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 6 - 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?
38 comments:
David Tubman
said...
I personally was astounded at how quickly the children responded to the declaration of superiority in such a drastic manner. I was apalled that the blue-eyed kids found it so easy to assert their dominance, and how the brown-eyed kids submitted with little to no complaints. You could see it in the eyes of the loud, brown haired boy that he knew that this was wrong, but he internalized it and went along with what he was told by the teacher.
This movie was a real suprise to me. For an issue that mainly dealt in East side of U.S.A, to reach the heart of that teacher was incredible. Being a white teacher in Idaho she really didnt have to teach anything on it at all. She could've actually been white supremacist and it would'nt have mattered but she took it upon herself to enlighten these 3rd graders on what they were really doing when you would segregrate yourselves and treat someone differently just because their skin color. It also amazes me because she did this very risky project with third graders, of all grades third graders. It would be amazing if school systems followed after her example and made this an requirement in all middle schools. It could really give America a brighter future.
I agree with David T. that I was suprised how fast the blue eyed kdis and brown eyed kids asserted their dominance on each other, talk about superiority being an older trait.
This video really captivated me; I have an enormous amount of respect for Mrs. Elliot and the amazing experiment she conducted. I think that everybody should go through, and see what it really is like to be discriminated against, because unless you've experienced it, you really don't know how it feels. It's sad to see how easy it is for society to gang up on other people because of their differences, in this case, it was the blue-eyed kids against the brown-eyed kids. I was shocked to see how quickly a group of third grader's way of thinking could be decided, as whoever felt superior thought it was completely true. When one group of the children were labeled superior, they felt powerful and performed very well on tests, but those who were being discriminated against felt depressed and performed lower on the tests, which shows a lot of human psychology and how much power people think they have when they think a certain way. I was also glad to see that Mrs. Elliot's lesson stuck with the children through adulthood when they reunited.
I thought this was a genius plan by mrs. Elliot. It was fascinating to see how quickly they all turned on each other just because one person was telling them who was superior and who wasn't. I also liked how she brought the class back like 30 years later and they talked about how much of an impact it really had on them. It shows how easily people can be manipulated, especially kids
I agree with connie that it was really sad that how fast they turned on one another and how this is just like the whites and blacks during that time period.
I agree with David that it was surprising to see how quickly the children responded in the manner that they did. They immediately acted in a different way once they were told they were superior than others, or they were less than others.
This was an extrememly interesting documentary. During Mrs. Elliot's experiment, I thought it was amazing how kids could turn on each other just because their teacher said that a certain eye color made you either powerful or weak. Also, I thought it was interesting how it took a matter of minuites to completely change the kids' mindsets. As soon as Mrs. Elliot told the blue eyed kids that they were better than those with brown eyes, in no time, the blue eyed kids were treating the brown eyed kids much worse than they normally would have.
I agree with David. It was really surprising that the blue eyed children could dominate the brown eyed so easily, and the brown eyed had barely and complaints.
I personally thought that the experiment that Mrs. Elliot conducted was genius in finding out the trends as well as how discrimination is passed on. Right from the get go we know that the children in third grade are impressionable and will act in the same manner of their parents or friends. So, by making discrimination something other than since I am white it makes me and us better then them. She made them experience the other side of the spectrum and feel what it was like to not be able to do things because of their eye color or get picked on by other kids for that sole reason. It made the ones who were the dominate eye color that day feel powerful and as though they were the best while on the other hand made the other kids feel so inferior and down on themselves. Which shows that discrimination even when it is simply who has what color eyes, harms in every aspect. It was a very creative and consistent experiment that teaches a life lesson to those who have seen it, been a part of or even heard about.
I agree with Mike L. it was interesting seeing how friends turned on each other because they were the "powerful ones" that day because Mrs. Elliot was able to manipulate and make them believe that they were either powerful or inferior due to eye color.
I found it very interesting how easily convinced the third graders were. It shows that people are very convinced by peer pressure to think a certain way. It seemed as if the third graders were programmed to having intolerant views. I thought it was really cool how Mrs. Elliot decided to teach her students about segregation, in such a practical manner. I think Mrs. Elliot deserves a spot in the timeline to equality.
I agree with what Connie said you don't truly know what it's like until you have been discriminated against yourself. It was a good lesson for the kids to learn at such a young age.
I found the whole movie very interesting. For starters, i had no idea that an experiment like this ever happened. I thought that the idea of superiority and the affects that it has on someone was amazing. When the kids thought they were superior they acted superior, did better on tests and were playing the part. While the kids who weren't superior acted that way as well. I can only imagine what it was like to a black person living in the south during the Jim Crowe era. But based on this experiment i'm amazed that they were able to keep everything together and eventually win their equality through persistance.
