This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Monday, March 15, 2010
PERIOD 2 - MRS. ELLIOT
Last week and today, we watched the documentary, IN THE EYE OF THE STORM. Please post a reflective comment about the film and make sure to comment on at least one other student's post. Finally, what did you personally take away from the film?
At first I thought that I would not be interested in a social experiment done with third graders, because I thought that it would be really hard to relate because of the time period it was done and the age difference. But that thought quickly went away when I realized what Mrs. Elliot was doing with these third graders. I did not expect the kids to react the way they did so quickly and accept something that seems so ridiculous to us. I thought the way she constructed the experiment was perfect and I think it would be very hard to repeat something like that if it was tried in today’s society.
I took away lots of ideas and opinions from this film. I think that sometimes the best way to show someone or people how it feels to be in a certain situation is to actually put them in that situation. I think the idea of self-reflection really is the key to this social exercise, not just done with the third graders but with adults and teachers alike. You will not truly understand something unless you have experienced it yourself.
I found this video to be really interesting and Mrs. Elliots experiment to be very successful. At first, I did not believe that the experiment would go the way she had planned and I thought the whole thing would be a little too much for third graders to comprehend but it seemed to work very well. I did not expect them to remember the experiment years later but it seemed to have really effected them and helped them to understand the sadness in racism. After watching this film, I realized it is hard to understand something or someone unless you are physically put into their situation and that is what Mrs. Elliot did.
Brian, I agree with your comment that this type of experiment would be hard to conduct today. It would not be accepted in todays society although it is a really great learning experience.
The film was much more interesting than I thought it would be, since it was older and the experiment was conducted with third graders. It was amazing how quickly the children picked up the idea of superiority. To me the idea of genocide was so foreign that it was impossible to imagine how such an event actually occurred, and the film showed me exactly how easy it is for one to happen. I think if I had the opportunity I would like to take part in the exercise because although those few days would be rough it would benefit me in the long run by teaching me to be more respectful of others. I think Mrs. Elliot’s idea was extremely beneficial to the kids she performed the experiment on. When they came back for the reunion it seemed like every person who was there promoted the activity and wished it were more widely used. I disagree with Brian’s comment; I think the exercise would be more accepted today than when Mrs. Elliot began the experiment because now we as a society are more accepting of minorities.
The expiriment Mrs. Elliot did with her third graders is a historic one and she is considered one of few great teachers such as confucious because she was able to relate racism in a room of 8 year olds. In a small town of 800 like this one, racism was very prevalent, especially in the 70s when this expiriment was done. I was most surprised with the comprehension of the students. After expiriencing discrimination based on eye color, they know somewhat how its like dealing with racism. I agree with Sarah with the fact that its hard to understand something if your not physically put into the position such as these third graders where.
I thought this film was very interesting. It really shows how the young of the population are so naive and will almost believe anything. I thought the experiment worked great on the kids and they really took away a positive message and realized how wrong discrimination was.
Devin, I agree that the teacher conducting the experiment was a great teacher. The fact that she was able to convey the message that discrimination is wrong to 3rd graders is amazing.
from this film we watched I realized just how easy it is make someone feel inferior to you based on physical features that don't really matter. Normally I don't think an individual would opress anyone; but if an authoritarian figure allowed you and a group of other people similar to you, to opress and impose your will on other people, unfortunantly I think a vast majority would follow there group and opress the other group.
I agree with your statement that it is impossible to feel and understand someone elses situation unless you have experienced it first hand. This experiment showed in a microcosm society as a whole and how easy it is to manipulate someone to make them feel superior or inferior based on physical features.
I think those third graders in Riceville were very lucky to have had a teacher like Mrs. Elliot. She taught them a lesson on descrimination that they will never forget even when the class reuinted years later, her students remembered what Mrs. Elliot's exercise taught them. After being treated diffently from the other students based soley on eye color, the students learned that no one deserves to be put down and feel less important than anyone else.
Mrs. Elliot was very brave to conduct an exercise like this not only because of the views and opinions of the time but also the risk of psychological harm to her students, especially those who tend to be weaker and shyer. In the end, it turned out to be a huge success for her. The whole time I could only think about my students at karate and how they would handle it. I thought they might end up taking it the wrong way or hating the class but instead it made them smarter and brought them closer together. I think not all teachers are able to do something like this. It is an extremely effective yet dangerous experiment and just like she said, only fully trained teachers should be allowed to do it.
