This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Friday, September 28, 2012
PERIOD 4 - A CLASS DIVIDED
You have been watching the documentary, "A Class Divided." Please post a reflective comment about the film. What did you personally take away from the film?
19 comments:
Jill Gardner
said...
"A Class Divided" was an interesting way to teach children about discrimination. I was surprised at how children responded to it. I understood that they would be upset and disappointed when they were being mistreated, but I didn't think it would affect their grades. When Mrs. Elliot did her program on the prison workers, I was glad to see that people were defending themselves, but shocked that only a few did. After watching this film, I have a better understanding of how minorities feel when they are being discriminated against.
I thought that the eye color exercise that Mrs. Elliot developed to make people understand how minorities feel was very clever. The subjects, children and adults, seemed to feel that they really were lesser people because of their eye color even though they knew in the back of their minds that the exercise was fake. I do not think an exercise like this is necessary anymore because we are no longer taught to think of black people as lesser people, but I could just be saying that because I am not a black person or a minority myself. However, when I saw how the children responded with harsh terms when asked what they thought about black people, I think my point is proved. As a child I never heard kids talking about black, Mexican, Indian, Asian, or any type of people poorly. If they did, they were straightened out right away.
I thought that the eye color exercise that Mrs. Elliot developed to make people understand how minorities feel was very clever. The subjects, children and adults, seemed to feel that they really were lesser people because of their eye color even though they knew in the back of their minds that the exercise was fake. I do not think an exercise like this is necessary anymore because we are no longer taught to think of black people as lesser people, but I could just be saying that because I am not a black person or a minority myself. However, when I saw how the children responded with harsh terms when asked what they thought about black people, I think my point is proved. As a child I never heard kids talking about black, Mexican, Indian, Asian, or any type of people poorly. If they did, they were straightened out right away.
I thought that this film was a great film and the excercise that Mrs. Elliot used was very clever. Me being a black man can actually relate to how it feels to be discriminated for most of my life. I really think that this should be used more as kids are growing up and not to adults as much only because pretty soon they'll catch on and not want to do the exercise. But it is an exercise that will change views if done right right away.
I feel that this video and excercise was a wake up call to many people. They may have known how poorly blacks were treated, but up until this excercise they never took the time to care. This exercise opened up a new learning experience for the adults, and they learned what it felt like to be a black person, and be discriminated. I was very surprised that very few people who were labeled the minorities actually stood up for themselves. In all honesty if I were in the same situation I would not let people walk all over me. The problem for some of the people was the fitting in aspect. They didn't want to be seen as more of an outcast or different from everyone else hence why they kept quiet. This exercise had a great effect on many people and my thought was completely changed after watching this. I can now understand better how the blacks felt and what it must be like to be put down like they are
I thought the movie A Class Divided really taught me something. It taught me to never let what someone says about me or how someone acts towards me to impact the way I view myself and my actions. I thought that the way the 3rd graders suddenly went from innocent children to hatefull, bystanders, and bullies. These kids were so quick to believe Mrs. Eliot which leads me to think how easy it is for children to be persuaded and shaped by others. I wish everyone could think individually and not be persuaded by one persons beliefs.
I though that this excercise and the video documenting its use showed a lot about us as the human race. An idea as simple as eye color being better was able to bring out the worst in people who were perfectly kind, resonable people before. The innocent 3rd graders were able to show clearly how discriminatory ideals can affect a society or group of people with very simplified, obvious reactions to the excercise. The same went for the adults at the prison, who's emotions were easily swayed either way almost at the very beginning of their exercise. This film and exercise is a big wake up call to everyone involved or observing what happenens, as it brings forward the implied truths and opinions surrounding discrimination. We all come to realize how easy it is for people on both sides to become victimized when discrimination becomes an important part of how we live our lives, and we learn that we need to work together to fight and prevent it from controlling our lives.
