This Blog is a resource tool for the students taking the "FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES" elective at Westborough High School, Westborough, Massachusetts.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
"Eye of the Storm" - Period 1
Today, we watched the documentary, IN THE EYE OF THE STORM. What did you learn from this film?. Post a reflective comment about the film and make sure to comment on one other student's post.
17 comments:
Anonymous
said...
This movie was really interesting. we got to see a new point of view. Instead of seeing what adults thought at the time, we got to see racism and discrimination through children's eyes. We also saw how much it affected them when they were being treated as inferior, and how powerful they felt when they were part of the superior group. Although very straight forward, I think this is a great method to use when teaching kids not to judge by skin color or any other difference. I admire that teacher, she did a great job.
What I learned from the film was from the actions of the children. I found it really surprising that the children, dispite knowing that they all were equal would haze the other children who had blue or brown eyes. The influence the teacher had over the kids was astounding, the fact that she could convince them so much that the other kids would go so far to harass the other kids. What this taught me was that people are really brutish and cruel when given the chance. That in our current society our real emtions are masked.
Lina, I agree that it is a very effective way in teaching children about discrimination, and I also admire her.
I really liked the experiment the teacher tried with the kids. I think the film intelligently used the innocence of young kids to show the cruelty and the nasty bits of the world. Racism is obviously a huge issue, and it can be limited if we teach young kids the right thing, and the film certainly explained that. The kids showed many expressions and feelings that adults today would be afraid to show on the outside. I was very disappointed to hear the outcome of the film, with the kids being harrassed and such. It's very unfortunate.
Jared- I agree with you, it really was astonishing to see the influence of the teacher on the young kids. Simply words and authority can change what a person is or not. It was shocking to see the kids really get into it, yet very interesting at the same time.
What I learned from the movie is that the mind of a young child is very maluable. If you teach a child important lessons such as good manors, a good work ethic, ect. they will keep these things for the rest of their lives. This is why it is so important that children are taught about respecting others no mateer what race they are at a young age. If done properly like it was in the film, the lesson will stick with them for the rest of their lves.
Jared, that is a very good point about the teachers influence. How children see the grown-ups act is how they will act as well. Whatever the grown-ups tell the children to do, they will act that way. If a child hears their parents calling a black person a nigger or something of that sort, the kids will more than likely take the same perspective as their parents. This is why it is so important for the grown-ups around the children to be good role models.
i really liked this video and thought the teacher was incredibly brave to teach such a lesson. It was a psychological test on the her students to teach them that every one is created equal. I found the reaction of the students to be what I thought they would be, and the fact that she was allowed to do this experiment for more than one time was amazing. Parents dont like when people "mess with" their kids, so it was no wonder she was eventually exiled. She was brave and if every teacher did that within 4 generations we could end any form of racism in America. Unfortunately many teachers would find this to be radical because of the feelings that the experiment made the young students feel, would seem to be extreme.
I only wish more children were taught this lesson, while their ideas and morals are still so easily molded. They could use their own raw emotion and associate it with the lesson and memory, and maybe never treat anyone that way, because they remember how it made them feel.
One thing that I found especially shocking in the video is that it literally took minutes to turn a happy class of 3rd (?) graders into a cruel, hierarchical society. Before the experiment, they said that they knew being racist was bad and that they should treat each other equally, but it did not stand for much once the experiment had started.
Lina, I agree that the teacher did a good job in teaching the kids. Even though they had horrible times for one of the two days, it was intentional and taught a valuable lesson about life, and the students were happy as a class again afterwards.
I really enjoyed watching this film today. I thought that what the teacher did, and how she took a stance in her community to try and make a difference. I think that it would be cool to watch the film when it is the teacher and students grown up. I think that most of them if not all have been touched by her lesson.
Jared- I agree with what you said and how the teacher had so much powder over them. Being able to have that much influence over someone is amazing. It really taught them a good lesson that they hopefull listened to and shared it positivley with others.
I learned not to judge people by their physical appearance, but by who they really are. I believe that the teacher did the right thing even though eventually she had to leave. She planted a seed of knowledge that will be in those children forever.
I thought this film was very interesting. I also believe that the teacher’s experiment was very effective in getting the point across, racism is wrong and we should not think of anyone else as inferior because of their differences. This experiment proved that we are all different physically, but emotionally we are the same. We don’t like to be laughed at or called names, but when it’s to another person we tend to feel a sense of power. As many of you have said, the teacher was very brave it is a shame that the community did not back her up.