I agree with you Brian. Just like in karate, you can say over and over how deadly a technique is to someone and how careful they should be and you can act tough and say you can take anything, but until you actually feel something like it, you have no idea what you're talking about. Feeling is believing~ Ed Parker
I think that the exercise that MRs. Elliot performed in her third grade class was revolutionary and important. It amazed me that all of the students could respond to it in the way that they did. I think that Mrs. Elliot was very brave and gutsy for trying something like this for the time that she was in. From the discussion when the students were all older I decided that the exercise accomplished its goal, and was affective at that time. I was also amazed by the results of the exercise when it was used with the correctional facility's staff. I had no idea that adults would react in such a simmilar manner as the third graders.
Brian, I agree that it was surprising that the students becams so hostile so quickly. It amazed me just how easily they were convinced to turn against their own friends because of a simple exercise based off of eye color. This just goes to show how impressionable kids are, and just how powerful authority really is.
i completely agree with brian. i knew something intersting happened with the experiment because you were showing it to us but i did not think it would be as intersting and shocking as it was. i thought the kids reacted perfectly to the experiment, if not better then expected. i think that this is a great experiemnt and obviously did wonders for the students it was tested on
I found this video very interesting because of the success of the experiment. I was especially interested to see how Mrs. Elliot could not only convince the kids that the blue eyed kids were better, but that should could convince the kids that the brown eyed people were better the very next day. This showed me the inability of kids to really think for themselves, and how the ideas and thoughts of older people greatly influence kids thoughts. This explains how if a father is a racist, the chances are that his son will also be racist. However, I found it very cool that Mrs. Elliot could erase the prejudice views instilled in these kids minds, and replace them with thoughts of equality and fairness.
I was very impressed by Mrs. Elliot and her method of teaching about racism. I believe that what she taught those third graders from Riceville, Iowa is a lesson that everyone should be taught. The experiment has effected many people and I am truly grateful that Mrs. Elliot was able to teach this topic in a manner that was very effective. From this film I learned a lot about what it is like to be in someone else's shoes. I want to go into the education field some day and found her story very inspirational. I agree with Brian, I could not believe that the children started to turn on eachother so quickly simply because the color of their eyes. It showed me how fast people are willing to put all their opinions aside when told to do something else by an authority figure.
What I personally took away from this film/experiment was the proof of the theory of nurture and the environmental impact on individuals. As seen at the beginning of "Mrs. Elliot," when students were asked what they thought of minorities, they gave extremely ignorant and racist remarks, not understanding that what they were saying was prejudice and hurtful to the minorities. In this respect, these children were taught to be racist, and learned to hate and judge based on skin color and ethnicity just by being brought up around prejudice people. Once Mrs. Elliot put the children on the contrary, they felt the pain that the minorities feel being discriminated against, giving each child a realistic point of view on how racism effects people. I too believe that only by first handedly experiencing the discrimination could the students come to a common conclusion on how it truly affects the "outcasts" and society itself.
while watching the video i tought mrs Elliot was being mean. but as i tought about it she was 100 % right. that was a leason that every kid needs to learn. now days maybe not in the same way as kids before our time but its a key leason in which needs to tought.
I disagree with your reasons that the experiment would be more accepted today because people are less ignorant. i think there are still alot of ignorant people in the world today, the view on them however has changed.
I was surprised that Mrs. Elliot decided to take action in this way after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. I do not think any other third grade teacher would do what she did. I thought that it was a very smart idea on her part. She knew that this exercise would have a long lasting effect on her students. The kids believed everything she had to say, which made them see how bad the minorities were being treated. Because they knew how bad it felt they grew up thinking racism is bad and still think that. This is good not only because they will not be racist, but they will teach their kids not to be racist. I took away the thought of standing up for what you believe in can do great things. Mrs. Elliot thought that something had to be done with racism and these kids so she acted. The kids now think racism is bad and will always think that. Nate, I agree that it was cool how Mrs. Elliot could change the kids view on racism so easily. It was a great thing for her to do and I am glad she did.
Even though Mrs. Elliot's experiment ended up being very successful, I found Mrs. Elliot's exercise very risky. Like the packet said, it could have marred the students psychologically or affected them through the treatment they recieved during the experiment. However,since the students did not have any bad after effects, I agree that the experiment was very worthwhile. In general, I though Mrs. Elliot's experiment was very hands-on, effective, and beneficial. Jake, I agree that the experiment really did have a long lasting effect on the kids. From this experience, they really changed their view(s) on racism.
I really liked that film and I think what Mrs. Elliot did was pretty amazing. The exercise work really well with her third graders and it was amazing to see their reactions to be the upper group or lower group. It was crazy to see that all the third graders pretty much turned into a little society of that time. I think her experiment was a very good idea for that time period. I took away a lot of thoughts from this movie. i am grateful to live in a society where racism is not seen as a problem. I also agree with the way Mrs. Elliot went about the experiment by having the kids live in someone else's shoes for a day.
