What marginality means

Neha Pradhan Arora

About four years ago, I was working at a CBSE school in the national capital region and was asked to teach social science to grade 8. By training, I am a social worker and a teacher and so although teaching history and geography was interesting for me, it did demand a good deal of preparation – not just in content but also in methodology, because I had struggled with studying social science as a student in school. I knew that most students found social science boring and beset only with rote learning of names, dates and the like. Throughout the year, I brought in other sources of text, audio-visual resources, exercises and games to make the concepts relevant to the students and the learning skill-based. Towards the end of the year, we had to study the social political life in chapters 7 and 8 which dealt with marginalization. The two chapters talk about marginalization and specifically two groups which face the same – adivasis and Muslims. It also gives some other examples and constitutional provisions for the same.

When I read the unit, I knew that I wanted my students to experience marginalization, before they began to learn the concept and facts about the situation. All the students in my class (boys and girls) were from upper middle class families with privileges which made it difficult for them to truly understand marginalization and the subsequent discrimination in society. They may have experienced being left out of a peer group, being excluded in class but needed to make the connection between their own experience and that of groups in society. Since it was the end of the year, time constraint was a reality. We decided not to include the unit in the final assessment but I was determined to make it a meaningful point of learning.

I decided to adapt a tool that I had experienced (and used) in my practice as an educator working with youth leaders from low-income communities. Called the ‘power walk’ or the ‘privilege walk’, this tool is used to help participants become aware of privileges that they may have and the advantage that such a situation gives them over others. In western countries, privileges and situations of race, skin colour, gender, sexual orientation and class are examined. I worked to adapt it to teenagers in the social and cultural context of India. Given below is my adaptation of the tool and the Unit Plan for 3 periods –

Period – 1 and 2 (double): Power Walk with discussion and reflective expression
The Power Walk is an exercise which creates an experience for the students. This experience enables them to look at life situations from the perspective of the ‘other’. It brings to light, issues of power, access to resources and opportunities while physically taking individuals to the centre or keeping them on the margins of society.

Purpose/Objectives
• To be able to think from another perspective.
• To identify the visible and invisible divisions in society.
• To realize how these divisions impact access and power.
• To observe and experience marginalization.

Resources required
A large space – indoor or outdoor.
Paper slips with characters written on them (to be distributed).
Situations to be read out (by facilitator).

Time required – 2 periods

Instructions (before the exercise)

• Divide the students into pairs.
• Make the pairs line up towards one end of the space (not right at the end).
• Give each pair a character. All the characters are 13-16 year olds. The students must be encouraged to ‘become’ the character by thinking of the reality of their character.
• As each situation is read out, the pair must decide if the situation holds true for them. If it does, they could take one step forward. If it doesn’t, they may stay where they are or move backward depending on the possibility of that situation occurring in their life.
• Encourage them to discuss the situation within the pair, before deciding on their movement. Try to instill a sense of seriousness and sensitivity to the exercise.

Characters
1. Boy who studies in a government school in Delhi.
2. Girl who studies in a government school in Delhi.
3. Son of a CEO in Mumbai.
4. Daughter of a doctor in Bangalore.
5. Dalit boy in a village.
6. Muslim girl in a village.
7. Tribal girl who plays football.
8. Tribal boy who loves dance.
9. Christian boy in a village.
10. Illiterate boy belonging to a scheduled caste in a village.
11. Illiterate girl belonging to a scheduled caste in Delhi.
12. Daughter of a teacher (single mother).
13. Visually impaired son of an IPS officer.
14. Mentally-challenged daughter of a businessman.
15. Son of a farmer.

