Groups, Groups, Groups!
Why are we so awfully fond of them?
The Dairy Calf Club in Wasatch County, 1925
People like to make groups. It’s a human thing. No matter when or where humans have lived, they have gotten together in groups.
Members of a group have something in common. Lots of times they’re all trying to do the similar things. Or they have similar experiences. Sometimes they work together.
Or sometimes we just organize the way we see the world by sticking people into groups—like file folders on a computer! It's just one way of sorting people out.
Groups from Utah history
Here are a few groups from the past that you can learn about:
Prehistoric groups
Indigenous tribes
Learn about groups who have lived here for hundreds of years.
Explorers and trappers
Immigrants
Cornelia Washington, Clara Arreek and Alice Darum--members of the Girl Reserve Club at Whiterocks, 1939.
What groups are you in?
How many can you count?
- Everybody who’s a boy is in a group called “males,” and everybody who’s a girl is in a group called “females.”
- Most people are in a group called a family.
- Kids who are at the same academic level are in a group called a grade.
- People who play a sport together are in a group-- a team.
- All of the people who are from a certain geographic area – like the United States, or Utah, or Salt Lake City, or the Glendale neighborhood – are part of a group too.
- People who have the same religious beliefs may be part of a group called a church, or maybe even part of a smaller group within the church, like a ward or a parish.
- All the people who hold the same political beliefs can be in a group, like Democrats or Republicans.
-
People can be in different ethnic groups or nationalities, like for example Latino/Latina, African American, Bosnian, Korean, Pakistani, Ute, Paiute, or Euro American.
Demetra Club, for Greek girls, 1930s.
- And then there are fan groups: all the people who like Harry Potter or Hannah Montana, for instance.
That’s just a short list of groups! What else can you think of?
The dark side of groups.
Unfortunately, not all groups are fun, and some of them are pretty bad. There are groups of people who come together because they want to break the law, sometimes we call them gangs. There are groups of people at school who are mean to others, and they’re called cliques.
Adults do this too. Sometimes groups have conflicts or one group is cruel to another. This has happened in Utah history! (In world history too! Can you think of examples?)
Bonneville School 8th graders, 1915.
The bright side!
But sometimes groups have been kind to outsiders too. Think of some examples of different groups helping each other.
We all belong to many groups at the same time, and they change as we change. Think about the groups you belong to, and why. You want to make sure that the groups you’re in are positive, that they’re made up of people who will help you in your life, and not hold you back.
Members of the Strollers' Club, SLC, 1905
What groups aren’t you a member of?
You can’t be a member of every group, but it’s great to try to understand other groups and appreciate them. Just because you don’t belong to a group, doesn’t mean the other people in that group are bad. After all, they’re people just like you.
How can you get to know people in a different group from you?