This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
PERIOD 4: MRS. ELLIOT
You have been watching the documentary, A Class Divided. Please post a reflective comment about the film. What did you personally take away from this documentary?
22 comments:
Frank Chang
said...
I thought the documentary was very intriguing. The way that Mrs. Elliot was able to manipulate the children into thinking that in one instant they were inferior because of their eye color to the next thinking that they were superior because of their eye color, and vice versa. It impressed me how she was able to deal with both children and adults when they talked back to her, and she seemed to be very good at providing indisputable arguments as the authority figure. Her experiment was a very clever and creative way of teaching people not to be prejudiced or racist, and it was amazing how her grown-up third grade students were so tolerant of other and had retained the lesson they had learned so many years ago. This documentary teaches me to not judge other people because I have never been in their situation, and it teaches everyone to be tolerant and to treat others equally.
What I found most interesting about the film was the similarities between the children and adults reactions. No matter what age, the exercise had the same effect. i also found it interesting that no one said they would rather have a different eye color. The children associated the discrimination with being labeled by the collar as different. It wasn't because they were ashamed of their eye color. I was also surprised that the town was angry at Mrs. Elliot, not because she stood up against racism, but because she drew attention to herself.
After I watched the film "A Class Divided", my personal beliefs about racism changed. I always thought people were being racist and treating blacks lesser then whites because they were just horrible and nasty people. Now that may be true but the main reason white people act superior to blacks is because that what they were taught. I realized anyone was capable of being racist if they don't recognize what an authority says is wrong. But unfortunately many people just listen to the authority so they don't get in trouble or that's all they have been taught to do. So these kids weren't racist at first. But once an authority figure set them up to be, they listen and turned to monsters. They didn't realize what they were doing was wrong when they were the superior one's. They just listened to the teacher and let her determine what they should think.
I found "A Class Divided" to be very interesting, and very insightful on the basis of human nature and the stem of racism. The fact that just because an authority figure said that one eye color was better than the others and everyone believed it was surprising. To be able to turn 3rd graders away from their friends is really astonishing because i know from seeing how my little cousin and her friends react that they're very clingy to each other. I also found it fascinating that Test scores improved and degraded based on what group the children belonged to. From watching this video it makes me wonder, if an authority figure had said that slavery was bad straight from the start, how the world would have shaped out to be. Its definetally something to think about
I was very surprised that the adults responded in the same way as the children did when Mrs. Elliot preformed the experiment. Since the adults are older and some of them claimed to understand discrimination, I expected them to stand up against authority for what was right. Only one man did that, though, and the rest conformed. Just as Mrs. Elliot emphasized, I learned one cannot judge someone else until they have walked in their shoes. I also took notice that people should question authority, especially when leaders are wrong. Being a bystander helps no one, so we should stand up for what is right in order to make a change. That is exactly what Mrs. Elliot did, even though she and her family faced the consequences.
I thought that Mrs. Elliott’s eye-color exercise was very thought-provoking and ingenious. I was so surprised by how the attitudes of these third graders changed within 15 minutes and how their grades improved dramatically when they were superior. For instance, when the brown eye kids were superior, they transformed themselves into confident leaders of the class and were suddenly became more outgoing and smart. Surrounding us today is a mixed society and it’s really difficult for people to acknowledge the black people’s feelings unless we actually experienced discrimination ourselves. It’s apparent to see how depressed and upset these kids were when they were isolated and judged by others. These white children only experienced made-up racism a couple of hours, on the other hand, the black people experience real racism and judgment every day even every single minute of their lives. The black people could not choose being blacks and of course no one wanted to experience isolation and prejudice. Not only did Mrs. Elliott’s exercise helped the young kids gain a new and valuable perspective on the immediate power of an authority figure over a group, but also taught children to counter stereotypes and recognize that every human being needs to be equally respected. Overall the film taught me that do not think yourself is superior to others and we should always remember to put ourselves into others shoes to see their feelings.