I found the whole movie very interesting. For starters, i had no idea that an experiment like this ever happened. I thought that the idea of superiority and the affects that it has on someone was amazing. When the kids thought they were superior they acted superior, did better on tests and were playing the part. While the kids who weren't superior acted that way as well. I can only imagine what it was like to a black person living in the south during the Jim Crowe era. But based on this experiment i'm amazed that they were able to keep everything together and eventually win their equality through persistance.
I agree with David i thought it was very interesting to see how willing the children were to assert their dominance. It made them become almost cruel to each other.
I think this is a brilliant experiment by Mrs. Elliott. It exposes a human nature that is inside everybody. I think that the experiment gave such good results because the individuals tested were children. If adults had been tested, there would have been bias in their statements, and it wouldn't have been as true. The children said exactly how they felt without anything swaying their statements. All people should be given this lesson during grade school, it would drastically help our society in the long run.
I thought that the Mrs. Elliots experiment was very fascinating and a smart way to teach students about discrimination. I thought it was interesting how the students test scores when up when they thought they were superior, and lowered when they were discriminated against. They were more confident in themselves when they had a higher status in the classroom. Also, I was very shocked at how the students quickly turned against each other, because they were told they were different.
I agree with Connie that it is sad to see how easy it is for society to gang up on other people because of their differences, especially since the students were only in third grade.
I think the responsiveness of the children to the exercise was amazing. I also think its amazing how well the kids were able to go along with the rules each day. I know that if I was in their position, and my teacher told me that my blue-eyed friends were not my equals and that I was no longer allowed to talk and play with them, I would probably not go along with it. At least for me, I think it would be difficult to take the exercise seriously, like the children in the video seemed to. However, I do think it had a great impact on their perspectives of black people and it was definitely worth while.
I agree with Maria's post about the interesting effects that the experiment had on the children's test scores. It was interesting to see that one's supposed superiority over another can have an effect like that.
This film was like no other that I've ever seen. Being a seventeen year old, I have obviously learned by now the lessons which Ms. Elliot teaches her students. However, to see how quickly the children turned against each other by being brainwashed by the eye color game was unbelievable. This further proves that the seed of racism and discrimination is just a simple idea, such as white people being better than all races. The film effected me personally by proving that no one is born racist, but that racism is taught.
I found it very intresting how children could make such an impact on the civil rights movements. They were willing to sacrifce by going to the prisons to send the message to the White House that seperate but equal is not consitutional.
I thought it was amazing how fast the children reacted when they were told which children are better than the others. They children, in a way, were becoming like savages when they found out that brown eyed people are better than blue eyed people and the opposite. I think that Mrs. Elliot is right in doing this because it teaches students at a young age that all people are equal.
I agree with Johnny when he said that it exposes the human nature in everyone because under the right circumstances, anyone is subject to react in a way they normally wouldn't.
I found it somewhat disturbing how easily people can be convinced that they are superior to others. Something as trivial as eye color created a clear division in the class as well as a change in the children's attitudes towards one another. Mrs. Elliot's plan was brilliant in that it exposed the children to first hand discrimination and taught them all a valuable lesson in how to treat others based on merit, not by appearance.
I agree with Johnny in that Mrs. Elliot's experiment should be performed in all schools for children at a young age. Adults have certain ways of thinking and are biased so I believe it would not be as effective to perform the experiment on people how are of an older age.
I thought this film was pretty interesting, especially because it was dealing with kids at such a young age. My first impression was that there's no way kids that young could have been so profoundly changed as to show up decades later to visit their teacher. After watching the film I realized that feeling superior and putting other people down all stem from simple emotions that can be understood by the smallest child. Mrs. Elliot really did have it all figured out.
I agree with Mike Lubsen, it was very interesting to see all the kids turn on each other even though they were friends. I also thought it was interesting to see how much they believed everything Mrs. Elliot had to tell them, even after she straight out said that she had lied to them.
I thought this whole experiment was appalling; not because they were children, nor because it was wrong, but because the kids were so quick to take on their roles as "brown-eyes" and "blue-eyes" depending on who was "superior" that day. What I think her lasting message with this experiment was that these kids were not born prejudiced to eye color. They learned it from somewhere. If third graders could take to discriminating each other based on eye color in one day with Mrs. Elliot, it's no wonder why most people who were raised by bigoted parents became bigoted people after learning from them for 18 years.
I completely agree with Griffin's viewpoint that people are not born racists but are taught to be racist. Most kids will take on whatever viewpoints their parents have if their parents express them while the kid is young enough. If you could successfully squash the idea of superiority in your kids, they'll go on and keep repeating the same message.
38 comments:
I personally was astounded at how quickly the children responded to the declaration of superiority in such a drastic manner. I was apalled that the blue-eyed kids found it so easy to assert their dominance, and how the brown-eyed kids submitted with little to no complaints. You could see it in the eyes of the loud, brown haired boy that he knew that this was wrong, but he internalized it and went along with what he was told by the teacher.