It was amazing how Mrs. Elliot could think of such an affective method to teach discrimination. The exercise exposed many bad qualities that come out of an ordinary person. People started getting nasty towards each other, especially in the adult exercise. Grown men and women were beginning to fight because of different eye color. It is definitely something that should be administered at all schools in order to prevent or lessen the idea of discrimination among young children and also adults in this country. After watching the movie, I now know how quickly discrimination spreads and how easy it is to turn on someone that you know so well, such as friend turning on friend.
I think that miss Elite's choice of dividing by a physical trait such as eye color lead to accurate results because no one could change their eye color thus they have to face discrimination and judgment all their lives.
After watching the film "A Class Divided" I was extremely shocked to see how easily you can make adults and kids turn on each other. Mrs. Elliot's experiment needs to be done throughout the world by certified teachers because I believe that this would help stop discrimination.
" A Class Divided", was an amazing lesson. I thought the exercise that Mrs. Elliott did was something that everyone can do and understand what the outcome should be. It was something that made the kids and the adults realize that we are all supposed to be treated the same even if we are a different race, religion, or ethnicity. Its a documentary that i will make sure to share with peers in the future.
I thought the class divided video was the most interesting video and had the clearest message of all the other videos we’ve watched. It was very obvious how people will discriminate just based on what people tell you and just based on the fact they are not the exact same as you. It is also clear that being discriminated against and feeling put down has serious effects on a person’s personality. The kids and adults that were being discriminated against clearly felt hostile towards the other people and also could not perform tasks at their usual standard because they are distracted by being different.
"A Class Divided" was a very interesting video. I thought that Mrs. Elliot discovered a very clever and effective way to show how discrimination affects people. When she did the experiment on the children, it allowed for the children to see how unfair it was to discriminate or profile other people just by appearance. The children also learned that violence helps nothing. When the experiment was done on the adults, they began to fight with one another. I thought it was a great idea to demonstrate this experiment to the children because it showed that discrimination was wrong and they could remember this for the rest of their lives.
I found this film inspirational in that the children in the class were able to put the idea of discrimination and segregation in simple, idealistic point of view. I also found it interesting the children turned on each other so quickly just because of their eye color and what they were told by the teacher.
Essentially, this film shows that discrimination and the differences between one person and another are only in the mind, and are completly made up in order for people to give themselves a sense of superiority over others.
I really enjoyed watching "A Class Divided" due to the fact it was such a unique way of teaching children about the issue of discrimination. Mrs. Elliot was really creative to think of this because normally, kids that age are just taught to treat everyone equally and it ends there, however with this experiment, the kids are taught to think a lot more deeply into this matter and their emotions were involved. So it was much easier for them to understand discrimination when it is actually them being discriminated against, which was a productive way to teach them.
I thought that the exercise that Mrs. Elliot used was brilliant. A young, white American during the time period typically didn't experience discrimination, so they had no idea what it felt like to be discriminated against. This effective way of teaching discrimination showed the young children and the prison workers what it felt like to be discriminated against. Even though discrimination is less of an issue today, it is definitely still present and I think that this is an exercise that should be used on many children in the classroom.
No wonder why we were told this would be one of the top 5 most interesting classes! “A Class Divided” showed how people of all ages reacted to being put into the minority group. You could see how difficult it was for people who are used to being in the majority, which was definitely a wakeup call to see exactly what it is like to be in the shoes of someone in the minority. This lesson seemed to have made a life changing impact on everyone there and proved the meaning of “treat others the way you want to be treated”. Since most people will not get the chance to participate in an activity like this, I think it is really important and beneficial for high school students in particular to watch the film.
"A Class Divided" showed me that showing people what's it like to be discriminated can really effect how they view others. With both the children and the prison workers they started to understand what it is like to be discriminated against. After seeing how Mrs. Elliot did something to changed the way so many people think, it makes me wonder what other people did during this time to help change the world.
i thought mrs. elliots experiment with the class was a good way to teach the kids about racism. this film was really eyeopening and it was interesting to see the how the kids responded.
