Discussion Post
Part A
For this discussion you will watch a documentary on prejudice and racism, and then respond thoughtfully to the following questions. The documentary is Frontline: A Class Divided and it covers footage of an original documentary of Jane Elliot's third grade class, the reunion of those third graders, and a training exercise based on her experiment with prison officials and staff. The original documentary of Jane Elliot's class was filmed in 1968 to teach third graders about the real impact of prejudice and racism after the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
After watching the video, read the following questions and post thoughtful responses to them on the Discussion Board Forum.
a) After watching the film, what surprised you the most? Consider how the negative and positive labels placed on the group became self-fulfilling prophecies. Were you surprised how effective labeling can be on behavior? 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? Were you surprised by the adults' reactions?
b) Consider the kinds of privileges that Jane Elliott created for her third-graders, e.g. things like extra recess time, getting to go back for seconds at lunch, and being first in line were fitting rewards for her 8 year olds. For examples of the kinds of privileges that exist in the real adult world, refer to Peggy McIntosh's classic article "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." After reading the McIntosh article, do you see these as real world privileges? Are there some privileges you cannot count on?
c) What is your first recollection of race? Of encountering racism?
Part B
Take the following quiz to determine your implicit bias: Project Implicit
a) Click "Go" button in the USA flag box
b) Read the "Preliminary Information" and choose at the bottom "I wish to proceed"
c) Choose "Race IAT"
d) Follow steps to take the test.
Report your results and discuss how well the quiz determined or failed to measure your implicit bias, e.g. do you agree with the results, were you surprised, do you think this is a good measurement of implicit bias, why or why not.