The minute I walked into Facing History and Ourselves, excitement filled my body, I didn’t know what to expect but I knew it would be a class where I would have opportunity to enjoy my senior year with my favorite history teacher. I sat in the back of the class room in my crazy senior day outfit smiling looking around for people I was friends with. I didn’t find too many but all that meant was I able to become friendlier with people I don’t normally talk to. My class was probably the quietest class of my entire high school career. This of course made me a little nervous because I am anything but quiet. I would be a complete stand out, so I tried to keep my mouth shut in the beginning to avoid awkward moments.
The first book we read was called The Bear that Wasn’t by Frank Tashlin. We used a class read aloud method where anyone can jump in and read when the person who was reading decides to stop. My teacher Mr. Gallagher started the book and stopped reading to allow another person to jump in. Silence. No one continued the reading. After ten seconds of no one volunteering I decided to continue the reading. After I finished there was another long silence, it was sort of humorous. Finally, another student jumped in and by the end of the book, there were only five students (including myself) out of a class of about eighteen who stepped up and read aloud to the class, which I know is sometimes difficult for some people. I myself don’t consider myself the best reader; I sometimes make mispronunciations and stutter. The class was filled with a lot of classroom shy people. I considered myself and a few other kids the icebreakers in the class, no one wanted to answer questions even if they had an answer! Anyways, I enjoyed the book, it had a wonderful message to tell and I took it to heart. People in the story told the bear to do things that he normally wouldn’t because he’s a bear, when the bear would argue that he’s a bear not a man the people would answer with, “You’re not a bear you’re just a silly man who wears a fur coat and needs a shave.” By the end of the story, so many people had told the bear that he wasn’t actually a bear he almost started to believe them. The message conveyed tells the reader that other people around you cannot make you who you are, you yourself make who you are no matter what others say. Despite how obvious this statement is, book actually made it clearer to me. I became a much more confident and independent person than I was before, I don’t let people tell me what to do or who I should be. I acted that way before I read this book, however I believe it made me more stubborn towards change I wasn’t comfortable with. For example, when people may talk negative things about me I’m not very phased by it and I don’t care what other people thing, to an extent of course.
We watched a very interesting and eye opening film called “A Class Divided”. The film was about a 3rd grade teacher named Mrs. Elliot who experimented on the class with a focus on racism and segregation and how it affects the mind. For a few days Mrs. Elliot told the class that everyone who has blue eyes is superior and smarter than people with brown eyes. The brown eyed children were not allowed to be out during recess as long as the blue eyed children and they had to wear a band to show that they were brown eyed people. Surprisingly the brown eyed children’s grades went down and the blue eyed children’s grades went up. After a few days the teacher switched it up, making people with blue eyes less superior than the people with brown eyes producing the same reaction. Mrs. Elliot proved a point that everybody is equal, race or ethnicity does not make a person less superior than another. I found this film so amazing and I believe it connects in many situations in life, especially in school. For example a person who wears shoes that aren’t “cool” to wear could have other students making fun of them and all of a sudden they aren’t cool. Who decided what’s cool and what’s not? I’ll tell you. The media did. The media controls our life; it tells us what to wear, how to talk, how to act, and how to look. So once people said that African Americans are less superior to whites, it spread like wild fire and that’s how discrimination starts, no one wants to look “uncool” and look out of the box by having a different opinion or standing up against the higher power. The film is yet another obvious life lesson, yet does anyone take it into consideration? People may think making fun of someone else in school is not as bad as racial segregation. It may be in a smaller situation, but it still has the same effects. The movie has changed my actions in multiple ways. I am more careful about what I say to someone. Also when I see someone who may be wearing something ugly or look a certain way I try to think, “Hey, that’s their style it’s what they like, maybe they think I look funny. Why should I care what they wear it’s not hurting anyone and its certainly not hurting me, so why should I hurt them?”
Lastly, the film documenting “The Milgram Experiment” had a lasting effect on me as well. The Milgram Experiment was a test to see how far humans would go doing something they know is wrong (shocking a human being in this case) under professional authority (the scientist in a white coat). The experiment involved a student and a teacher, the student was in on the experiment and the teacher was an oblivious volunteer getting paid unknown of the real experiment. They were told that they were to shock the student at a higher voltage every time the student would get an answer to a word combination wrong. They were also told that the experiment was to see if inflicting pain would increase the brains ability to memorize and learn. Results ended up with some teachers being worried about the student but continuing because the scientist says that “it must go on” and that they have full responsibility for whatever happens to the student, knowing that the teacher could walk out at anytime and still receive the money. The experiment disgusted me and I wondered how people would even continue with this. I don’t think I would ever continue with the experiment because I know what’s right and wrong and I don’t care what the situation is or who is telling me to do it, I’m an independent human being and I control myself. However I could just be being naïve, I’ll never know until I’m put into a situation like that. But after watching this film I know that whenever a situation like that arises, I’ll think of this film and do the right thing.
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