marginalized stories

The majority of well-intentioned women and men who write history do so from their own point of view, regardless of how unbiased they try to be, which is true despite their education. No matter how thorough we strive to be, there will always be someone, some group, that is overlooked or marginalized when documenting history. When archival collections are put together, a similar issue might arise because there is always more material to offer than can ever be included, and the archive only offers a portion of the whole. The white, Western world, particularly the history and experiences of the North American and European continents, is sometimes the subject of academic resources. The histories, experiences, and experiences of other groups (LGBTQ, disabled, etc.) are either marginalized or just lightly touched upon.We can better relate to people by using records. We can witness challenges and victories, experience the world from another person's perspective, and learn new things about many countries and cultures thanks to the historical accounts they provide. Through records, we can go to other eras and locations, interact with interesting individuals, and expand on our personal experiences and worldview. The elements range from moving to entertaining to making us wonder how we've come this far as a culture in certain instances. It is vital for society and schooling to display marginalized stories and important people in history of all ethnic groups to show every perspective and aspect of experiences from our past. By doing this it gives a better sense of equality shared.


Comments

  1. Hello Megan,
    Starting off, I would like to say your introductory sentence really caught my eye. I agree with your statement that no matter how thorough we strive to be, there will always be someone, some group, that is overlooked or marginalized when documenting history. I also agree that us humans better respond to records showing. We can relive the experiences of the records, and further teach our newer generations of the past misfortunes. It is very important for adults, children, and everything in between to understand our past to make sure it doesn't happen in our future. As I grow to understand this world we live in, I am starting to get a better feel of the people who don't think marginalized students need more. These people are the ones that need to be taught a lesson about the past of schooling and how it should be done correctly instead of discrimination and biased feelings.

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  2. Hi Megan,
    I like that you pointed out the aspect of bias, I wonder what it would look like, when writing historical accounts, to get people from each side of the story. I know that may not be possible now, but it would not be a bad idea to exclude biases from occurring, and maybe that can be implemented in today's history that way we do teach a full picture. We could always attempt to cross-reference historical accounts of the western world to accounts from the same time from the perspective of the other side/group. I think knowing a full picture is important so that these biases are not carried on to future generations. Knowing other people's perspectives and experiences allows us to understand and empathize with a group we might not have had the opportunity to learn about. I think as teachers if we did teach the entire story, we would give future students that ability to take into the world. How would you display and teach about marginalized groups in your classroom? Are there any stories you feel passionately about that have been overlooked?

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  3. Hey Megan,
    I love your point about how bias remains even after we try to write in a neutral way. As you pointed out, this is nearly impossible. I do think it is a great idea to reference primary sources as one way to try and give voices back to individuals or groups who are marginalized. Unfortunately with this solution, primary sources need to be available from all different groups in that era or the bias will remain all the same. I also agree with your statement that is impossible to not one group, and think that as future educators we should do our best to be as thorough as possible.

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  4. Hello Megan!
    Your blog leads me to consider the idea that history itself may be our issue. Are we simply only recording or paying attention to the perspectives that are more desirable during that time? If this is true, I am thinking that somewhere or sometime in the future our historical records will reflect a more accepting and mindful population. For example, say that an openly gay man in 1990 witnessed some sort of event, would his recollection of the event be considered worthy because of his sexual preference? I am thinking that our world as a whole is more accepting of gay men, but nonetheless, would we be able to grasp hold of this recollection if it was intentionally never recovered?
    My thoughts on the matter may be strange or possibly too deep, but your thoughts on the idea inspired my own thoughts. Regardless, I agree that it's imperative that we as teachers try our best to consider any sort of marginalized perspectives and what that means for our students. I agree that this may always occur, but it's important to keep a look out for it and try to prevent such from happening as much as possible.

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