Describe your initial reaction to this video. What did you learn?

 The video “A Class Divided” was a really interesting documentary. My initial reaction to this video would come as shocking and surprised. The way that Jane Elliot taught her 3rd grade class the seriousness of racism was groundbreaking. I, myself, have never thought about discussing the idea of racism through the color of one’s eyes. I learned that students should be informed at an early age the importance of not judging one another. No one deserves to be judged solely off of one’s physical appearance, but rather by their inner personality and judgment.

 

What scene or scenes do you think you'll still remember a month from now and why those scenes?

 The one scene that I would remember will most likely be the scene the two best friends got in a fight at recess. This particular scene stood out to me for a variety of reasons. The way these two friends started looking down upon another was astonishing. In only a matter of days, these two once inseparable friends hardly wanted to associate with one another. The main reason behind this controversy was based solely on each other’s eye color. The second scene that stood out to me was when one of the blue eyed students came to class the next day and “forgot” his glasses. This to me meant that he wanted everyone brown-eyed student to know that he was better than them.

 

Did any part of the film surprise you? Do you think someone of a different race, ethnicity, or religion would also find it surprising?

 Yes, there was a part of the film that did surprise me. The way that Jane Elliot’s class came divided in a matter of minutes. The once marvelous, cooperative, wonderful, thoughtful children turn into nasty, vicious, discriminating little third-graders in a matter of fifteen minutes. Kids that were so close to one another threw away their friendship because of a simple thing as eye color. The children resorted to fighting, bullying, mocking, and looking down upon one another. The blue eyed children thought as if they were superior to the brown-eyed children. Yes I do believe that someone of another race would find this surprising. This classroom study provides information about how easily someone can be influenced to become hatred towards a different race or ethnicity.

 

What was the exercise that Elliott designed a response to the children's question, "Why would anyone want to murder Martin Luther King?" Did the film provide an answer to the question? Can you answer the question?

 The exercise that Jane Elliott underwent in her classroom dealt with separating students among brown-eyed and blue-eyed. This exercise dealt directly by stating that students with brown eyes were superior to those of blue eyes. The children with blue eyes received less attention, reduced recess, and revoked privileges. The following day, the role was reversed. Now the blue-eyed children were superior to the brown-eyed children. Same rules applied as the day before, the brown-eyed children had revoked privileges. The film provided the information to the question based solely off of people did not like what he stood for. They believed that their race was superior over one another and that’s what they lived by.

 

What did the children's body language indicate about the impact of discrimination?

 The children’s body language indicated the impact of discrimination is very serious. Their body language revealed that they had been rejected among students that they once considered their friends. The image on their face told the entire story about the effect of discrimination. You could tell that the children were rather depressed, picked on, and considered a no body. By the children experiencing the impact of discrimination, they were able to understand firsthand what people of the opposite race face.

 

How did the negative and positive labels placed on a group become self-fulfilling prophecies?

 The positive and negative labels placed on the group of children did become self-fulfilling prophecies. This is shown when Jane Elliot administers a series of test on Tuesday and Wednesday. Students that were among the blue-eyed clique scored relatively higher than the brown-eyed clique on Tuesday morning. The following day on Wednesday, the results shifted. The brown-eyed students shown drastic improvement on the test, and the blue-eyed students dropped significantly from the day before. When each student was placed in a superior role, they believed that they smarter than the other by the way they increased their scores.

 

In the prison seminar, one of the white women asserts that all people face some kind of discrimination. Another woman challenges her, claiming that whites can't really know what it's like to face discrimination every minute of every day. What do you think?

 Yes, I do believe that all types of race and ethnicities can experience some form of discrimination. However, some may experience more forms of discrimination on a daily basis according to their race and ethnicity. Through my personal opinion, no one is safe from the ideas of discrimination. We are all at times judged by our outer appearance, color, and personal judgments. The idea of discrimination has been around for decades, and will forever be one of the most talked about topics in our society today.

