This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Friday, March 11, 2011
PERIOD 7 - CLASS DIVIDED
You have been watching the documentary, "A Class Divided." 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?
I very much enjoyed the documentary, "A Class Divided". I thought that Mrs. Elliot was incredibly innovative and courageous with her third grade classes. The exercise was clever and clearly it was extremely beneficial to the students. I thought it was interesting how within a matter of minutes the children assumed the roles of superior and inferior and automatically started treating eachother different and for the most part, in negative ways. In addition, I think that this exercise should have been done in every classroom across the nation and I think that it would still be beneficial to students to take part in this exercise today.
I thought that Mrs. Elliot was brilliant in creating such a real life experience for the children to experience first hand discrimination. This though the children a life long message that stuck with them and enstilled a true sence of morals which allowed them to stand up for their beliefs in the middle of the racist south.
Mrs. Elliot was a clever woman to do this experiment on children of a young age. It makes most sense because at that age the children will follow what she says because they are so attuned to believing whatever authority tells them. Personally, I was amazed at how quickly the children changed their views. At first they were told that it was just a little activity but within minutes they were really into it and assumed their roles as either superior or inferior. To perform this at a young age is a very good idea because this will stick by them for a long time even if they don't fully understand what was going on.
Emily makes a good suggestion that this should be performed in classroom everywhere. This is something that can be taken and used for a very long time.
I thought the documentary Class Divided was really interesting documentary because Mrs. Elliot did a good active with showing her students first hand how discrimination i do agree with emily hite about how we should have all class in third grade get taught about discrimination because then they would know the difference and be put in the other person shoes
This was my second time watching the documentary and this time I realized more about the children and discrimination than I had my first. At first Mrs. Elliot almost seems too harsh with the children but if she wasn’t that harsh she wouldn’t have been effective. I agree with Emily Hite that it was smart of Mrs. Ellis to do this exercise with kids of such a young age because it would create more of an impact on them that they could carry on for the rest of their lives which they clearly did.
I thought that the documentary "A Class Divided" was interesting and showed just how important the lesson Mrs. Elliot taught her class was. It was obvious she realized just how serious an issue racism was in her area and it was extremely brave of her to take it upon herself to help fight against it. I thought she showed great intelligence and caring as she was able to teach the children the unfairness of prejudice. I thought her reunion with the children showed how the lesson had stuck with them for many years and I think her sacrifices for the help of others is really incredible.
I agree with Amanda about the importance of teaching such a vital lesson at a young age. At the beginning of the documentary it was clear the children had come to believe in the ideas of superiority and I think Mrs. Elliot recognized that they would continue to think like this if not taught otherwise. I think by instilling this lesson at a young age, the children would come to realize its value as they got older and would see how the ideas of racism are wrong.
I really enjoyed this documentary and I found Mrs. Elliot very inspiring. I thought it was incredibly brave and creative of her to approach teaching racism with the 'eye color' experiment. The long term effects that that lesson had on her classes what also very impressive to me. What interested me the most was how feeling superior caused the kids to perform better academically. I think reveals why people can be so power hungry.
I agree with Emily in that I found it shocking how quickly the students assumed their roles as superior and inferior members of the class. I also think that this lesson should be performed nationwide and believe it would really help prevent racism and prejudice in future generations.
I enjoyed watching the documentary a lot. It was rather informative. Like Emily Faherty said, Mr. Elliot was very innovative for a 3rd grade teacher. She managed to not only recreate a very realistic model of discrimination, but she also taught her students a valuable life lesson that they have kept with them for more than a decade. Her intentions were admirable, and it was shocking to find out later that she was harassed so badly for making such wonderful changes to her students' lives. Of course, her experiment would be hard pressed to work outside the classroom. It would have to be somehow modified to be believable to adults. I don't know why this lesson isn't taught in our school system, and if it is, I don't remember it. I'm glad I watched the documentary.
I agree with Rachel Bridge, in that the longterm effect was interesting on the students. I don't know if the increase in grades explains the need for power that some people experience, but I think that this indicates the power of self-esteem and the mind. When someone believes that they cannot do something, this thought automatically puts extra obstacles in the way of completing the task.
I thought that the documentary, "A Class Divided" was very interesting. The lesson that Mrs. Elliot has on discrimination is very effective in teaching the kids. I found it particuarly interesting how the students totally changed when told they were superior to the others. I agree with Emilly when she says that the exercise should have been done in every classroom across the nation.
I thought that the documentary, "A Class Divided" was a very good experiment and movie. I thought that is was extremely brave for Mrs. Elliot to attempt anything like this because of the time period. People were very divided at this time and were not affraid to turn on one of their own. She was on the other hand very sucessful in doing the exercise and was able to show the kids right from wrong.
