The egg drop activity was symbolic of the advantages and disadvantages of different groups of people. From living in different communities, to different socioeconomic status, to different races and ethnicities, different groups of people have different opportunities. The class was split into different groups; some groups had more than enough supplies to successfully protect their eggs while other groups worked with the bare minimum. The group that had plentiful supplies didn't really have to worry about anything. They were really laid-back and easy going; they had no doubts that their egg would survive. They even enjoyed eating some of their extra marshmallows. But the group with the least amount of supplies had to work really hard just to make something that might possibly help, but they really didn't have much confidence in what they had put so much hard work into.
This activity really illustrates that gaps between social classes or different groups of people. Some people have plenty of resources and barely need to stress about anything and still know that it's going to work out. But other people have to work hard every step of the way and still have trouble succeeding with the resources or opportunities that they have (or rather the lack thereof). Basing my concluding off of this activity, I would have to say that access plays a very strong role in someone's success. Hard work is also an important aspect of achievements, but without certain opportunities it doesn't matter how hard you work, you could still get nowhere. I agree that working hard is extremely important, but for some people, they work as hard as they can and still not be presented with the opportunities that other people get. It is only when hard work meets opportunity that success can follow.
I spent most of my time worrying about the difference between access and ability. But I never really thought about the difficulties of a person who works extremely hard and perhaps has neither of these. That seems to be where youth workers would need to come into play, to ensure that hard work is repaid with some kind of achievement.
ReplyDeleteHandwork +opportunity = success. Nice equation that is presented, and a necessary one for achievements. Handwork is on the individual, opportunity is on society.
ReplyDeleteI really like how this blog is present.
After reading your post, I completely agree with you here. Some students could have no access and lose out on the ability because they are working harder to succeed. After my group had the budget cut during the activity, I lost some of my confidence for my egg to survive just because we were finished with the final project and had to give away our most valuable pieces to create the perfect egg drop. As youth workers, we need to help our youth keep their most valuable assets from being taken away due to budget cuts in our school systems.
ReplyDeleteThis sentence really resonated with me: "It is only when hard work meets opportunity that success can follow." It makes me wonder, is opportunity enough? Brittany-Ann adds another layer when she talks about youth workers/organizations being attentive to systematic issues like budget cuts. In what ways might youth and youth workers together affect positive social change?
ReplyDelete