After watching the movie "Class Divide" in class today, would you be willing to do that exercise with your class when you become a teacher?Do you think that it should still be done? How do you think that the students would response and how do you think the parents would response?

The only way i would be willing to do this excersise in class is if I feel there is inequality throughout my classroom, and/ or my school. However, I feel that the possilbility of having mixed races within my classroom is extremely high. No doubt would this create a problem, for the parents of the black children would feel as if I were using them as props to teach a lesson. I think that if there are any other issues within the class then you could maybe use this as a tool to teach equality vs inequality. Otherwise, you as the teacher would have to choose a topic that would be non controversial.

I think that in today's times this exercise would be very dangerous. Most parents and other adults would probably view this as cruel and possibly even harassment. Even with principal approval and extra precautions to make sure you are handling this situation correctly, there is too much of a chance for parents to file complaints. This being said, I think it is a great exercise that apparently worked for this teacher. If it were not for high teacher liabilities today, I would definitely support it in my classroom. Sometimes it takes a harsh exercise like this to get a point across to children or adults.

I believe that there are ways to use this “class divideâ€

I think the class divided activity was a really good one. I could see implementing this in a class of younger students so that they got the point early on. As we saw with the adults, the older you are, the harder it is to unlearn something damaging. I also felt that the experiment was extreme but if it is done mildly, then I feel as if the children won't fully understand. They can, of course, never fully understand if they are not in a position that is normally discriminated against, so I think an extreme version serves its purpose well.

I think this is a very important lesson that should be taught in the classroom today. Unfortunately as Whitney said there are too many liabilities with doing this. To be able to do this there would be a lot of paperwork and stuff to get it done. This lesson and the way it was executed was great though, it really put the students in the situation and got them to better understand what people are going through. It is a hard concept to grasp for kids that age, but the harsh lesson was a successful way, in my opinion, to do it.

I think the class divide activity worked at the time it was implemented, but I also agree with Whitney. Doing this activity would be crossing into a gray zone in most schools. I think the lesson had a huge impact on the group of students that experienced it, but I think I would find other ways to instill equality in my classroom. Most classrooms we teach in are going to be diverse and I wouldn't want to cross any lines or make some embarrassed by doing this lesson. So while it may have worked for this teacher, I'm not sure I would use it in my classroom.

I would have to say that I would absolutely use this in my classroom. I realize that it could be considered dangerous, but I think we all need to realize that segregation is not dead, and as long as people are still being treated unequally this is an important lesson. I think that this activity stands the test of time. This is one thing that really frustrates me about teaching. We have to walk on glass and be careful not to step on anyone's toes, and because of this we may miss out on teaching a really great and beneficial lesson like this one. Sometimes there are more important things to teach our students than long division and cursive, and I think this is an example of that. I would love to use this in my classroom. I would send home permission slips of course, and if anyone was uncomfortable being involved in this I would find something else for them to do. But I do not recommend writing off this activity all together because it might be dangerous.