Whose Stories are Told and Whose Remain in the Margins?
Whose Stories are Told and Whose Remain in the Margin?
Alex Martinez
January 22, 2023
After reviewing week six and the definition of a marginalized person, which can be defined as, "a person on the margins of a situation or group has very little power, importance, or influence on the fringes." A marginalized person lacks power, importance, or influence because of the way they identify in society. A very bland example of a marginalized person would be a very poor person in a society of the very wealthy. This person is marginalized because of their economic status being less than those around them this gives them a lower stance in society.
A marginalized person is not always between the rich and the poor but rather other circumstances that have less opportunity than other groups. A large example of this is between white and minority students as sometimes being a white American lead to more opportunities for power and influence while as sometimes being a minority or a person of color does not have the same opportunities. This is seen in the classroom which is a problem for the history of America. During the Reconstruction after the Civil War there were many actions by white Americans that lead to the lesser opportunities for African Americans to earn an equal education. However, from our history classes we are taught such things that have happened, but we never get to hear the stories of those who were oppressed. We somewhat know that Abe Lincoln our 16th president helped start the freedom of slaves, but we never quite hear the stories of those who were former slaves.
After describing these issues, we can see that often times the stories that are told and the history that is past on is usually of those who hold power to begin with and have a certain influence. However, the stories and history that often goes untold are those that are marginalized. This is why as future teachers we should not let students fall in the cracks of marginalization and give ample opportunity to create and carry their own history regardless of any societal factors that may contribute to marginalization.
Hi Alex, I enjoyed reading your blog post. I agree with what you said about how commonly people think of marginalized individuals as people with lower economic status, but that marginalized individuals are other groups as well. You talked about white students and minority students and their difference they receive in opportunities, but never specified what you meant by minority students. As you proceeded, you discussed the history around the civil war and slavery, so I assume you were talking about racial minorities. Do you feel that other marginalized groups like LGBTQIA+, religious minority, and people with disabilities face similar experiences in the classroom? As a future teacher, do you have any kind of plan for how you intend on creating a space in your classroom that prevents students from falling through the cracks of marginalization and embracing their own history? I am excited to hear your thoughts and ideas!
ReplyDeleteHey Sarah, thank you for you comment on my blog. I did mean racial minorities in my blog that is what I meant by minority. To answer your question, yes I do believe there are other marginalized groups such as the ones you have listed. Also as a future teacher my ideas to not let students fall through the cracks are to fully communicate and make things known in the classroom that usually are not talked about as well as letting every student know that I am there for them and that they are all important.
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