I agree with Devin and how the students comprehended the experiment was amazing. Something showing just a small case of racism made them understand racism was wrong and that was a thought that stayed with them throughout their lives.
It was amazing on how great of an impact Mrs. Elliot has made on her third grade class. She could have done what the majority of other teachers did, which is lecture her students about racism or explain it to them through writing etc. However, her way was much more efficient because it not only taught them about stereotypes and racism, but she created an environment where her students could actually feel and experience the impact of racism and discrimination. I also think it was great how she conducted this lesson on third graders. This is because younger generations can be easily swayed into actually believing something when told by authority. I don’t think it would be fair to say that the students were too young because it would not have worked for kids above that age.
Brian, i agree with what you are saying on how it would be harder to conduct this experiment today because now schools are more unified with minorities.
I agree with what Jake said on how brave Ms. Elliot was. I thoguht it was bold to attempt this exercise in the town she was in, and with potential psychological harm done on her students. I think she carried out the exercise beautifully, and I was glad that all the students were able to see that blacks and indians were being discriminated against just as unreasonably as they were for their eye color.
I thought that Mrs. Elliot's experiment showed us how racism and discrimination affects not only children, but society in general. When the children were told that they were better than other children for such a silly reason, they not only gained self esteem, they immediately began to treat the "inferiors" differently, even if they had been friends before. I personally thought that the experiment was much more similar to the treatment of Jewish people in by the Nazis than racism in America. What I took away from the film is that many of us would gladly treat others like garbage in order to make ourselves feel superior.
I agree with Brian that you can't really say that you understand another person's hardships unless you walk in their shoes for a while. Though I don't think that this experiment gave any of the students a full understanding of the difficulties of being Black or Indian in society, it gave them an impression.
This experiment was really interesting and one that certainly needed to be done with the times in which they lived. I think this experiment showed those children what it was like to be on the other end of the discrimination that was so common place back then. It was also inspiring to see the courage of Mrs. Elliot. She stood up for what she believed in despite the towns retaliations. Because of her persistence, she gave the children a learning opportunity to change the way people in the community think, because those children would take that experience with them through their lives.
Brian- I agree, it was shocking to see how quickly the children turned on each other.
29 comments:
At first I thought that I would not be interested in a social experiment done with third graders, because I thought that it would be really hard to relate because of the time period it was done and the age difference. But that thought quickly went away when I realized what Mrs. Elliot was doing with these third graders. I did not expect the kids to react the way they did so quickly and accept something that seems so ridiculous to us. I thought the way she constructed the experiment was perfect and I think it would be very hard to repeat something like that if it was tried in today’s society.
I took away lots of ideas and opinions from this film. I think that sometimes the best way to show someone or people how it feels to be in a certain situation is to actually put them in that situation. I think the idea of self-reflection really is the key to this social exercise, not just done with the third graders but with adults and teachers alike. You will not truly understand something unless you have experienced it yourself.
I found this video to be really interesting and Mrs. Elliots experiment to be very successful. At first, I did not believe that the experiment would go the way she had planned and I thought the whole thing would be a little too much for third graders to comprehend but it seemed to work very well. I did not expect them to remember the experiment years later but it seemed to have really effected them and helped them to understand the sadness in racism. After watching this film, I realized it is hard to understand something or someone unless you are physically put into their situation and that is what Mrs. Elliot did.
Brian, I agree with your comment that this type of experiment would be hard to conduct today. It would not be accepted in todays society although it is a really great learning experience.
The film was much more interesting than I thought it would be, since it was older and the experiment was conducted with third graders. It was amazing how quickly the children picked up the idea of superiority. To me the idea of genocide was so foreign that it was impossible to imagine how such an event actually occurred, and the film showed me exactly how easy it is for one to happen. I think if I had the opportunity I would like to take part in the exercise because although those few days would be rough it would benefit me in the long run by teaching me to be more respectful of others. I think Mrs. Elliot’s idea was extremely beneficial to the kids she performed the experiment on. When they came back for the reunion it seemed like every person who was there promoted the activity and wished it were more widely used. I disagree with Brian’s comment; I think the exercise would be more accepted today than when Mrs. Elliot began the experiment because now we as a society are more accepting of minorities.
