Summary Of A Class Divided, Directed By Jane Elliot

Change can happen in an instant. The main cause of change is due to trying to fit in or trying to feel superior. People want to feel privileged and thus discriminate against others. The movie we watched in class, A CLASS DIVIDED shows how fast people change and discriminate. When Jane Elliot, a Riceville, Iowa teacher, separates her students into units by the color of their eyes, things quickly get out of hand. Some of the main ideas that surprised me included how much control an authoritative figure has, how fast the children turned and how students lived up to expectations. To start out, Jane Elliot was a loving teacher who treated everyone respectfully. When she decided to do the experiment and split the children into groups, all morals
When groups did flash cards, the blue-eyed superior group, finished the cards in two and a half minutes. When they were inferior, it took them almost five minutes. When asked why it took longer, they all agreed it was because their minds were on the collars. The kids described the collars as making them feel “chained up” and “ being like a dog on a leash”. Also, Stanford University said this correlation was not possible which I found unbelievable since it occurred. This explains why students fill the self-profiling prophecies they are placed into. When a kid is told they are superior, they focus more to try and to live up to their expectations. If the student thinks the teachers thinks he or she is dumb, the student will not care about their work and live up to the expectations as well. This movie relates to the Sioux prayer, “Help me not judge a person until I have walked in his shoes” well. This prayer verbalizes you should not judge people until you know their full story. This is true because no two people are exactly alike. If a teacher gets to know students and encourages them instead of just judging them. The students will feel confident and want to