watch the entire film of ‘A Class Divided.’ This is a famous experiment run by Jane Elliott after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr that examines the impact of discrimination and prejudice.
After watching, in at least one page, please consider the following questions:
General Reactions (at least one of these should be answered)
What did you learn?
What scene or scenes do you think you’ll still remember a month from now and why those scenes?
Did any part of the film surprise you? Do you think someone of a different race, ethnicity, or religion would also find it surprising?
Impact of Discrimination (please answer at least two of these, connect to book)
What did the children’s body language indicate about the impact of discrimination?
How did the negative and positive labels placed on a group become self-fulfilling prophecies?
In the prison seminar, one of the white women asserts that all people face some kind of discrimination. Another woman challenges her, claiming that white people can’t really know what it’s like to face discrimination every minute of every day. What do you think?
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?
