In The Lucifer Effect, we read about an Iowa schoolteacher who taught her third-grade students, who had never experienced racism, what it feels like to be a minority and to be a victim of discrimination. In addition, some students learned what it feels like to be "superior" for superficial reasons. She divided her class based upon eye color, with the blue-eyed students being "superior" and the brown-eyed students being "inferior. The next day, she switched the two categories. She found that the students who were "inferior" quickly developed low self-esteem and began to see themselves in a negative light; they also became victimized by the "superior" group of children.
I looked into this experiment, and read about a documentary created about it called A Class Divided. The experiment took place the day after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death, and Jane Elliott was inspired by this event to teach her students about racism and prejudice. The documentary follows the children from the experiment into their adulthood. Apparently, in the documentary, all of students felt that it was wrong to place prejudice upon others for superficial reasons and to exhibit racism. In addition, they all said that the experiment changed their lives profoundly.
I infer that this made the students more accepting of others' differences, given how they all experienced a form of prejudice in the classroom experiment. Given that third-graders are very impressionable, they probably very quickly began to believe that they actually were "superior" or "inferior." Then, I started to wonder how the same experiment would work with older students or adults, who are less impressionable than young children. Would it have the same profound effects? Would it teach its participants about how it feels to be unfairly judged, and would it change their perspectives? Thoughts?
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ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying. I think that it would work on older students as well because of what happened at a college in Hawaii. Most of the 500 students that were gathered in an assembly readily believed that they were special and were willing to kill the "unfit." This was shocking, but it shows that no matter what age you are, you have to be careful of manipulation. You could manipulate yourself or be manipulated to think that you are better and then actually hurt others. I think that it is just human nature to let what someone says you are actually affect your behavior.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Arden has to say. I think that either way if the group of people were told it was an experiment after they got into the process, they would understand its effects and what the purpose of it was. In both of these instances, there is also the issue of authority. There is a teacher or professor telling the students what they are to do during the experiment and they feel the need to follow them because they are authority and have power. If they follow their orders, they are promoting the common good. This is similar to the Milgram experiment, in which, similarly, the participants follow the orders of the person in the lab coat. This is because the believe that by following the authority, they are helping along the group dynamic. They feel that they are on a team with the authority figure and the way to success is to follow orders. This is why good leaders are so persuasive and manipulative.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to third-graders, I do agree that they can be easily manipulated. I also agree that if the same situation / simulation was assembled within our school, Los Altos, there would be a similar if not worse outcome.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do think that if Los Altos High School was put in the same situation as these third-graders, the overall experience would give other students new perspective or outlook on what it means to be "inferior" and "superior". When roles are being switched I do think that that uncovers the realization of the overall situation. It is easy to "imagine" this situation in your mind, but it is another to actually be placed in it. With that I am convinced that Jane Elliott's Experiment would bring out some unexpected actions in teens or adult.