Equality in the Classroom

Based on my experience in the classroom from the past two weeks, I have come to realise
the importance of equality and unbiased treatment of students in the classroom. For my
fourth year placement I am teaching in a DEIS school or disadvantaged school. This means
that quite a large number of the students are in some way disadvantaged for example their
financial background or possibly some form of special needs. (Citizens Information, 2015). It
is because of this, I needed to ensure I was treating each student with the same level of
respect and fairness as they all deserve. During my research, I found that Karl Marx, a
German sociologist, was very concerned with social class and how it affects different people.
Marx points out that in a capitalist society, the higher class will exploit the lower class for
profit. (Sociology101, 2011). His point is that we should not be living like that, instead we
should see ourselves as equals instead of simply seeing different classes. ‘According to
Marx, in the future capitalism will be supplanted by a society with no divisions between rich
or poor... the economic system will have communal ownership and will lead to a more equal
society than we know at present’. (Giddens, Duneir, Appelbaum, & Carr, 2009, p. 12). This
was what Marx hoped would someday happen; that everyone would be equal and there
would be no divide of any sort. As a teacher, I must remain very conscious of this theory.
Firstly I must remain unbiased when teaching students from different backgrounds. This is
to ensure that you the teacher, are setting a good example for other students on how to
treat those who may seem different in any way. The students may possibly look up to you, a
teacher, and may see you as a role model – providing you act accordingly.
Over the past two weeks, I have tried my very best to promote equality in the classroom.
Firstly when it came to questioning; because I struggled slightly learning all student’s names,
I would simply have the list of names in front of me and I would call them at random when
asking questions or addressing the class. Secondly I was conscious of equality and different
backgrounds when I was working on seating plans so that I wouldn’t divide social classes.
However this was not an easy task and I sought assistance from my co-operating teachers as
they would have known the students for much longer than I have. One way I could promote
more equality in the future would be to possibly include more group work, such as Think-
Pair-share. ‘This approach gives all students the opportunity to have an equal chance at
participating’. (Cox, ND)

Bibliography
Citizens Information. (2015, March 23). Retrieved from citizensinformation.ie:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/the_irish_education_system/measures_to
_address_educational_disadvantage.html

Cox, J. (ND). Teach Hub. Retrieved from www.teachhub.com: http://www.teachhub.com/5-teaching-

strategies-cultivate-classroom-equality

Giddens, A., Duneir, M., Appelbaum, R., & Carr, D. (2009). Introduction To Sociology. New York:
W.W. Norton and Company.

Sociology101 (Director). (2011). Marxist View Of The Role Of Education [Motion Picture].