I agree with Megan. I think that it was very interesting to see the kids completely change their frame of mind when told they are superior to someone else in the class. Their frame of mind also changed when they were told they were inferior to someone else.
i thought this video was a real eye opener. this experiment showed to me how innocent little kids can be turn against each other just by one simple "fact". i agree with Emily i think every classroom should be taught this lesson.
I have seen this movie many times before, and every time i feel more touched and excited to watch it. Since I want to be a teacher, i always knew i had to have a day about racism and how it effect not just a certain color of skin, but just one thing about someone can become stereotypical and racist. I agree with emily when she said that Mrs. Elliot was innovated and courageous.
I think that the movie "A Class Divided" was a very interesting documentary. It was very strange to see the way the students turned on eachother and even though the brown eyed kids had been picked on the day before, they still made fun of the blue eyed kids the day it was their turn to be on top. After watching the film I wish that I had had this experience when I was a kid. Its amazing that Mrs. Elliot came up with this experiment by herself.
Nick made a good point that I didn't really think about, Mrs. Eliott was very brave to conduct this experiment. She was especially courageous to continue keep on doing it even though she was ridiculed by other people in her town.
I thought that the documentary "A Class Divided" was very interesting. I was surprised at how quickly the young students turned on eachother and began to belittle one another. It goes to show how quickly people used to judge and discriminate against one another. It also shows how far we have come in society today, I feel like if we did that experiment now the outcome would be very different.
I agree with Rachel in that the effect that the experiment had on the students long term was very impressive. It changed the way a class of young third graders viewed one another, and people around them.
I really liked the documentary "A Class Divided." I thought that Mrs. Elliot was very inspirational for thinking of such a creative and bold lesson to teach her students. The effect of the exercise was so realistic and helpful for the students because they still remembered it years later and put it to good use.
I agree with Emily F when she said that this exercise should be done in every class around the country. It had such an eternal effect on the students that would be perfect to use to show a first-hand example on discrimination.
I was a little confused after watching the video because I can't understand why people in the town harrassed the students and Mrs.Elliot because of her lesson against discrimination. The school system continued to allow her to teach the lesson. Im just confused at why would they allow her to keep teaching the lesson if the town was so against it. I think that it was a great classroom experiment that shows how easy it is to discriminat against our friends in such a short time period.
I thought the documentary "A Class Divided" really portrayed how easy it is to discriminate against someone who is different from you. When Mrs. Elliot did the eye-color activity in a third grade setting, it made me realize that even young children use derogatory terms and discriminate against others. The activity that Mrs. Elliot created was brilliant because it made the third graders realize what it was like to be a victim of discrimination. I agree with Emily because I feel that the children benefited from this exercise; they felt what it was like to be put down because they were different in ways they could not control.
The documentary was very informative and opened my eyes to how powerful one class on racism can really be. I really thought that Mrs. Elliot was extremely effective in her approach at exposing her students to what racism really feels like in the real world. I think that Mrs. Elliot's exercise that she did in her 3rd grade class should be used by all teachers across the country. I think that it would be very successful in reducing racism throughout the country and would create a much more relaxed and peaceful integrated society. It truly is amazing to see how much recognition one women can get for a simple exercise she uses in her classroom to simulate racism.
I agree with what Emily said in that I believe it was an extremely courageous act for Mrs. Elliot to use her exercise with her 3rd grade students, especially in an all white town. Most people wouldn't have it in them to stand up and actually try to make a difference in the world, but Mrs. Elliot did. I think Mrs. Elliot proves that one person truly can make a legitimate difference in a societies behavior to a certain minority or group of people
the documentary "A Class Divided" was a really good example of how discrimination starts when you are kids. I thought that Mrs. Elliot did a great job teaching the kids that discrimination is not a funny thing to do, and it is important for everyone to realize that. And I agree with Jake the about immediate reaction to the situation displayed by the kids Mrs. Elliot see how that affect in the way that they fell and think.
I agree with anthony in the sense that discrimination needs to be taught at a young age so children can recognize how it creates so many problems as we turn into adults
I believe that this documentary was very creative and "outside the box". I think it is very interesting how quickly children can begin to discriminate eachother and assume superior roles towards eachother
I believe that this documentary was very creative and "outside the box". I think it is very interesting how quickly children can begin to discriminate eachother and assume superior roles towards eachother
I found the documentary A Class Divided to be very interesting. Mrs. Elliot is a very smart woman for coming up with this lesson for her class but is also a very brave woman for performing the lesson in her town which is obviously racists. I found it interesting how the kids who were put down suddenly got worse grades on material they already knew and were previously tested on, while the kids who were deemed superior improved their grades.
