a class divided reflection
A Class Divided Reflection
Diversity in Society
Everyone is likely to experience some form of discrimination or prejudice; as is anyone capable of acting prejudiced towards others. On April 5th, 1968, a teacher in Riceville, Iowa named Jane Elliot conducted an experiment with her third grade class that dealt with the concept of discrimination; and was documented in Peters’ 1985 ‘A Class Divided’. The exercise originally took place the day after Martin Luther King was assassinated. The documentary is an eye opener to the world of racism and discrimination. Bucher (2010) describes racism as “discrimination based on the belief that one race is superior to another” (97). According to Bucher (2010) “discrimination is defined as the unequal treatment of people on the basis of their group membership” (100). Bucher goes on to say “treatment varies because of race, age, gender, social class or any number of other dimensions of diversity” (100). ‘A Class Divided’ exposes that discrimination doesn’t just go to the extent to the color of skin, culture or ethnicity, but discrimination can fall into any physical characteristics, social status, having a developmental disability, simply being a woman, and in this case the color of your eyes. The concept Elliot is teaching, is that racism is a learned behavior and not part of human genetics. This blue eyed versus brown eyed people experiment establishes that thinking and acting racist is learned. She also proves it can be unlearned. She wants us to see through the myth of white superiority. How we are told to believe that racism no longer exists and that it’s not as simple as the KKK. Today racism and discrimination go much further and are more complex. It’s being able to vote; it’s the stereotypes “an unverified and oversimplified generalization about an entire group of people” (Bucher, 2010, 86), children learn growing up; it’s portraying the colored people as the bad ones and the white people as victims; it’s not
Diversity in Society
Everyone is likely to experience some form of discrimination or prejudice; as is anyone capable of acting prejudiced towards others. On April 5th, 1968, a teacher in Riceville, Iowa named Jane Elliot conducted an experiment with her third grade class that dealt with the concept of discrimination; and was documented in Peters’ 1985 ‘A Class Divided’. The exercise originally took place the day after Martin Luther King was assassinated. The documentary is an eye opener to the world of racism and discrimination. Bucher (2010) describes racism as “discrimination based on the belief that one race is superior to another” (97). According to Bucher (2010) “discrimination is defined as the unequal treatment of people on the basis of their group membership” (100). Bucher goes on to say “treatment varies because of race, age, gender, social class or any number of other dimensions of diversity” (100). ‘A Class Divided’ exposes that discrimination doesn’t just go to the extent to the color of skin, culture or ethnicity, but discrimination can fall into any physical characteristics, social status, having a developmental disability, simply being a woman, and in this case the color of your eyes. The concept Elliot is teaching, is that racism is a learned behavior and not part of human genetics. This blue eyed versus brown eyed people experiment establishes that thinking and acting racist is learned. She also proves it can be unlearned. She wants us to see through the myth of white superiority. How we are told to believe that racism no longer exists and that it’s not as simple as the KKK. Today racism and discrimination go much further and are more complex. It’s being able to vote; it’s the stereotypes “an unverified and oversimplified generalization about an entire group of people” (Bucher, 2010, 86), children learn growing up; it’s portraying the colored people as the bad ones and the white people as victims; it’s not
Cited: Bucher, R. D. (2010). Diversity Consciousness Third Edition: opening our minds to people, cultures, and opportunities. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Peters, W. (Director). (1985). A class divided. Washington, DC: PBS Video [Frontline].