19 comments:
"A Class Divided" was an interesting way to teach children about discrimination. I was surprised at how children responded to it. I understood that they would be upset and disappointed when they were being mistreated, but I didn't think it would affect their grades. When Mrs. Elliot did her program on the prison workers, I was glad to see that people were defending themselves, but shocked that only a few did. After watching this film, I have a better understanding of how minorities feel when they are being discriminated against.
I thought that the eye color exercise that Mrs. Elliot developed to make people understand how minorities feel was very clever. The subjects, children and adults, seemed to feel that they really were lesser people because of their eye color even though they knew in the back of their minds that the exercise was fake. I do not think an exercise like this is necessary anymore because we are no longer taught to think of black people as lesser people, but I could just be saying that because I am not a black person or a minority myself. However, when I saw how the children responded with harsh terms when asked what they thought about black people, I think my point is proved. As a child I never heard kids talking about black, Mexican, Indian, Asian, or any type of people poorly. If they did, they were straightened out right away.
I thought that the eye color exercise that Mrs. Elliot developed to make people understand how minorities feel was very clever. The subjects, children and adults, seemed to feel that they really were lesser people because of their eye color even though they knew in the back of their minds that the exercise was fake. I do not think an exercise like this is necessary anymore because we are no longer taught to think of black people as lesser people, but I could just be saying that because I am not a black person or a minority myself. However, when I saw how the children responded with harsh terms when asked what they thought about black people, I think my point is proved. As a child I never heard kids talking about black, Mexican, Indian, Asian, or any type of people poorly. If they did, they were straightened out right away.
I thought that this film was a great film and the excercise that Mrs. Elliot used was very clever. Me being a black man can actually relate to how it feels to be discriminated for most of my life. I really think that this should be used more as kids are growing up and not to adults as much only because pretty soon they'll catch on and not want to do the exercise. But it is an exercise that will change views if done right right away.
I feel that this video and excercise was a wake up call to many people. They may have known how poorly blacks were treated, but up until this excercise they never took the time to care. This exercise opened up a new learning experience for the adults, and they learned what it felt like to be a black person, and be discriminated. I was very surprised that very few people who were labeled the minorities actually stood up for themselves. In all honesty if I were in the same situation I would not let people walk all over me. The problem for some of the people was the fitting in aspect. They didn't want to be seen as more of an outcast or different from everyone else hence why they kept quiet. This exercise had a great effect on many people and my thought was completely changed after watching this. I can now understand better how the blacks felt and what it must be like to be put down like they are
I thought the movie A Class Divided really taught me something. It taught me to never let what someone says about me or how someone acts towards me to impact the way I view myself and my actions. I thought that the way the 3rd graders suddenly went from innocent children to hatefull, bystanders, and bullies. These kids were so quick to believe Mrs. Eliot which leads me to think how easy it is for children to be persuaded and shaped by others. I wish everyone could think individually and not be persuaded by one persons beliefs.
I though that this excercise and the video documenting its use showed a lot about us as the human race. An idea as simple as eye color being better was able to bring out the worst in people who were perfectly kind, resonable people before. The innocent 3rd graders were able to show clearly how discriminatory ideals can affect a society or group of people with very simplified, obvious reactions to the excercise. The same went for the adults at the prison, who's emotions were easily swayed either way almost at the very beginning of their exercise. This film and exercise is a big wake up call to everyone involved or observing what happenens, as it brings forward the implied truths and opinions surrounding discrimination. We all come to realize how easy it is for people on both sides to become victimized when discrimination becomes an important part of how we live our lives, and we learn that we need to work together to fight and prevent it from controlling our lives.