37 comments:
I very much enjoyed the documentary, "A Class Divided". I thought that Mrs. Elliot was incredibly innovative and courageous with her third grade classes. The exercise was clever and clearly it was extremely beneficial to the students. I thought it was interesting how within a matter of minutes the children assumed the roles of superior and inferior and automatically started treating eachother different and for the most part, in negative ways. In addition, I think that this exercise should have been done in every classroom across the nation and I think that it would still be beneficial to students to take part in this exercise today.
I thought that Mrs. Elliot was brilliant in creating such a real life experience for the children to experience first hand discrimination. This though the children a life long message that stuck with them and enstilled a true sence of morals which allowed them to stand up for their beliefs in the middle of the racist south.
I believe Emily is right, this exercise should have been done in every classroom across the nation as an attempt to help deter discrimination.
Mrs. Elliot was a clever woman to do this experiment on children of a young age. It makes most sense because at that age the children will follow what she says because they are so attuned to believing whatever authority tells them. Personally, I was amazed at how quickly the children changed their views. At first they were told that it was just a little activity but within minutes they were really into it and assumed their roles as either superior or inferior. To perform this at a young age is a very good idea because this will stick by them for a long time even if they don't fully understand what was going on.
Emily makes a good suggestion that this should be performed in classroom everywhere. This is something that can be taken and used for a very long time.
I thought the documentary Class Divided was really interesting documentary because Mrs. Elliot did a good active with showing her students first hand how discrimination i do agree with emily hite about how we should have all class in third grade get taught about discrimination because then they would know the difference and be put in the other person shoes
This was my second time watching the documentary and this time I realized more about the children and discrimination than I had my first. At first Mrs. Elliot almost seems too harsh with the children but if she wasn’t that harsh she wouldn’t have been effective. I agree with Emily Hite that it was smart of Mrs. Ellis to do this exercise with kids of such a young age because it would create more of an impact on them that they could carry on for the rest of their lives which they clearly did.
I thought that the documentary "A Class Divided" was interesting and showed just how important the lesson Mrs. Elliot taught her class was. It was obvious she realized just how serious an issue racism was in her area and it was extremely brave of her to take it upon herself to help fight against it. I thought she showed great intelligence and caring as she was able to teach the children the unfairness of prejudice. I thought her reunion with the children showed how the lesson had stuck with them for many years and I think her sacrifices for the help of others is really incredible.
I agree with Amanda about the importance of teaching such a vital lesson at a young age. At the beginning of the documentary it was clear the children had come to believe in the ideas of superiority and I think Mrs. Elliot recognized that they would continue to think like this if not taught otherwise. I think by instilling this lesson at a young age, the children would come to realize its value as they got older and would see how the ideas of racism are wrong.
I really enjoyed this documentary and I found Mrs. Elliot very inspiring. I thought it was incredibly brave and creative of her to approach teaching racism with the 'eye color' experiment. The long term effects that that lesson had on her classes what also very impressive to me. What interested me the most was how feeling superior caused the kids to perform better academically. I think reveals why people can be so power hungry.
I agree with Emily in that I found it shocking how quickly the students assumed their roles as superior and inferior members of the class. I also think that this lesson should be performed nationwide and believe it would really help prevent racism and prejudice in future generations.
I found the movie to be very interesting, especially in the immediate reaction to the situation displayed by the kids.
I agree with Emily in that despite the context this experiment was created for, it would still hold great value today.
I enjoyed watching the documentary a lot. It was rather informative. Like Emily Faherty said, Mr. Elliot was very innovative for a 3rd grade teacher. She managed to not only recreate a very realistic model of discrimination, but she also taught her students a valuable life lesson that they have kept with them for more than a decade. Her intentions were admirable, and it was shocking to find out later that she was harassed so badly for making such wonderful changes to her students' lives. Of course, her experiment would be hard pressed to work outside the classroom. It would have to be somehow modified to be believable to adults. I don't know why this lesson isn't taught in our school system, and if it is, I don't remember it. I'm glad I watched the documentary.
I agree with Rachel Bridge, in that the longterm effect was interesting on the students. I don't know if the increase in grades explains the need for power that some people experience, but I think that this indicates the power of self-esteem and the mind. When someone believes that they cannot do something, this thought automatically puts extra obstacles in the way of completing the task.
I thought that the documentary, "A Class Divided" was very interesting. The lesson that Mrs. Elliot has on discrimination is very effective in teaching the kids. I found it particuarly interesting how the students totally changed when told they were superior to the others. I agree with Emilly when she says that the exercise should have been done in every classroom across the nation.
I thought that the documentary, "A Class Divided" was a very good experiment and movie. I thought that is was extremely brave for Mrs. Elliot to attempt anything like this because of the time period. People were very divided at this time and were not affraid to turn on one of their own. She was on the other hand very sucessful in doing the exercise and was able to show the kids right from wrong.