Carla- I agree, those children learned a very valuable lesson, and hopefully they were apple to pass that knowledge along to their children and so on.
After watching this experiment it was very shocking to see how easily children can be manipulated into thinking something that wasn't true minutes before. This test showed no matter what age racism exists and when put in the "superior" race people really show their true colors. The general human population is malicious and brutal when it really comes down to it. Its just amazing to see that a simplistic experiment of eye color can turn into a social issue. This teacher was very brave to stand up and against what was occurring at the time. She knew it was wrong to judge others upon their skin color and I feel that many believed that but were just afraid to change something that was accepted nationwide. All of the children jumped on the racial bandwagon, without even knowing. Whether they were the majority or minority, many knew it was wrong and still participated in the act. This was just a small view into a larger picture and its sad to see how kids act when put against one another. If kids act this way then how do adults?
I agree with Lina that with this experiment we got to look into a generation that is so easily influenced by others and their views on particular subjects.
I thought that this film was really powerful. It showed how the influence of a higher authority can affect the mind of the society. In this documentary, you observe that the kids based their decisions and their beliefs off the teacher. the question from there is why? It was because she had the power to control their activities and that made a difference. She used an example of the colors of the children's eyes to show how discrimination is bad. She showed how ridiculous it can actually be. All of the kids were able to see how it felt to be discriminated. That is what she really wanted to show. You can tell that the kids were affected by it, and that it was an experience that the kids will most likely keep in the back of their minds. Overall, the experiment went well and I think that it was a success.
Elise- I agree with you on the fact that no matter what age you are, discrimination exist. It is something that has developed in human nature and it would be very hard to eradicate it. It is something that can be prevented though and that was the goal of the teacher. She wanted kids to know why it is bad. She is trying to show that everyone should be considered equal and no one should be superior to someone else when it is based on something out of their control.
I really liked the film we watched today. It showed how anyone's mind can shift focus depending on how they are treated and what was thought about them. After going through the experiment, the kids were able to feel the pain and they were able to unite in the end because they didn't want any one feeling that way. This teacher did a great job using eye color as an example to have the kids learn a lesson on racism.
Lisbeth: I agree with your statement on how even though we are different physically, we are all the same emotionally.
I dont really have much to say about this film that hasnt already been explained in the film itself. A key message is how children can be influenced in a bad way, but also in a good way by authoritative figures. The reasons for this can be explained and is most definately a proven fact. I like how Justin "Slamtown" put it, "mind of a young child is very maluable". Cognitively children of 7-8 years old are not able to process this information. Thanks to SCIENCE, scientific resarch/facts and the four stages of cognative development, we know the second stage (the preocupational period in 2-7 year olds)children use symbolic thinking. In a nutshell in this stage thinking is egocentric and the child has a hard time taking the viewpoint of others. The next stage that effects 7-11 year olds is the concrete operational stage. Development is further along in general, but children are still not able to process abstract or hypothetical concepts and still can only solve problems that are concrete. This Paigetian theory does not incorporate "gaps" such as in an incorrect develpmental progression, but it does apply to the general 3rd grader (hmmm a general study can be good?). Now instiling certain morals at a young age is effect, but repetion is needed. It is highly unlikely that these children will be able to process this lesson to the extent to long term effectiveness because the aspect of repetion is needed (and with the homelife back then that sort of repitition is highly unlikely). Weather the teacher was aware of this, she still turned her admirable back on society, and even if the effect wasnt actually on the children, there was some on others who knew about the experiment. A win win situation for the teacher, but she lost in numbers at the time.
I think that this film brought up really good points. I think that if people opened up to these simple experiments people at a young age would learn the horrors of racism. The teacher had to have been a really strong individual to have endured the harsh critisism from the racist people the experiment was targeting.
I thought what alexa said was rather interesting and well written. Im not so familiar with the details of psycology, but I think it brings up a very interesting point that I didnt consider until now. It makes me wonder if children of this age can process this information. Piggy-backing off of what Jared said, I also thought the effect the teacher had on the children was interesting becuase it shows that the opinion of some adults are mirrored upon the youth.
One thing that struck me was the determination of Mrs. Elliot to do this experiment. In one night she devised it and was determined to carry it out, even with the possibility of it having a negative effect on the children she subjected to the experiment and of being criticized for it. I agree with Jason that she has to have been a very strong person to do it.
i liked the expiriment, but i think it only gave people a little bit of insight on what it meant to be colored at the time, my opinion is that they still have no idea what it meant to be colored in america. my point is that you cant really judge what something is really like without having gone through it in it's full extent.
