A Class Divided (Video related to Privilege)

I was forced to watch this video for psychology, so it's kind of lengthy, but the first 30 minutes of the video is sufficient enough to not keep you bored and learn enough. This video relates to privilege by teaching young kids (3rd graders) about discrimination. This exercise tries to instill the thought of discrimination and racism as wrong and that everyone is equal. For example, within the video students are separated by eye color, determining whether they were the "in" or "out" group. Children thought it was not fair that they were not able to have recess as long as the "in" group and not have has much privilege as the other kids. This made them feel that they were subhuman and less of a person than those of another eye color. I noticed how the children reacted to the way they were treated, and it was clear to me that they were already aware of not being treated equally after an hour. This exercise really opened my eyes to how harsh the world can be without knowing it.

Another great method the teacher used to show that privilege and discrimination was wrong was a reflection after the exercise. Children were asked how they felt while being both in the powerful and oppressed positions. Many kids thought it was not fair to treat others poorly. Over the course of two days, the teacher was able to relate this to racism against colored people in America. The children immediately got the idea, and it seemed that they would keep this as a lifelong lesson. I really enjoyed how the teacher brought the students back for a reunion I think after 15 years. The children, now adults, really kept the ideas of this exercise in their mind and let it affect them for their entire life. All of them stopped listening to what others in the town would say about colored people. These adults would judge people by the actions they chose and what is on the inside, not by the color of their skin. It made them want to change others as well and put them in the same situation. With exercises like these, the path to equality does not seem that far away.