I agree with Megan. I think that it was very interesting to see the kids completely change their frame of mind when told they are superior to someone else in the class. Their frame of mind also changed when they were told they were inferior to someone else.
i thought this video was a real eye opener. this experiment showed to me how innocent little kids can be turn against each other just by one simple "fact". i agree with Emily i think every classroom should be taught this lesson.
I have seen this movie many times before, and every time i feel more touched and excited to watch it. Since I want to be a teacher, i always knew i had to have a day about racism and how it effect not just a certain color of skin, but just one thing about someone can become stereotypical and racist. I agree with emily when she said that Mrs. Elliot was innovated and courageous.
I think that the movie "A Class Divided" was a very interesting documentary. It was very strange to see the way the students turned on eachother and even though the brown eyed kids had been picked on the day before, they still made fun of the blue eyed kids the day it was their turn to be on top. After watching the film I wish that I had had this experience when I was a kid. Its amazing that Mrs. Elliot came up with this experiment by herself.
Nick made a good point that I didn't really think about, Mrs. Eliott was very brave to conduct this experiment. She was especially courageous to continue keep on doing it even though she was ridiculed by other people in her town.
I thought that the documentary "A Class Divided" was very interesting. I was surprised at how quickly the young students turned on eachother and began to belittle one another. It goes to show how quickly people used to judge and discriminate against one another. It also shows how far we have come in society today, I feel like if we did that experiment now the outcome would be very different.
I agree with Rachel in that the effect that the experiment had on the students long term was very impressive. It changed the way a class of young third graders viewed one another, and people around them.
I really liked the documentary "A Class Divided." I thought that Mrs. Elliot was very inspirational for thinking of such a creative and bold lesson to teach her students. The effect of the exercise was so realistic and helpful for the students because they still remembered it years later and put it to good use.
I agree with Emily F when she said that this exercise should be done in every class around the country. It had such an eternal effect on the students that would be perfect to use to show a first-hand example on discrimination.
I was absent for this lesson.
I was a little confused after watching the video because I can't understand why people in the town harrassed the students and Mrs.Elliot because of her lesson against discrimination. The school system continued to allow her to teach the lesson. Im just confused at why would they allow her to keep teaching the lesson if the town was so against it. I think that it was a great classroom experiment that shows how easy it is to discriminat against our friends in such a short time period.
I thought the documentary "A Class Divided" really portrayed how easy it is to discriminate against someone who is different from you. When Mrs. Elliot did the eye-color activity in a third grade setting, it made me realize that even young children use derogatory terms and discriminate against others. The activity that Mrs. Elliot created was brilliant because it made the third graders realize what it was like to be a victim of discrimination. I agree with Emily because I feel that the children benefited from this exercise; they felt what it was like to be put down because they were different in ways they could not control.
The documentary was very informative and opened my eyes to how powerful one class on racism can really be. I really thought that Mrs. Elliot was extremely effective in her approach at exposing her students to what racism really feels like in the real world. I think that Mrs. Elliot's exercise that she did in her 3rd grade class should be used by all teachers across the country. I think that it would be very successful in reducing racism throughout the country and would create a much more relaxed and peaceful integrated society. It truly is amazing to see how much recognition one women can get for a simple exercise she uses in her classroom to simulate racism.
I agree with what Emily said in that I believe it was an extremely courageous act for Mrs. Elliot to use her exercise with her 3rd grade students, especially in an all white town. Most people wouldn't have it in them to stand up and actually try to make a difference in the world, but Mrs. Elliot did. I think Mrs. Elliot proves that one person truly can make a legitimate difference in a societies behavior to a certain minority or group of people
the documentary "A Class Divided" was a really good example of how discrimination starts when you are kids. I thought that Mrs. Elliot did a great job teaching the kids that discrimination is not a funny thing to do, and it is important for everyone to realize that. And I agree with Jake the about immediate reaction to the situation displayed by the kids Mrs. Elliot see how that affect in the way that they fell and think.
I agree with anthony in the sense that discrimination needs to be taught at a young age so children can recognize how it creates so many problems as we turn into adults
I believe that this documentary was very creative and "outside the box". I think it is very interesting how quickly children can begin to discriminate eachother and assume superior roles towards eachother
I believe that this documentary was very creative and "outside the box". I think it is very interesting how quickly children can begin to discriminate eachother and assume superior roles towards eachother
I agree with Emily Hite about being amazed by how quickly the children changed their views.
I found the documentary A Class Divided to be very interesting. Mrs. Elliot is a very smart woman for coming up with this lesson for her class but is also a very brave woman for performing the lesson in her town which is obviously racists. I found it interesting how the kids who were put down suddenly got worse grades on material they already knew and were previously tested on, while the kids who were deemed superior improved their grades.
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