Youth's personal and social identities affect how our young people see themselves, how they are perceived by educators and school peers, how they engage with schooling, and how they produce knowledge about everyday experiences. Social exclusion based on shared identities disproportionately affects youth whose "otherness" is most apparent. If we are to equip all learners with the tools to function in contemporary society, we must bring a critical understanding to youth marginality and resistance...and then act upon it. To do this we need to acknowledge both their social and personal identities, listen attentively to their voices, seek to address unique needs associated with social location, and understand the sources of their resistance or protest. Most of all we need to unfailingly recognize the inherent potential in each learner and ever strive to see this potential fully realized. (Contains 12 endnotes.)