This movie was a real suprise to me. For an issue that mainly dealt in East side of U.S.A, to reach the heart of that teacher was incredible. Being a white teacher in Idaho she really didnt have to teach anything on it at all. She could've actually been white supremacist and it would'nt have mattered but she took it upon herself to enlighten these 3rd graders on what they were really doing when you would segregrate yourselves and treat someone differently just because their skin color. It also amazes me because she did this very risky project with third graders, of all grades third graders. It would be amazing if school systems followed after her example and made this an requirement in all middle schools. It could really give America a brighter future.
I agree with David T. that I was suprised how fast the blue eyed kdis and brown eyed kids asserted their dominance on each other, talk about superiority being an older trait.
i was absent from school the day we viewed this film.
This video really captivated me; I have an enormous amount of respect for Mrs. Elliot and the amazing experiment she conducted. I think that everybody should go through, and see what it really is like to be discriminated against, because unless you've experienced it, you really don't know how it feels. It's sad to see how easy it is for society to gang up on other people because of their differences, in this case, it was the blue-eyed kids against the brown-eyed kids. I was shocked to see how quickly a group of third grader's way of thinking could be decided, as whoever felt superior thought it was completely true. When one group of the children were labeled superior, they felt powerful and performed very well on tests, but those who were being discriminated against felt depressed and performed lower on the tests, which shows a lot of human psychology and how much power people think they have when they think a certain way. I was also glad to see that Mrs. Elliot's lesson stuck with the children through adulthood when they reunited.
I thought this was a genius plan by mrs. Elliot. It was fascinating to see how quickly they all turned on each other just because one person was telling them who was superior and who wasn't. I also liked how she brought the class back like 30 years later and they talked about how much of an impact it really had on them. It shows how easily people can be manipulated, especially kids
I agree with connie that it was really sad that how fast they turned on one another and how this is just like the whites and blacks during that time period.
I agree with David that it was surprising to see how quickly the children responded in the manner that they did. They immediately acted in a different way once they were told they were superior than others, or they were less than others.
This was an extrememly interesting documentary. During Mrs. Elliot's experiment, I thought it was amazing how kids could turn on each other just because their teacher said that a certain eye color made you either powerful or weak. Also, I thought it was interesting how it took a matter of minuites to completely change the kids' mindsets. As soon as Mrs. Elliot told the blue eyed kids that they were better than those with brown eyes, in no time, the blue eyed kids were treating the brown eyed kids much worse than they normally would have.
I agree with David. It was really surprising that the blue eyed children could dominate the brown eyed so easily, and the brown eyed had barely and complaints.
I personally thought that the experiment that Mrs. Elliot conducted was genius in finding out the trends as well as how discrimination is passed on. Right from the get go we know that the children in third grade are impressionable and will act in the same manner of their parents or friends. So, by making discrimination something other than since I am white it makes me and us better then them. She made them experience the other side of the spectrum and feel what it was like to not be able to do things because of their eye color or get picked on by other kids for that sole reason. It made the ones who were the dominate eye color that day feel powerful and as though they were the best while on the other hand made the other kids feel so inferior and down on themselves. Which shows that discrimination even when it is simply who has what color eyes, harms in every aspect. It was a very creative and consistent experiment that teaches a life lesson to those who have seen it, been a part of or even heard about.
I agree with Mike L. it was interesting seeing how friends turned on each other because they were the "powerful ones" that day because Mrs. Elliot was able to manipulate and make them believe that they were either powerful or inferior due to eye color.
I found it very interesting how easily convinced the third graders were. It shows that people are very convinced by peer pressure to think a certain way. It seemed as if the third graders were programmed to having intolerant views. I thought it was really cool how Mrs. Elliot decided to teach her students about segregation, in such a practical manner. I think Mrs. Elliot deserves a spot in the timeline to equality.
I agree with what Connie said you don't truly know what it's like until you have been discriminated against yourself. It was a good lesson for the kids to learn at such a young age.
I found the whole movie very interesting. For starters, i had no idea that an experiment like this ever happened. I thought that the idea of superiority and the affects that it has on someone was amazing. When the kids thought they were superior they acted superior, did better on tests and were playing the part. While the kids who weren't superior acted that way as well. I can only imagine what it was like to a black person living in the south during the Jim Crowe era. But based on this experiment i'm amazed that they were able to keep everything together and eventually win their equality through persistance.
I found the whole movie very interesting. For starters, i had no idea that an experiment like this ever happened. I thought that the idea of superiority and the affects that it has on someone was amazing. When the kids thought they were superior they acted superior, did better on tests and were playing the part. While the kids who weren't superior acted that way as well. I can only imagine what it was like to a black person living in the south during the Jim Crowe era. But based on this experiment i'm amazed that they were able to keep everything together and eventually win their equality through persistance.