Situations
1. I go to school.
2. I get pocket money.
3. I get nutritious and delicious food, mostly of my choice.
4. I get gifts and shop when I want.
5. I can choose my own friends.
6. I can go out for a movie with my friends.
7. I have the best resources to support my education – books, internet, laptop, ipad and tutors.
8. I go on holidays with my family – national and international.
9. I receive good quality health care – no matter how expensive it is.
10. I am taught the way I can learn.
11. I can walk without fear in my surroundings.
12. I will study further.
13. I will choose my stream of study and go to an excellent institution.
14. I can dare to dream and chase my dreams – with support from my family.
15. I will work by choice to support myself not because it is the need of my family.
16. I can move to any part of the country and live by myself.
17. I am confident of being an independent person.
18. I will marry when I am ready, the person of my choice.

Reflection questions for discussion after the exercise

• Does the room/space look the same? What is different?
• Why do you think this has happened?
• Ask each pair to reveal their thinking and share what they felt as they responded to the situations and what they feel now in their current position.
• What are the possible causes for these differences – are they based in the individual or in the way the individual is perceived and treated by the others around them?
• Can this situation be corrected? What can be done to correct this situation?

Discussion guidelines

1. Words that may be used or shared: Discriminated, frustrated, helpless, unfair, marginalized, pushed to the sides, not important, neglected.
2. Speak about the divisions in society – the groups that exist – on the lines of gender, caste, religion, ethnicity, economic status and location – and the discrimination that ensues.
3. Introduce the concept of marginalization and how it is manifested in our society today, for these and other groups.

The following reflective questions were given to the students to express (in writing) their perspective and learning after the discussion –
Q1 – What was your character? Where were you placed in society? What did you feel about your position?
Q2 – What according to you is ‘marginalization’?
Q3 – Name at least four groups of people which are marginalized in India.

Period 3
The last class in the unit consisted of a short PPT which shared data about marginalized groups based on gender, religion, caste, tribe, class and ability; to reinforce the fact that factors like gender, religion, caste, ability and class are connected and often occur in combinations that compound the problem of marginalization. The chapters in the book were given to the students as reading material with a set of questions to do –

For any one of the identified groups, answer the following questions:
a) Why would you call this group marginalized? You could give data and examples to supplement your answer.
b) Identify two possible reasons for this marginalization.
c) Name and explain two government interventions (laws, policies, programmes) which seek to reduce or remove this marginalization.

The unit brought with it mixed responses. For many students, the exercise was thought-provoking and an eye-opener. They were able to imagine what a child in a different situation experiences in what is often considered a normal experience of their adolescence. For those who were unable to imagine this, the discussion made them question their own awareness of the world around them. For some students who found resonance with some characters, it was a personal experience. What emerged at the end was an experience that made them live, observe and become aware of groups that get left out, that get pushed to the margins and, as a result, do not have the same kind of life as we think everyone does.

I have since, used this tool in further adapted versions with young leaders in schools and with teachers.

Sometimes the characters and the situations have changed based on the regional context of the learner group. I have changed the characters to say ‘Child of…’ and then asked at the end if the response would have changed had it been a boy or girl. Sometimes the situations have changed based on relevance.

Every time, the learning that emerges is one of awareness of the world around. It leads to emotional sharing. It leads to questioning. It leads to disagreements. It leads to questions about justice and equality and responsibility. It leads to anger at the self, at others. It leads to an awareness of one’s own privileges and why certain groups need the support they do. It leads to a deeper understanding of differences and what they can lead to. It also leads to an awareness of one’s own notions, biases and assumptions of others.

What is critical for me, as the facilitator, is to be able to talk about all groups without personal biases. To not make it a shaming exercise or an exercise that leads to deeper divisions, but which is objective yet sensitive to the reality that exists in the group and in the world outside. It requires research and preparation, an open mind and an empathic attitude. Not charitable, not pitiful, not condescending, not biased.

Only then does it nurture in the students, the ability to step out of their own lives and experience what it feels like to walk in someone else’s shoes. Only then does it help them understand what marginalization means.

The author has been working as an educator for over 15 years towards the creation of learning communities that are connected, empowered, inclusive and filled with joy and creativity. She believes this can happen through meaningful learning experiences and connected relationships, within these communities. She can be reached at neha7779@gmail.com for resources, trainings, learning programmes or a good enriching discussion!