EDUC 2120-Lesson 5:

A Class Divided

 

Overview Viewpoint:

Lesson five of EDUC 2120 focuses on discrimination. For this lesson we had to watch a video on a teacher named Jane Elliott. Jane Elliott divided her class into blue eyed and brown eyed groups and gave them a lesson on discrimination and the video shows how they took the lesson and used it 30 years later. It made a lasting impact on children who lived in a all white Iowa town. In the videos the children tell their side and how it made them feel.

 

General Reactions

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

My first reaction to this video was how well her exercise worked on the children. It helped open the students mind. I liked how it put the children in other peoples shoes and had them experience how it felt. I learned that this was a good exercise on teaching children about discrimination. I learned how good it is to teach children young about discrimination because like it the video as those children grew up they were able to use what they learned and even though they lived in a all white small town they were still able use what they learned when they left that town.

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

One scene i will remember is when on the first day she gave the blue eyed and brown eye children tests. On the first day the brown eyed children scored low when they thought the blue eyed children was better then them. Then when the roles switched the brown eyes scored higher then there average and when the blue eyes were better then them. That experiment was a good example to me of how people perform by how they feel about themselves. If they have low self-esteem and are told that they are stupid they will perform like it. But if they are told that they are the smartest and and they are better they perform at high levels.

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

Not much surpised me but what did was how easily these children were able to express themselves. What surprised me was how good they understood what was going on even though they dont come in contact with people of color that often. I do however think others would find this surprising.

• 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 Blue eye and Brown eye experiment. I think the film did cover the question. It was a create example of how one might be discriminated against over many different things other then just race. MLK was discriminated against because of his color.

Impact of Discrimination

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

When they were labled as the "smart ones" they started to pick on the ones who werent. They started to see themselves as better. Two of the boys on opposite roles also got into a fight with one another. But when they switched roles they felt sad and started to feel like they were stupid. They didnt feel good about thereselves. They were started to understand how it felt to be discriminated on and they didnt like it.

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

The negative and positive labels become self-fulfilling prophecies beause they use what the learned as they grow up. They learn not to judge someone from the outside. This also carries on with them that no matter what someone thinks or calls you that is not who you are. They shouldn't let the negative things get to them.

• 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?

I fell like that white women is the type to discriminate on others. In a way she was acting as if she was better then everyone in there. She wasnt really trying to understand the lesson in my opinion. The other women was right , she wouldnt know how it feels so she can't compare. 20 yrs ago discrimination was different and blacks had very little opportunities where the white women would have many.

• 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?

The exercise she created was actually a pretty smart one. I do feel like this could be harmful to some students but only to the ones who discriminate. It would have them feeling bad about what they are doing. If a teacher did a similar exercise but not correctly it could harm a child. They may actually believe that they really arent "smart" and can hurt them as they grow and become adults.

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

For superior she was describing them as smart also rude & didnt listen. As for inferior they were labled as stupid but quite and listen when it come to the prison seminar. These stereotypes are still going on today. Blacks were labled as stupid and that they can't and wont be anything. Whites were superior and were viewed as better.

• 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?

At the seminar it was putting the blue eyed people in people of colored shoes. It was trying to show how blacks were discriminated against and werent allowed to speak on how they felt. Most times they werent listened to. Blacks couldnt win. They werent being heard. The behavior that was going on was that the blue eyed people was getting upset but there was nothing they could do about it.

• 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?

The target of the exercise wasnt mainly towards the superior group, they felt or looked happy beause they got to watched the reactions. There was some in the inferior group who also didnt saying because they didnt want to get the same treatment. 

• 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?

The one who was getting teased was using violence for political purpose. That was him standing up for himself because he was tired of what was being said to him & was tired of being picked on. But it also proves the violence is not the answer and it doesnt solve anything.

• 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 blue eyes/ brown eyes exercise puts them into each other shows. It makes them feel how each other felt. Before they knew how it felt like they didnt have a good understanding on discrimination. To understand you would have to know how it feels.

• Summary

Discrimination happens many times. A lot of times people dont even realize they are doing it. Elliot exercise taught and still teaches many children and adults about how you shouldnt disriminate. We shouldnt judge someone from the outside but from the inside. That is 100% how i feel , you should never judge a book by its cover. People still discriminate in todays society but its not so much skin color but its examples like how they dress or even who they hang with. Which isnt right.

Research Question
can someone be discriminatory without being prejudiced?
 

Research Analysis
Prejudice is an unjustified or incorrect attitude (usually negative) towards an individual based solely on the individual’s membership of a social group. Discrimination is the behavior or actions, usually negative, towards an individual or group of people, especially on the basis of sex/race/social class, etc. Prejudice is a thought, Discrimination is an action. Prejudice is a personal and private choice. Discrimination, on the other hand, doesn't even exist unless it involves other people, and is done publicly.

Many minority groups have been the victims of both discrimination and prejudice in the United States. The LGBT community is also an example of a couple that deals with both. Many transgender people face hate, violene, and discrimination for their identities. Womens right to vote is also one. Women were not allowed to vote because people felt that women should just stay in the kitchen and let the men handle the politics.

Research Summary
In todays society many people still deal with both prejudice and discrimination. A lot of times its for the way one looks or their sexual preference. I feel like its easier to be prejudice then to discriminate. The law cannot control stereotyping or prejudicial attitudes; however, it can address discrimination. Prejudice is not a behaviour; discrimination is.

 

http://www.simplypsychology.org/prejudice.html