I thought the film was very interesting. I have herd of Mrs. Elliot before but never got the chance to see the documentary and see the effects it had on the children. The video shocked me by the way the children listen to authority and how they would treat others badly just because they are superior. Seeing how upset and sad those kids who were inferior were made me wonder how blacks could do it. Blacks never did anything wrong they just got discriminated on because they were a different color and thats not anything in their control and is completely unfair. This film made me think a lot about what the blacks had to go through for such a long time and how inferior they must have felt. I cant even imagine what they had to go through. This film opened up my eyes to how easily people can change their views on something just because some authority tells you too, in the real world you still see this happen often, and it continues to cause problems especially for people who are considered different.
While watching Mrs.Elliot perform that exercise with her third grade students, I found myself repeatedly shocked by the children's actions. After an authoritative figure told them one thing, they immediately accepted it. They started to reject kids they had been playing with that morning just because Mrs. Elliot had just told them that they had the superior eye color.I found myself most surprised when Mrs. Elliot switched the superiority roles. The kids that had just experienced so much pain and discomfort from the exercise where they were inferior were so quick to start treating the other students the same exact way. There was a lack of empathy from the students and I found it a bit disturbing.
It was so interesting to watch how the children responded to the exercise. It was very visible that the children became distraught when Mrs. Elliot said that their eye color made them inferior. When the children were told that they were actually the opposite of what they were the day before, it was crazy to watch them and their reactions to that. I also thought it was interesting how the children's performance during the flashcards was affected based upon if they were superior or inferior on that day.
When watching Mrs. Elliot's exercise with the adults at the correctional facilty, I was surprised by the fact that some of the men refused to follow her teachings just because they felt different. Some of the men felt uncomfortable and agitated after even 20 minutes. due to the way they were treated, they refused to participate in the exercise, and retreated into their shell.I was also surprised that the men in power seemed to not use their power, but push it onto others. THey would use their ruling to ensure that others were put in trouble.
Even though Mrs. Elliot modified the way she taught the lesson to fit adults, it still surprised me how easily they accepted this concept. I remember watching the one with the third grade class wondering how this could work with adults. It really shows how easily people accept what they are told if it is by an authority figure. I also appreciated what the woman said in response to the woman who said that everyone receives discrimination in a way. I like that she defended the fact that black people have to get up every day knowing that they have to defend who they are because people are so racist. Something that stuck with me was Mrs. Elliot's interview at the end when she mentioned that educators could fix this issue if they wanted to and that she hopes for a world where this isn't needed. I wish that educators tried harder, and I hope that one day we can be at a place where people don't recognize someone's skin color at all.
I was intrigued that it took kids so fast to turn on there best friends by an authority figure. Mrs. Elliot erased their memories the next day and assign opposite roles. I've been a few times discriminated but now I know how other people feel. This lesson should be taught everywhere so everyone is aware of racism.
Like Mr. Gallagher said, every time I watch the documentary I pick up something new. What struck me this time was that the woman in the adult group took off he collar immediately after the exercise, and how similar the kids to the adults actions were. Both the children and adults gave Mrs. Elliot an attitude that she would shut down and make the person feel weak. She made one women feel particularly weak that she did not even want to wear the collar back in. I thought the most beneficial part to her experiment was when one woman said the bit about when a black woman wakes up, she knows she is black. That was powerful because the whites felt discriminated against once when a black person was every day. This is what I picked up this time watching Mrs. Elliot
I thought that Mrs. Elliot did a great job simulating a segregated environment by acting as the authoritarian and discriminating against a particular group. I was surprised at how quickly the kids turned from peaceful to hateful. I was also shocked by how the adults responded similarly-- when certain individuals were labeled as inferior they felt pinned against a wall and one woman acted out because of her uncomfortable she was. I think Mrs. Elliot's exercise is very valid because it is hands-on activity that makes people aware of discrimination's effects. Although it is nearly impossible for a white person to know what it is like to be black, I think the "experiment" was effective.