The expiriment Mrs. Elliot did with her third graders is a historic one and she is considered one of few great teachers such as confucious because she was able to relate racism in a room of 8 year olds. In a small town of 800 like this one, racism was very prevalent, especially in the 70s when this expiriment was done. I was most surprised with the comprehension of the students. After expiriencing discrimination based on eye color, they know somewhat how its like dealing with racism. I agree with Sarah with the fact that its hard to understand something if your not physically put into the position such as these third graders where.
I thought this film was very interesting. It really shows how the young of the population are so naive and will almost believe anything. I thought the experiment worked great on the kids and they really took away a positive message and realized how wrong discrimination was.
Devin,
I agree that the teacher conducting the experiment was a great teacher. The fact that she was able to convey the message that discrimination is wrong to 3rd graders is amazing.
from this film we watched I realized just how easy it is make someone feel inferior to you based on physical features that don't really matter. Normally I don't think an individual would opress anyone; but if an authoritarian figure allowed you and a group of other people similar to you, to opress and impose your will on other people, unfortunantly I think a vast majority would follow there group and opress the other group.
Sarah,
I agree with your statement that it is impossible to feel and understand someone elses situation unless you have experienced it first hand. This experiment showed in a microcosm society as a whole and how easy it is to manipulate someone to make them feel superior or inferior based on physical features.
I think those third graders in Riceville were very lucky to have had a teacher like Mrs. Elliot. She taught them a lesson on descrimination that they will never forget even when the class reuinted years later, her students remembered what Mrs. Elliot's exercise taught them. After being treated diffently from the other students based soley on eye color, the students learned that no one deserves to be put down and feel less important than anyone else.
Kristen, I agree with you that the experiment would be more accepted today because we less ignorant in today's society.
Mrs. Elliot was very brave to conduct an exercise like this not only because of the views and opinions of the time but also the risk of psychological harm to her students, especially those who tend to be weaker and shyer. In the end, it turned out to be a huge success for her. The whole time I could only think about my students at karate and how they would handle it. I thought they might end up taking it the wrong way or hating the class but instead it made them smarter and brought them closer together. I think not all teachers are able to do something like this. It is an extremely effective yet dangerous experiment and just like she said, only fully trained teachers should be allowed to do it.
I agree with you Brian. Just like in karate, you can say over and over how deadly a technique is to someone and how careful they should be and you can act tough and say you can take anything, but until you actually feel something like it, you have no idea what you're talking about. Feeling is believing~ Ed Parker
I think that the exercise that MRs. Elliot performed in her third grade class was revolutionary and important. It amazed me that all of the students could respond to it in the way that they did. I think that Mrs. Elliot was very brave and gutsy for trying something like this for the time that she was in. From the discussion when the students were all older I decided that the exercise accomplished its goal, and was affective at that time. I was also amazed by the results of the exercise when it was used with the correctional facility's staff. I had no idea that adults would react in such a simmilar manner as the third graders.
Brian, I agree that it was surprising that the students becams so hostile so quickly. It amazed me just how easily they were convinced to turn against their own friends because of a simple exercise based off of eye color. This just goes to show how impressionable kids are, and just how powerful authority really is.
i completely agree with brian. i knew something intersting happened with the experiment because you were showing it to us but i did not think it would be as intersting and shocking as it was. i thought the kids reacted perfectly to the experiment, if not better then expected. i think that this is a great experiemnt and obviously did wonders for the students it was tested on
I found this video very interesting because of the success of the experiment. I was especially interested to see how Mrs. Elliot could not only convince the kids that the blue eyed kids were better, but that should could convince the kids that the brown eyed people were better the very next day. This showed me the inability of kids to really think for themselves, and how the ideas and thoughts of older people greatly influence kids thoughts. This explains how if a father is a racist, the chances are that his son will also be racist. However, I found it very cool that Mrs. Elliot could erase the prejudice views instilled in these kids minds, and replace them with thoughts of equality and fairness.
I was very impressed by Mrs. Elliot and her method of teaching about racism. I believe that what she taught those third graders from Riceville, Iowa is a lesson that everyone should be taught. The experiment has effected many people and I am truly grateful that Mrs. Elliot was able to teach this topic in a manner that was very effective. From this film I learned a lot about what it is like to be in someone else's shoes. I want to go into the education field some day and found her story very inspirational. I agree with Brian, I could not believe that the children started to turn on eachother so quickly simply because the color of their eyes. It showed me how fast people are willing to put all their opinions aside when told to do something else by an authority figure.