I agree with David i thought it was very interesting to see how willing the children were to assert their dominance. It made them become almost cruel to each other.
I think this is a brilliant experiment by Mrs. Elliott. It exposes a human nature that is inside everybody. I think that the experiment gave such good results because the individuals tested were children. If adults had been tested, there would have been bias in their statements, and it wouldn't have been as true. The children said exactly how they felt without anything swaying their statements. All people should be given this lesson during grade school, it would drastically help our society in the long run.
I agree with Kensie's point about bringing the students back 30 years later. This meeting was evidence that her experiment had worked.
I thought that the Mrs. Elliots experiment was very fascinating and a smart way to teach students about discrimination. I thought it was interesting how the students test scores when up when they thought they were superior, and lowered when they were discriminated against. They were more confident in themselves when they had a higher status in the classroom. Also, I was very shocked at how the students quickly turned against each other, because they were told they were different.
I agree with Connie that it is sad to see how easy it is for society to gang up on other people because of their differences, especially since the students were only in third grade.
I was absent the day we saw this film.
I think the responsiveness of the children to the exercise was amazing. I also think its amazing how well the kids were able to go along with the rules each day. I know that if I was in their position, and my teacher told me that my blue-eyed friends were not my equals and that I was no longer allowed to talk and play with them, I would probably not go along with it. At least for me, I think it would be difficult to take the exercise seriously, like the children in the video seemed to. However, I do think it had a great impact on their perspectives of black people and it was definitely worth while.
I agree with Maria's post about the interesting effects that the experiment had on the children's test scores. It was interesting to see that one's supposed superiority over another can have an effect like that.
This film was like no other that I've ever seen. Being a seventeen year old, I have obviously learned by now the lessons which Ms. Elliot teaches her students. However, to see how quickly the children turned against each other by being brainwashed by the eye color game was unbelievable. This further proves that the seed of racism and discrimination is just a simple idea, such as white people being better than all races. The film effected me personally by proving that no one is born racist, but that racism is taught.
I agree with Mike's comment that the children were brainwashed into thinking certain things instead of it being there own opinion from the start.
I found it very intresting how children could make such an impact on the civil rights movements. They were willing to sacrifce by going to the prisons to send the message to the White House that seperate but equal is not consitutional.
I like how Connie talked about how even small children have similar characteristics as older people, that power is in human nature.
I thought it was amazing how fast the children reacted when they were told which children are better than the others. They children, in a way, were becoming like savages when they found out that brown eyed people are better than blue eyed people and the opposite. I think that Mrs. Elliot is right in doing this because it teaches students at a young age that all people are equal.
I agree with Johnny when he said that it exposes the human nature in everyone because under the right circumstances, anyone is subject to react in a way they normally wouldn't.
I found it somewhat disturbing how easily people can be convinced that they are superior to others. Something as trivial as eye color created a clear division in the class as well as a change in the children's attitudes towards one another. Mrs. Elliot's plan was brilliant in that it exposed the children to first hand discrimination and taught them all a valuable lesson in how to treat others based on merit, not by appearance.
I agree with Johnny in that Mrs. Elliot's experiment should be performed in all schools for children at a young age. Adults have certain ways of thinking and are biased so I believe it would not be as effective to perform the experiment on people how are of an older age.
I thought this film was pretty interesting, especially because it was dealing with kids at such a young age. My first impression was that there's no way kids that young could have been so profoundly changed as to show up decades later to visit their teacher. After watching the film I realized that feeling superior and putting other people down all stem from simple emotions that can be understood by the smallest child. Mrs. Elliot really did have it all figured out.
I agree with Mike Lubsen, it was very interesting to see all the kids turn on each other even though they were friends. I also thought it was interesting to see how much they believed everything Mrs. Elliot had to tell them, even after she straight out said that she had lied to them.
i agree with this children because they undesstand why people with blue eyes are not more inteligent than peolple with brown eyes.
I personally was interested to see how fast the children learn not to discriminate against other person of different color.
I thought this whole experiment was appalling; not because they were children, nor because it was wrong, but because the kids were so quick to take on their roles as "brown-eyes" and "blue-eyes" depending on who was "superior" that day. What I think her lasting message with this experiment was that these kids were not born prejudiced to eye color. They learned it from somewhere. If third graders could take to discriminating each other based on eye color in one day with Mrs. Elliot, it's no wonder why most people who were raised by bigoted parents became bigoted people after learning from them for 18 years.
I completely agree with Griffin's viewpoint that people are not born racists but are taught to be racist. Most kids will take on whatever viewpoints their parents have if their parents express them while the kid is young enough. If you could successfully squash the idea of superiority in your kids, they'll go on and keep repeating the same message.
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