A Class Divided: Discrimination Against Others
Individual Assignment - A Class Divided
This week I learned about discrimination against others. This is something that I think about often however I have never thought to educate others so that they are aware of discrimination and how not discriminate. I have always taken every extra step to make sure that I have not discriminated against anyone, even accidentally. I try to make everyone feel included and feel good about themselves. This week our readings were on the different types of people in the world and how important diversity is to the survival of our species.
One of our assignments was to watch A Class Divided. This video is about how a teacher of a small class in Iowa taught her students about discrimination by dividing the students by his or her eye colors. She basically made the blue eyed students and the brown eyed students hate each other. It was incredible. In later years the same activity was done to a group of adults with the same, if not more shocking results.
I find it interesting that a group of elementary school students would be so hateful toward someone else just because he or she had been told that they were either better than or not as good as the other group. I believe that the children were learning what it was like to have a privilege, and then to have that taken away from them. They were also learning about the Golden Rule. How many of those children think ever forgot that day when they were treated so lowly?
When this was done with adults I was even more surprised! In my opinion, adults should be able to rationalize what is going on. I am quite sure that if I was in a room divided by eye color – I would figure out fairly quickly that the individual doing our training is not just some person who is trying to make my life miserable for the day. I would be able to figure out that I am part of an example and a social experiment. I am sure that some people did figure it out. I am wondering why these individuals felt
This week I learned about discrimination against others. This is something that I think about often however I have never thought to educate others so that they are aware of discrimination and how not discriminate. I have always taken every extra step to make sure that I have not discriminated against anyone, even accidentally. I try to make everyone feel included and feel good about themselves. This week our readings were on the different types of people in the world and how important diversity is to the survival of our species.
One of our assignments was to watch A Class Divided. This video is about how a teacher of a small class in Iowa taught her students about discrimination by dividing the students by his or her eye colors. She basically made the blue eyed students and the brown eyed students hate each other. It was incredible. In later years the same activity was done to a group of adults with the same, if not more shocking results.
I find it interesting that a group of elementary school students would be so hateful toward someone else just because he or she had been told that they were either better than or not as good as the other group. I believe that the children were learning what it was like to have a privilege, and then to have that taken away from them. They were also learning about the Golden Rule. How many of those children think ever forgot that day when they were treated so lowly?
When this was done with adults I was even more surprised! In my opinion, adults should be able to rationalize what is going on. I am quite sure that if I was in a room divided by eye color – I would figure out fairly quickly that the individual doing our training is not just some person who is trying to make my life miserable for the day. I would be able to figure out that I am part of an example and a social experiment. I am sure that some people did figure it out. I am wondering why these individuals felt
References: A Class Divided (Frontline, 1985, retrieved September 16, 1020; www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html.)