The Lesson Behind the Teacher

How much of an affect does what we hear about ourselves have on who we become?

Late last month, an article was published by NorthJersey.com about a first grade teacher who posted a statement on her Facebook page regarding her feelings toward some of her students.

 "I'm not a teacher - I'm a warden for future criminals"

Jennifer O'Brien, the teacher, stated that her post was written out of "exasperation" for not knowing "what else to do" in regards to the six or seven students in her classroom who, according to O'Brien, routinely demonstrate unruly behavior. Some hours after her original post, O'Brien followed up by posting that she didn't understand why she couldn't take her first graders to the "Scared Straight" program that the school was implementing for its sixth grade students in which students are allowed to speak with convicted criminals in order to sway them from following similar paths.

Rather than analyze O'Brien's comment for implicit bias or prejudice, I would like to share something else. Last night I came across a documentary that I believe demonstrates a wonderful point and, although a bit aged, is extremely relevant to this discussion.

The name of the documentary is A Class Divided. It is the story of a third grade teacher, Jane Elliott, who was also concerned about the futures of her students. Jane Elliott, soon after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, decided to conduct an experiment in her classroom to teach her students a little about the dynamics of discrimination. I've included an excerpt of the film below.

**WARNING: This video clip contains offensive language**

What I believe Jane Elliott demonstrates is that people are influenced by what they are told about themselves and about others. The effect is not limited to children however. Jane Elliott has reproduced this same experiment with the same results with adults as well. You can view the entire documentary, including an adult group here.

The lesson for me here is simple: rather than using her influence to guide the first grade students down the path of her own biased expectations, perhaps O'Brien ought to take a lesson from Elliott and provide the children with a reason to exceed them.