This was my first time being exposed to this film, and quite frankly I was surprised I had not been introduced to it sooner in previous history classes. Not only did Mrs. Elliot define discrimination to her students, but she made sure the word actually meant something to them and that they understood it. I believe this approach was much more effective, as evidenced by the children’s test scores when they were superior compared to when they were inferior to their other classmates. I felt frustrated for the children being discriminated against because unlike the adults, they had a difficult time articulating exactly how they were feeling. Through this film, I learned how much power lies in simply tagging someone as different and how that can change an individual’s life.
After watching the documentary I was shocked that it was that easy to change people's opinions on a whole group of people. after being told they were better people wetter quick to alienate people they had worked with four years.
This was the first time that I had seen this film and I was glad that I had the chance to. I was so surprised at how quickly the people were willing to turn against each other, especially with the little kids, because many of them had been friends for years. I was also very impressed at how well Mrs. Elliot was able to keep her cool the whole time and conduct the experiment so well. I felt like from this film I really got a better idea of how racism comes about, that its ideas are actually passed down and it is sadly what some people are taught.
I thought this film was very interesting. I thought it was amazing how Mrs. Elliot was able to turn the kids against each other and then the next day reverse the situation. I was very surprised to see how easily these kids were manipulated and did not question authority. I think Mrs. Elliots lesson is very eye opening and i believe everyone should be taught it.
The thing that got me most about the experiment with the blue eyes/ brown eyes was not the reaction of the adults or the childrens immediate acceptance of authority, but rather it was the test scores of the children. The children's scores improve twofold simply because they were told they were better. This is like that experiment where they randomly selected some kids in the class, said they were "earlier bloomers", and then the kids started doing great acedemically. But beyond that, the children all improve their test scores after they underwent the exercise to make the point that they were all equal. The excercise enriched their minds to make them realize that they all had limitless potential, and their test scores reflected this mindset.
The documentary "Mrs. Elliot" was very interesting. It dealt with a 3rd grade teacher setting up a 2 day experiment with her students. She taught kids how not to be racist by segregating the kids by eye color and giving one eye color dominance over the other. On ethe 2nd day she switched around the dominance to the other eye color. She did this to teach all the kids what it was like to be a black person for a day. This changed each kids point of view for the rest of their lfe and then she did the same for some prisong guards and parolw officers years later. This amazed me how much they were able to change in just a matter of hours.
22 comments:
I thought the documentary was very intriguing. The way that Mrs. Elliot was able to manipulate the children into thinking that in one instant they were inferior because of their eye color to the next thinking that they were superior because of their eye color, and vice versa. It impressed me how she was able to deal with both children and adults when they talked back to her, and she seemed to be very good at providing indisputable arguments as the authority figure. Her experiment was a very clever and creative way of teaching people not to be prejudiced or racist, and it was amazing how her grown-up third grade students were so tolerant of other and had retained the lesson they had learned so many years ago. This documentary teaches me to not judge other people because I have never been in their situation, and it teaches everyone to be tolerant and to treat others equally.
What I found most interesting about the film was the similarities between the children and adults reactions. No matter what age, the exercise had the same effect. i also found it interesting that no one said they would rather have a different eye color. The children associated the discrimination with being labeled by the collar as different. It wasn't because they were ashamed of their eye color. I was also surprised that the town was angry at Mrs. Elliot, not because she stood up against racism, but because she drew attention to herself.
After I watched the film "A Class Divided", my personal beliefs about racism changed. I always thought people were being racist and treating blacks lesser then whites because they were just horrible and nasty people. Now that may be true but the main reason white people act superior to blacks is because that what they were taught. I realized anyone was capable of being racist if they don't recognize what an authority says is wrong. But unfortunately many people just listen to the authority so they don't get in trouble or that's all they have been taught to do. So these kids weren't racist at first. But once an authority figure set them up to be, they listen and turned to monsters. They didn't realize what they were doing was wrong when they were the superior one's. They just listened to the teacher and let her determine what they should think.