It was amazing how Mrs. Elliot could think of such an affective method to teach discrimination. The exercise exposed many bad qualities that come out of an ordinary person. People started getting nasty towards each other, especially in the adult exercise. Grown men and women were beginning to fight because of different eye color. It is definitely something that should be administered at all schools in order to prevent or lessen the idea of discrimination among young children and also adults in this country. After watching the movie, I now know how quickly discrimination spreads and how easy it is to turn on someone that you know so well, such as friend turning on friend.
I think that miss Elite's choice of dividing by a physical trait such as eye color lead to accurate results because no one could change their eye color thus they have to face discrimination and judgment all their lives.
After watching the film "A Class Divided" I was extremely shocked to see how easily you can make adults and kids turn on each other. Mrs. Elliot's experiment needs to be done throughout the world by certified teachers because I believe that this would help stop discrimination.
" A Class Divided", was an amazing lesson. I thought the exercise that Mrs. Elliott did was something that everyone can do and understand what the outcome should be. It was something that made the kids and the adults realize that we are all supposed to be treated the same even if we are a different race, religion, or ethnicity. Its a documentary that i will make sure to share with peers in the future.
I thought the class divided video was the most interesting video and had the clearest message of all the other videos we’ve watched. It was very obvious how people will discriminate just based on what people tell you and just based on the fact they are not the exact same as you. It is also clear that being discriminated against and feeling put down has serious effects on a person’s personality. The kids and adults that were being discriminated against clearly felt hostile towards the other people and also could not perform tasks at their usual standard because they are distracted by being different.
"A Class Divided" was a very interesting video. I thought that Mrs. Elliot discovered a very clever and effective way to show how discrimination affects people. When she did the experiment on the children, it allowed for the children to see how unfair it was to discriminate or profile other people just by appearance. The children also learned that violence helps nothing. When the experiment was done on the adults, they began to fight with one another. I thought it was a great idea to demonstrate this experiment to the children because it showed that discrimination was wrong and they could remember this for the rest of their lives.
I found this film inspirational in that the children in the class were able to put the idea of discrimination and segregation in simple, idealistic point of view. I also found it interesting the children turned on each other so quickly just because of their eye color and what they were told by the teacher.
Essentially, this film shows that discrimination and the differences between one person and another are only in the mind, and are completly made up in order for people to give themselves a sense of superiority over others.
I really enjoyed watching "A Class Divided" due to the fact it was such a unique way of teaching children about the issue of discrimination. Mrs. Elliot was really creative to think of this because normally, kids that age are just taught to treat everyone equally and it ends there, however with this experiment, the kids are taught to think a lot more deeply into this matter and their emotions were involved. So it was much easier for them to understand discrimination when it is actually them being discriminated against, which was a productive way to teach them.
I thought that the exercise that Mrs. Elliot used was brilliant. A young, white American during the time period typically didn't experience discrimination, so they had no idea what it felt like to be discriminated against. This effective way of teaching discrimination showed the young children and the prison workers what it felt like to be discriminated against. Even though discrimination is less of an issue today, it is definitely still present and I think that this is an exercise that should be used on many children in the classroom.
No wonder why we were told this would be one of the top 5 most interesting classes! “A Class Divided” showed how people of all ages reacted to being put into the minority group. You could see how difficult it was for people who are used to being in the majority, which was definitely a wakeup call to see exactly what it is like to be in the shoes of someone in the minority. This lesson seemed to have made a life changing impact on everyone there and proved the meaning of “treat others the way you want to be treated”. Since most people will not get the chance to participate in an activity like this, I think it is really important and beneficial for high school students in particular to watch the film.
"A Class Divided" showed me that showing people what's it like to be discriminated can really effect how they view others. With both the children and the prison workers they started to understand what it is like to be discriminated against. After seeing how Mrs. Elliot did something to changed the way so many people think, it makes me wonder what other people did during this time to help change the world.
i thought mrs. elliots experiment with the class was a good way to teach the kids about racism. this film was really eyeopening and it was interesting to see the how the kids responded.
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