Exercise 4: Differences between children and groups

Duration: 45 minutes

The goal of this exercise:

• to show how socioeconomic differences are reflected in teaching and learning as well as how they affect the climate and life at school.
• to engage in active discussion with students about the differences among social groups in the classroom in terms of school success and socioeconomic status.

Teaching methods:

• discussion
• case study
• individual work
• writing
• critical analysis of the text

Instructions for the teacher:

• Before you start, be ready to face any possible incidents that could go wrong while discussing this topic.
• Get ready for a discussion about a very sensitive topic. Ensure your thorough knowledge of the ethical aspects and conditions of a respectful discussion and the inclusive environment.
• Read the introduction to exercise 4 and take a look at table 1.
• Ask the students the questions to elicit their reflections on this topic (see Questions to elicit student reflections).
• Create a space for student questions and discussion. You may collect questions that students may ask and write them down on a flipchart to be discussed together.
• Summarizing discussion – Try to cover all students’ points of view in brief regarding the issue. Then filter through the main arguments in detail and identify key points.
• Evaluation of exercise – Ask the students to write feedback on the exercise on a piece of paper. As they leave the classroom, they can put their pieces of paper signed or anonymously into the feedback box. Written feedback is part of the system of teacher-student communication (Nicol 2010). Constructive feed¬back is an important ele¬ment of every dis¬cus¬sion in education, and it can provide effective information for learning and teaching. Students can provide feedback to the teacher on the topic. What did they like about the exercise? What did they not like? What did the teacher do to help students feel safe and comfortable during this exercise? What improvements can the teacher make? What would they do differently if they were teaching the class? Students can take approximately 10 minutes to write feedback.

Introduction to Exercise 4 and Story 4

Picture a class in which there are significant differences among groups and children in terms of the socio-economic status of their families and the educational level of their parents. These differences are reflected in the teaching and to some extent affect the overall atmosphere in the classroom. These differences become apparent in the period before Christmas when the children have to draw on paper what they want for Christmas (see table 1).

Take a look at these differences between the first and second groups. Students from the second group have a lower socioeconomic status compared to students from the first group. You can notice the differences in the wishes. There is no need to calculate how much money each “wish” would cost, since the differences are obvious at first glance. Any child could wish for anything, but his or her wishes reflect to some extent his or her position and the socio-economic status of his or her family. The children usually do not want anything that they would be 100 percent sure their parents would not buy. They are aware of their limits, which are affected by several factors. The desire of children is constructed and motivated by family, classmates, the consumer society, the media, and social media. For nine-year-olds, the family likely has the greatest influence. “The family I live in determines the life perspectives I have. The family fundamentally influences our identity, self-concept, desires, and aspirations – what I can do, what I can have, what I am.” This example shows that children wish for what suits their world and their abilities. They create their own wishes, which correspond to the family they live in.
 

Table 1: Wishes for Christmas presents

Source: Vorlíček (2022).

Questions for reflections for students

• Discuss with students whether these differences in wishes could be reflected in teaching and learning?
• How do they affect the climate and life at school?
• Are economic differences among students important in education? 
• Could any child wish for anything?