A class divided essay. a class divided reflection 2022-10-19

A class divided essay Rating: 4,3/10 1568 reviews

"A Class Divided" is a powerful and thought-provoking documentary that explores the concept of discrimination and prejudice through the lens of a social experiment conducted by a third-grade teacher in Iowa. In the experiment, the teacher, Jane Elliott, divided her class into two groups based on the color of their eyes. The students with blue eyes were treated as superior to those with brown eyes, and were given privileges and rewards that were withheld from the brown-eyed students.

Throughout the experiment, the students' behavior changed dramatically as they internalized the message of superiority and inferiority that was being taught to them. The blue-eyed students became arrogant and cruel, while the brown-eyed students became submissive and resigned. The experiment demonstrated the profound impact that societal norms and expectations can have on individuals, and the ways in which prejudice and discrimination can be learned and internalized at a young age.

One of the most striking aspects of the experiment was the way in which the students' attitudes and behaviors changed so quickly. Within just a few hours, the students had fully embraced their assigned roles and were treating each other in ways that were inconsistent with their previous behavior. This demonstrates the power of social conditioning and the ways in which our understanding of ourselves and others is shaped by external influences.

The experiment also highlights the importance of critical thinking and the dangers of blindly accepting societal norms and beliefs. By challenging the students to question the arbitrary nature of the eye color division, Elliott encouraged them to think for themselves and to resist the temptation to conform to societal expectations. This is a valuable lesson that can be applied to many other situations in which individuals are asked to discriminate against others based on arbitrary characteristics such as race, gender, or sexual orientation.

In conclusion, "A Class Divided" is a powerful and thought-provoking documentary that demonstrates the impact of societal norms and expectations on individuals and the importance of critical thinking. It serves as a reminder of the dangers of prejudice and discrimination and the importance of challenging ourselves to resist the temptation to blindly accept societal norms.

A Class Divided

a class divided essay

Next we join a group of 40 teachers, police, school administrators and social workers in Kansas City - blacks, Hispanics, whites, women and men. This powerful experiment is a great example of how easily children can learn racist attitudes; and how those attitudes can be internalized and acted upon. On this film, explicit discrimination is perpetrated through the hostility of superior group over the inferior group. A CLASS DIVIDED Thirty years ago Jane Elliott taught the third grade in the white, Christian community of Riceville, Iowa. One thing I learnt about myself is that my very own mindset may be the tool encouraging racism and discrimination. They had just named Martin Luther King Jr.

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Free A Class Divided Essays and Research Papers on GradesFixer

a class divided essay

Causes of aggressive behavior are from an obstacle that stands in the way of doing something, however frustration makes you angry when felt the act what intentional. The brown eyed pupils were discriminated because of a superficial factor, similar to racism in actuality Boatright-Horowitz, 2005. The other form that is neglected in real life is the subtle and unconscious form that impacts on the respect and rights of every individual. On the first day of the experiment, the students were told that blue-eyed people are better than brown-eyed people. Later in the film, the students from the 1968 study now adults came back to comment on what they had learned from that study, showcasing that they had become aware of the effects of discrimination, and the same experiment was run on a group of adult educators in order to show them how the students are to feel throughout the experiment. Learned behavior and indoctrination are some attributes that were commonly observed within the experiment, as children were led to believe by an authority figure Ms. After viewing this, a person will hopefully be less likely to focus on the differences they have with other people and see people all as equals.

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A Class Divided Essay

a class divided essay

This classification is generally similar to the stereotyping of whites and black. The person becomes more ruling, performs better at various activities. Some of the movie takes place in a school, and this is a place where children are taught to socialize. A Minority Group Research Paper In the United States, several race groups are living together. I loved what Jane Elliot did with her students.

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Jane Elliott’s Experiment in “A Class Divided”: Summary: [Essay Example], 670 words GradesFixer

a class divided essay

Symbolic interaction is symbols that tell what the situation is. References Macionis, John J. Discrimination and stereotyping are two things that I learned more about as a result of this video, and how it can happen due to societal pressures, as well as the influence of peers and authority figures. Conley, 2013; Federal, 2016. She told them that one group was inferior to the other and watched how the in-group help prejudices against and discriminated the out-group.

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A class divided essay Essay [644 Words] GradeMiners

a class divided essay

She started the exercise by asking her class about national brotherhood week, what it means to them, and if there are people in America who are not treated like brothers. They were given extra time at recess, a second helping at lunch and the sense of self-worth that goes along with feeling above everyone else. Most Americans are not part of the dominant group; therefore, due to being a minority, we undergo a feeling of inferiority. When the conditions were reversed on the second day, the outcome was also translated because of the reversed conditions Boatright-Horowitz, 2005. This video shows us how to create racism.

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A Class Divided Summary

a class divided essay

In functionalism the change in the society was the blue eyed people were smarter and better than the brown eyed people and vice versa the next day. Soon, the children took to this opinion of blue eyes and brown eyes, the blue eyes quickly turning on the brown eyes, leading to interclass violence. Some people discriminate against others because of their sex, their age, or the color of their skin. I do not like to be different than any one else and I do not think one family or another is better then somebody else. Institutionalized racism is when racist policies are put in place by organizations or governments.

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A Real

a class divided essay

Students change just in a blink of an eye, to a sweet child to vicious children who had power. Black members of the blue-eyed group forcefully remind whites that they undergo similar stresses, not just for a few hours in a controlled experiment, but every day of their lives. The recent events in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland are just two examples of how this issue continues to cause tension and division. Additionally, discuss how each of the 4 barriers relates to your own life experiences. The next day, she reversed roles by telling students with brown eyes color that they are the best and criticized and ridiculed students with blue eyes color. In spite of this, racism always has been, and always will be, a part of American culture. He was a philosopher, political thinker and educator whose ideas have greatly influenced not only Chinese culture but world civilization.


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a class divided reflection

a class divided essay

There are also a lot of people who are racist and discriminatory without even realizing it. She backs her theory with her own recounting of classroom discussions and her talks with her students, as well as her attendance at lectures. Elliot saying these kinds of things, they would also chime in and begin saying things about the kids wearing the collars. My number one takeaway from the film centered on racism and discrimination is about the different levels of discrimination. She also did training at a prison in Iowa for the guards and other staff members. I think it would be incredibly useful for this to be used in school. Conflict theory is demonstrated in the documentary as Jane Elliott trained guards, in the Iowa Department of Corrections.

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Stereotyping Experiment: "A Class Divided" Summary and Analysis

a class divided essay

Throughout the day, she continued to reinforce these ideas; sending the brown-eyed children to do all the work while the blue-eyed children got to play. On the first day, the superior brown-eyed children went through the cards in about half the time the brown-eyed children did. Further, this experiment has made it clear that people are forced by other people to act in a certain way, and in the case of refusal they are lashed out by the society with discrimination. In the real world, we can look at this type of situation as the effects of rich versus impoverished environments Bownds. Elliott then asked her third-graders if they think they could understand how it felt to be discriminated against. .

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