I was absent today
I found "A Class Divided" to be very interesting, and very insightful on the basis of human nature and the stem of racism. The fact that just because an authority figure said that one eye color was better than the others and everyone believed it was surprising. To be able to turn 3rd graders away from their friends is really astonishing because i know from seeing how my little cousin and her friends react that they're very clingy to each other. I also found it fascinating that Test scores improved and degraded based on what group the children belonged to. From watching this video it makes me wonder, if an authority figure had said that slavery was bad straight from the start, how the world would have shaped out to be. Its definetally something to think about
I was very surprised that the adults responded in the same way as the children did when Mrs. Elliot preformed the experiment. Since the adults are older and some of them claimed to understand discrimination, I expected them to stand up against authority for what was right. Only one man did that, though, and the rest conformed. Just as Mrs. Elliot emphasized, I learned one cannot judge someone else until they have walked in their shoes. I also took notice that people should question authority, especially when leaders are wrong. Being a bystander helps no one, so we should stand up for what is right in order to make a change. That is exactly what Mrs. Elliot did, even though she and her family faced the consequences.
I thought that Mrs. Elliott’s eye-color exercise was very thought-provoking and ingenious. I was so surprised by how the attitudes of these third graders changed within 15 minutes and how their grades improved dramatically when they were superior. For instance, when the brown eye kids were superior, they transformed themselves into confident leaders of the class and were suddenly became more outgoing and smart. Surrounding us today is a mixed society and it’s really difficult for people to acknowledge the black people’s feelings unless we actually experienced discrimination ourselves. It’s apparent to see how depressed and upset these kids were when they were isolated and judged by others. These white children only experienced made-up racism a couple of hours, on the other hand, the black people experience real racism and judgment every day even every single minute of their lives. The black people could not choose being blacks and of course no one wanted to experience isolation and prejudice. Not only did Mrs. Elliott’s exercise helped the young kids gain a new and valuable perspective on the immediate power of an authority figure over a group, but also taught children to counter stereotypes and recognize that every human being needs to be equally respected. Overall the film taught me that do not think yourself is superior to others and we should always remember to put ourselves into others shoes to see their feelings.
I thought the film was very interesting. I have herd of Mrs. Elliot before but never got the chance to see the documentary and see the effects it had on the children. The video shocked me by the way the children listen to authority and how they would treat others badly just because they are superior. Seeing how upset and sad those kids who were inferior were made me wonder how blacks could do it. Blacks never did anything wrong they just got discriminated on because they were a different color and thats not anything in their control and is completely unfair. This film made me think a lot about what the blacks had to go through for such a long time and how inferior they must have felt. I cant even imagine what they had to go through. This film opened up my eyes to how easily people can change their views on something just because some authority tells you too, in the real world you still see this happen often, and it continues to cause problems especially for people who are considered different.
While watching Mrs.Elliot perform that exercise with her third grade students, I found myself repeatedly shocked by the children's actions. After an authoritative figure told them one thing, they immediately accepted it. They started to reject kids they had been playing with that morning just because Mrs. Elliot had just told them that they had the superior eye color.I found myself most surprised when Mrs. Elliot switched the superiority roles. The kids that had just experienced so much pain and discomfort from the exercise where they were inferior were so quick to start treating the other students the same exact way. There was a lack of empathy from the students and I found it a bit disturbing.
It was so interesting to watch how the children responded to the exercise. It was very visible that the children became distraught when Mrs. Elliot said that their eye color made them inferior. When the children were told that they were actually the opposite of what they were the day before, it was crazy to watch them and their reactions to that. I also thought it was interesting how the children's performance during the flashcards was affected based upon if they were superior or inferior on that day.
When watching Mrs. Elliot's exercise with the adults at the correctional facilty, I was surprised by the fact that some of the men refused to follow her teachings just because they felt different. Some of the men felt uncomfortable and agitated after even 20 minutes. due to the way they were treated, they refused to participate in the exercise, and retreated into their shell.I was also surprised that the men in power seemed to not use their power, but push it onto others. THey would use their ruling to ensure that others were put in trouble.
Even though Mrs. Elliot modified the way she taught the lesson to fit adults, it still surprised me how easily they accepted this concept. I remember watching the one with the third grade class wondering how this could work with adults. It really shows how easily people accept what they are told if it is by an authority figure. I also appreciated what the woman said in response to the woman who said that everyone receives discrimination in a way. I like that she defended the fact that black people have to get up every day knowing that they have to defend who they are because people are so racist. Something that stuck with me was Mrs. Elliot's interview at the end when she mentioned that educators could fix this issue if they wanted to and that she hopes for a world where this isn't needed. I wish that educators tried harder, and I hope that one day we can be at a place where people don't recognize someone's skin color at all.