 

Both Elliott and her former students talk about whether or not this exercise should be done with all children. What do you think? If the exercise could be harmful to children, as Elliott suggests, what do you think actual discrimination might do?

Yes, I believe this strategy should be implemented for all children during their early childhood education years. This exercise teaches children at an early age the impact that discrimination has on people’s lives. Jane Elliot reveals that this particular exercise could be harmful to children. However, the act of actual discrimination may by much worst. The idea of discrimination can become a very serious matter that affects people not only physically, but also mentally. By teaching the importance of discrimination at an early age, students will learn the importance to not judge someone solely off of their skin color.

 

What features did Elliott ascribe to the superior and inferior groups and how did those characteristics reflect stereotypes about blacks and whites?

 Elliot ascribed many characteristics to both the superior and inferior groups in her documentary video. During her lesson, Elliot noted that the blue-eyed adults were more obnoxious, over-bearing, and disrespectful. While the brown-eyed adults were respectful, and sincere towards the instructor. The superior groups felt as if they were over the inferior groups. These characteristic reflected about blacks and whites in a variety of ways. During the lesson when someone was being challenged, others would not chime in their opinion, in fear that they would be called out. That same principle applies to discrimination; people witness it on a daily basis but would rather say nothing about it.

 

How did Elliott's discrimination create no-win situations for those placed in the inferior group? How did she selectively interpret behavior to confirm the stereotypes she had assigned?

 Elliot created a no-win situation in a variety of ways. Elliot made sure that no one in the inferior group would ever win an argument. She always had a counter argument in return and that allowed everyone to see that person’s true character. During the discrimination lesson, Elliot strategically chose to interpret the behaviors of the individuals she had chosen. By interpreting the different behaviors of each person, Elliot was able to describe how it feels for one to be discriminated. The individuals felt powerless, hopeless, and disrespected.

 

It's easy to understand why third-graders might not refuse to obey their teacher, but when the exercise is done with the prison guards, why don't any of the adults object?

 Yes, it is very easy to understand why third-graders might refuse Jane Elliot’s exercise. I believe that the prison guards decided not to object for several reasons. First, I believe that the guards wanted to become more knowledgeable about ways to reduce discrimination. Secondly, they wanted to learn how they can change their overall viewpoint on different races and ethnicities. Through my personal opinion, I believe every adult knew that they have discriminated in the past. By staying they were willing to learn new and valuable ways to be better prepared for their job.

 

At recess, two of the boys from different groups get in a fight. Elliott asks the one who was teased if responding with violence made him feel better or made the teasing stop. What does the answer suggest about the use of violence as a political strategy? At the time, who was using violence for political purposes and why?

 During recess in Jane Elliot’s third grade class, two of her students got into a fight. The whole fight was over one another being a part of two different social classes, brown-eyes, and blue eyes. The child revealed that responding with violence did not make him feel better about the situation. The answer regarding the use of violence as a political strategy reveals that violence should never be the answer. At the time the child was being picked on, he resorted to violence to solve the problem. He thought as if that would solve things, but rather he realized that violence solves nothing.

 

How is the blue eyes/brown eyes exercise related to the Sioux prayer, "Help me not judge a person until I have walked in his shoes"

 The exercise implemented by Jane Elliot is directly related to the Sioux prayer. Her exercise allows her students to experience firsthand how discrimination feels. No one truly knows the pain that someone goes through on a daily basis when they are being made fun of. By allowing her students to be members of both brown and blue-eyed groups in her class, they learned the seriousness of discrimination. Each student felt terrible when they were looked down upon because they shared different physical appearances. They all learned a valuable lesson, and promised to never judge someone solely off their skin color.

 

Summary

 Lesson five dealt directly with the idea of how serious the idea of discrimination is. We watched the documentary known at “The Divided Classroom”. The teacher, Jane Elliot partook in an amazing class room lesson that allowed students to feel the underlying effect of discrimination. Her lesson went viral and is now being used my educators everywhere. Overall, this lesson was very interesting for me to learn about.