The Importance Of The Hierarchal Nature Of Society

This lesson plan was designed with the intention to make students aware of the hierarchal nature of society, and get them to reflect on their position in said structure. Without the former, the latter cannot be realized, for to acknowledge one’s position on a scale of sorts, they must first acknowledge that a scale exists. The issue with getting students to recognize society’s order of classification is the notion that those with privileged positions on the gamut of social statuses refuse to acknowledge or concede their privileges (McIntosh, 1990). Because by confessing an advantaged state, the state itself becomes problematized. In other words, admitting an advantage over someone else is to confess the perpetuation of a hierarchal order. For without people taking advantage of others there would be no advantaged or disadvantaged. In addition, by being cognizant of their position in society, the positions themselves become less desirable. The reason being, that one of the principal privileges that one can enjoy is the ability to not have to think about one’s advantages over others, by being the dominant, or ‘normal’ in a given society. And although McIntosh (1990)

If one were to interview any of the children that this lesson plan targeted, as I had the opportunity to do, and ask them to talk about any of the multiplicity of cultures that exist within Outremont, the answers they would be given would be shockingly revealing. Important historical figures are predominantly white men, as are the authors of the textbooks the children are exposed to, not to mention the street names and monuments. In fact, not knowing the demographics of the area, one could easily conclude that Outremont, and Montreal in general, consists and has consisted solely of white French males, with a few white English males added for