/teachers attention when really it should be the people/children without.

This task made me really think about how to begin with my group didn’t even really notice that the people around us didn’t have as much as us and weren’t getting the same amount of attention as us. Therefore not realising that this was making the other groups feel as though their ideas weren’t good enough or that they couldn’t do what they were asked to because they didn’t have the resources or the extra support.

This then made me think about this in a classroom setting, in that not every child is going to have all the resources they need, from physical resources like pens and pencils to mental resources like support and encouragement from parents and family. This task has really pointed out to me that it is absolutely vital that I as a teacher make sure that no child, no matter how much or little they have got, is left behind and left feeling like they arent good enough. This may mean that those children with much less will need more support and more attention than those children that have much more, however this is crucial as no child should feel like they arent good enough, especially not at school.