17 comments:
This movie was really interesting. we got to see a new point of view. Instead of seeing what adults thought at the time, we got to see racism and discrimination through children's eyes. We also saw how much it affected them when they were being treated as inferior, and how powerful they felt when they were part of the superior group. Although very straight forward, I think this is a great method to use when teaching kids not to judge by skin color or any other difference. I admire that teacher, she did a great job.
What I learned from the film was from the actions of the children. I found it really surprising that the children, dispite knowing that they all were equal would haze the other children who had blue or brown eyes. The influence the teacher had over the kids was astounding, the fact that she could convince them so much that the other kids would go so far to harass the other kids. What this taught me was that people are really brutish and cruel when given the chance. That in our current society our real emtions are masked.
Lina, I agree that it is a very effective way in teaching children about discrimination, and I also admire her.
I really liked the experiment the teacher tried with the kids. I think the film intelligently used the innocence of young kids to show the cruelty and the nasty bits of the world. Racism is obviously a huge issue, and it can be limited if we teach young kids the right thing, and the film certainly explained that. The kids showed many expressions and feelings that adults today would be afraid to show on the outside. I was very disappointed to hear the outcome of the film, with the kids being harrassed and such. It's very unfortunate.
Jared- I agree with you, it really was astonishing to see the influence of the teacher on the young kids. Simply words and authority can change what a person is or not. It was shocking to see the kids really get into it, yet very interesting at the same time.
What I learned from the movie is that the mind of a young child is very maluable. If you teach a child important lessons such as good manors, a good work ethic, ect. they will keep these things for the rest of their lives. This is why it is so important that children are taught about respecting others no mateer what race they are at a young age. If done properly like it was in the film, the lesson will stick with them for the rest of their lves.
Jared, that is a very good point about the teachers influence. How children see the grown-ups act is how they will act as well. Whatever the grown-ups tell the children to do, they will act that way. If a child hears their parents calling a black person a nigger or something of that sort, the kids will more than likely take the same perspective as their parents. This is why it is so important for the grown-ups around the children to be good role models.
i really liked this video and thought the teacher was incredibly brave to teach such a lesson. It was a psychological test on the her students to teach them that every one is created equal. I found the reaction of the students to be what I thought they would be, and the fact that she was allowed to do this experiment for more than one time was amazing. Parents dont like when people "mess with" their kids, so it was no wonder she was eventually exiled. She was brave and if every teacher did that within 4 generations we could end any form of racism in America. Unfortunately many teachers would find this to be radical because of the feelings that the experiment made the young students feel, would seem to be extreme.
I only wish more children were taught this lesson, while their ideas and morals are still so easily molded. They could use their own raw emotion and associate it with the lesson and memory, and maybe never treat anyone that way, because they remember how it made them feel.
One thing that I found especially shocking in the video is that it literally took minutes to turn a happy class of 3rd (?) graders into a cruel, hierarchical society. Before the experiment, they said that they knew being racist was bad and that they should treat each other equally, but it did not stand for much once the experiment had started.
Lina, I agree that the teacher did a good job in teaching the kids. Even though they had horrible times for one of the two days, it was intentional and taught a valuable lesson about life, and the students were happy as a class again afterwards.
I really enjoyed watching this film today. I thought that what the teacher did, and how she took a stance in her community to try and make a difference. I think that it would be cool to watch the film when it is the teacher and students grown up. I think that most of them if not all have been touched by her lesson.
Jared- I agree with what you said and how the teacher had so much powder over them. Being able to have that much influence over someone is amazing. It really taught them a good lesson that they hopefull listened to and shared it positivley with others.
I learned not to judge people by their physical appearance, but by who they really are. I believe that the teacher did the right thing even though eventually she had to leave. She planted a seed of knowledge that will be in those children forever.
I thought this film was very interesting. I also believe that the teacher’s experiment was very effective in getting the point across, racism is wrong and we should not think of anyone else as inferior because of their differences. This experiment proved that we are all different physically, but emotionally we are the same. We don’t like to be laughed at or called names, but when it’s to another person we tend to feel a sense of power. As many of you have said, the teacher was very brave it is a shame that the community did not back her up.
Carla- I agree, those children learned a very valuable lesson, and hopefully they were apple to pass that knowledge along to their children and so on.