I was intrigued that it took kids so fast to turn on there best friends by an authority figure. Mrs. Elliot erased their memories the next day and assign opposite roles. I've been a few times discriminated but now I know how other people feel. This lesson should be taught everywhere so everyone is aware of racism.
Like Mr. Gallagher said, every time I watch the documentary I pick up something new. What struck me this time was that the woman in the adult group took off he collar immediately after the exercise, and how similar the kids to the adults actions were. Both the children and adults gave Mrs. Elliot an attitude that she would shut down and make the person feel weak. She made one women feel particularly weak that she did not even want to wear the collar back in. I thought the most beneficial part to her experiment was when one woman said the bit about when a black woman wakes up, she knows she is black. That was powerful because the whites felt discriminated against once when a black person was every day. This is what I picked up this time watching Mrs. Elliot
I thought that Mrs. Elliot did a great job simulating a segregated environment by acting as the authoritarian and discriminating against a particular group. I was surprised at how quickly the kids turned from peaceful to hateful. I was also shocked by how the adults responded similarly-- when certain individuals were labeled as inferior they felt pinned against a wall and one woman acted out because of her uncomfortable she was. I think Mrs. Elliot's exercise is very valid because it is hands-on activity that makes people aware of discrimination's effects. Although it is nearly impossible for a white person to know what it is like to be black, I think the "experiment" was effective.
This was my first time being exposed to this film, and quite frankly I was surprised I had not been introduced to it sooner in previous history classes. Not only did Mrs. Elliot define discrimination to her students, but she made sure the word actually meant something to them and that they understood it. I believe this approach was much more effective, as evidenced by the children’s test scores when they were superior compared to when they were inferior to their other classmates. I felt frustrated for the children being discriminated against because unlike the adults, they had a difficult time articulating exactly how they were feeling. Through this film, I learned how much power lies in simply tagging someone as different and how that can change an individual’s life.
After watching the documentary I was shocked that it was that easy to change people's opinions on a whole group of people. after being told they were better people wetter quick to alienate people they had worked with four years.
This was the first time that I had seen this film and I was glad that I had the chance to. I was so surprised at how quickly the people were willing to turn against each other, especially with the little kids, because many of them had been friends for years. I was also very impressed at how well Mrs. Elliot was able to keep her cool the whole time and conduct the experiment so well. I felt like from this film I really got a better idea of how racism comes about, that its ideas are actually passed down and it is sadly what some people are taught.
I thought this film was very interesting. I thought it was amazing how Mrs. Elliot was able to turn the kids against each other and then the next day reverse the situation. I was very surprised to see how easily these kids were manipulated and did not question authority. I think Mrs. Elliots lesson is very eye opening and i believe everyone should be taught it.
The thing that got me most about the experiment with the blue eyes/ brown eyes was not the reaction of the adults or the childrens immediate acceptance of authority, but rather it was the test scores of the children. The children's scores improve twofold simply because they were told they were better. This is like that experiment where they randomly selected some kids in the class, said they were "earlier bloomers", and then the kids started doing great acedemically. But beyond that, the children all improve their test scores after they underwent the exercise to make the point that they were all equal. The excercise enriched their minds to make them realize that they all had limitless potential, and their test scores reflected this mindset.
The documentary "Mrs. Elliot" was very interesting. It dealt with a 3rd grade teacher setting up a 2 day experiment with her students. She taught kids how not to be racist by segregating the kids by eye color and giving one eye color dominance over the other. On ethe 2nd day she switched around the dominance to the other eye color. She did this to teach all the kids what it was like to be a black person for a day. This changed each kids point of view for the rest of their lfe and then she did the same for some prisong guards and parolw officers years later. This amazed me how much they were able to change in just a matter of hours.
i was absent
Post a Comment