What I personally took away from this film/experiment was the proof of the theory of nurture and the environmental impact on individuals. As seen at the beginning of "Mrs. Elliot," when students were asked what they thought of minorities, they gave extremely ignorant and racist remarks, not understanding that what they were saying was prejudice and hurtful to the minorities. In this respect, these children were taught to be racist, and learned to hate and judge based on skin color and ethnicity just by being brought up around prejudice people. Once Mrs. Elliot put the children on the contrary, they felt the pain that the minorities feel being discriminated against, giving each child a realistic point of view on how racism effects people. I too believe that only by first handedly experiencing the discrimination could the students come to a common conclusion on how it truly affects the "outcasts" and society itself.
while watching the video i tought mrs Elliot was being mean. but as i tought about it she was 100 % right. that was a leason that every kid needs to learn. now days maybe not in the same way as kids before our time but its a key leason in which needs to tought.
Kayla,
I disagree with your reasons that the experiment would be more accepted today because people are less ignorant. i think there are still alot of ignorant people in the world today, the view on them however has changed.
I was surprised that Mrs. Elliot decided to take action in this way after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. I do not think any other third grade teacher would do what she did. I thought that it was a very smart idea on her part. She knew that this exercise would have a long lasting effect on her students. The kids believed everything she had to say, which made them see how bad the minorities were being treated. Because they knew how bad it felt they grew up thinking racism is bad and still think that. This is good not only because they will not be racist, but they will teach their kids not to be racist. I took away the thought of standing up for what you believe in can do great things. Mrs. Elliot thought that something had to be done with racism and these kids so she acted. The kids now think racism is bad and will always think that.
Nate, I agree that it was cool how Mrs. Elliot could change the kids view on racism so easily. It was a great thing for her to do and I am glad she did.
Even though Mrs. Elliot's experiment ended up being very successful, I found Mrs. Elliot's exercise very risky. Like the packet said, it could have marred the students psychologically or affected them through the treatment they recieved during the experiment. However,since the students did not have any bad after effects, I agree that the experiment was very worthwhile. In general, I though Mrs. Elliot's experiment was very hands-on, effective, and beneficial.
Jake, I agree that the experiment really did have a long lasting effect on the kids. From this experience, they really changed their view(s) on racism.
I was absented that day.
I really liked that film and I think what Mrs. Elliot did was pretty amazing. The exercise work really well with her third graders and it was amazing to see their reactions to be the upper group or lower group. It was crazy to see that all the third graders pretty much turned into a little society of that time. I think her experiment was a very good idea for that time period. I took away a lot of thoughts from this movie. i am grateful to live in a society where racism is not seen as a problem. I also agree with the way Mrs. Elliot went about the experiment by having the kids live in someone else's shoes for a day.
I agree with Devin and how the students comprehended the experiment was amazing. Something showing just a small case of racism made them understand racism was wrong and that was a thought that stayed with them throughout their lives.
It was amazing on how great of an impact Mrs. Elliot has made on her third grade class. She could have done what the majority of other teachers did, which is lecture her students about racism or explain it to them through writing etc. However, her way was much more efficient because it not only taught them about stereotypes and racism, but she created an environment where her students could actually feel and experience the impact of racism and discrimination. I also think it was great how she conducted this lesson on third graders. This is because younger generations can be easily swayed into actually believing something when told by authority. I don’t think it would be fair to say that the students were too young because it would not have worked for kids above that age.
Brian, i agree with what you are saying on how it would be harder to conduct this experiment today because now schools are more unified with minorities.
I agree with what Jake said on how brave Ms. Elliot was. I thoguht it was bold to attempt this exercise in the town she was in, and with potential psychological harm done on her students. I think she carried out the exercise beautifully, and I was glad that all the students were able to see that blacks and indians were being discriminated against just as unreasonably as they were for their eye color.
I thought that Mrs. Elliot's experiment showed us how racism and discrimination affects not only children, but society in general. When the children were told that they were better than other children for such a silly reason, they not only gained self esteem, they immediately began to treat the "inferiors" differently, even if they had been friends before. I personally thought that the experiment was much more similar to the treatment of Jewish people in by the Nazis than racism in America. What I took away from the film is that many of us would gladly treat others like garbage in order to make ourselves feel superior.
I agree with Brian that you can't really say that you understand another person's hardships unless you walk in their shoes for a while. Though I don't think that this experiment gave any of the students a full understanding of the difficulties of being Black or Indian in society, it gave them an impression.
This experiment was really interesting and one that certainly needed to be done with the times in which they lived. I think this experiment showed those children what it was like to be on the other end of the discrimination that was so common place back then. It was also inspiring to see the courage of Mrs. Elliot. She stood up for what she believed in despite the towns retaliations. Because of her persistence, she gave the children a learning opportunity to change the way people in the community think, because those children would take that experience with them through their lives.
Brian- I agree, it was shocking to see how quickly the children turned on each other.
I was absent
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