After watching this experiment it was very shocking to see how easily children can be manipulated into thinking something that wasn't true minutes before. This test showed no matter what age racism exists and when put in the "superior" race people really show their true colors. The general human population is malicious and brutal when it really comes down to it. Its just amazing to see that a simplistic experiment of eye color can turn into a social issue. This teacher was very brave to stand up and against what was occurring at the time. She knew it was wrong to judge others upon their skin color and I feel that many believed that but were just afraid to change something that was accepted nationwide. All of the children jumped on the racial bandwagon, without even knowing. Whether they were the majority or minority, many knew it was wrong and still participated in the act. This was just a small view into a larger picture and its sad to see how kids act when put against one another. If kids act this way then how do adults?
I agree with Lina that with this experiment we got to look into a generation that is so easily influenced by others and their views on particular subjects.
I thought that this film was really powerful. It showed how the influence of a higher authority can affect the mind of the society. In this documentary, you observe that the kids based their decisions and their beliefs off the teacher. the question from there is why? It was because she had the power to control their activities and that made a difference. She used an example of the colors of the children's eyes to show how discrimination is bad. She showed how ridiculous it can actually be. All of the kids were able to see how it felt to be discriminated. That is what she really wanted to show. You can tell that the kids were affected by it, and that it was an experience that the kids will most likely keep in the back of their minds. Overall, the experiment went well and I think that it was a success.
Elise- I agree with you on the fact that no matter what age you are, discrimination exist. It is something that has developed in human nature and it would be very hard to eradicate it. It is something that can be prevented though and that was the goal of the teacher. She wanted kids to know why it is bad. She is trying to show that everyone should be considered equal and no one should be superior to someone else when it is based on something out of their control.
I really liked the film we watched today. It showed how anyone's mind can shift focus depending on how they are treated and what was thought about them. After going through the experiment, the kids were able to feel the pain and they were able to unite in the end because they didn't want any one feeling that way. This teacher did a great job using eye color as an example to have the kids learn a lesson on racism.
Lisbeth:
I agree with your statement on how even though we are different physically, we are all the same emotionally.
I dont really have much to say about this film that hasnt already been explained in the film itself. A key message is how children can be influenced in a bad way, but also in a good way by authoritative figures. The reasons for this can be explained and is most definately a proven fact. I like how Justin "Slamtown" put it, "mind of a young child is very maluable". Cognitively children of 7-8 years old are not able to process this information. Thanks to SCIENCE, scientific resarch/facts and the four stages of cognative development, we know the second stage (the preocupational period in 2-7 year olds)children use symbolic thinking. In a nutshell in this stage thinking is egocentric and the child has a hard time taking the viewpoint of others. The next stage that effects 7-11 year olds is the concrete operational stage. Development is further along in general, but children are still not able to process abstract or hypothetical concepts and still can only solve problems that are concrete. This Paigetian theory does not incorporate "gaps" such as in an incorrect develpmental progression, but it does apply to the general 3rd grader (hmmm a general study can be good?). Now instiling certain morals at a young age is effect, but repetion is needed. It is highly unlikely that these children will be able to process this lesson to the extent to long term effectiveness because the aspect of repetion is needed (and with the homelife back then that sort of repitition is highly unlikely). Weather the teacher was aware of this, she still turned her admirable back on society, and even if the effect wasnt actually on the children, there was some on others who knew about the experiment. A win win situation for the teacher, but she lost in numbers at the time.
I think that this film brought up really good points. I think that if people opened up to these simple experiments people at a young age would learn the horrors of racism. The teacher had to have been a really strong individual to have endured the harsh critisism from the racist people the experiment was targeting.
I thought what alexa said was rather interesting and well written. Im not so familiar with the details of psycology, but I think it brings up a very interesting point that I didnt consider until now. It makes me wonder if children of this age can process this information. Piggy-backing off of what Jared said, I also thought the effect the teacher had on the children was interesting becuase it shows that the opinion of some adults are mirrored upon the youth.
One thing that struck me was the determination of Mrs. Elliot to do this experiment. In one night she devised it and was determined to carry it out, even with the possibility of it having a negative effect on the children she subjected to the experiment and of being criticized for it. I agree with Jason that she has to have been a very strong person to do it.
i liked the expiriment, but i think it only gave people a little bit of insight on what it meant to be colored at the time, my opinion is that they still have no idea what it meant to be colored in america. my point is that you cant really judge what something is really like without having gone through it in it's full extent.
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