After watching “A Class Divided” I actually feel that this experiment did indeed teach the children what it is like to be segregated. Teachers can try to explain what it is like but until you actually experience it for yourself you cannot understand. Seeing the children change in a matter of minutes and their academics suffer proves that they were indeed experiencing what it truly feels like.

After listening to the children who are now adults I realized that the experiment did work for them. One of the woman even explained how she was teaching her children not to be racist, and her husband agreed with her. All of the grown students talked about how the experiment changed their views on racism and segregation for the better; to me this proves that the experiment did in fact work.

The problem than lies in was this the correct way to approach teaching this lesson. Part of me feels like it is a good way, but then part of me feels that this was not a good way. I am truly stuck. I do believe that the best way for children to learn is to have the actual experience but I am torn that this was a little too dramatic. If there was a way to modify this experiment so that the children can still learn the same affect, I believe that that would be the better way to go.

After watching all of the clips that Norine Dresser presented, I was reminded of all of the aspects of a multicultural class that I took at Molloy as an undergraduate. Everything that she talked about I was taught in this class. We were assigned different cultures, had to research our culture and then present to the class what we learned. We were also required to prepare a brochure explaining the culture, what teachers should know about these different cultures and tips for teaching a student from these cultures, for everyone in the class so that we could have those to refer to if in fact we did have a student from a different cultural background. I kept mine. Having these brochures will be a tremendous help if I have a student from one of these many backgrounds. I believe and agree with the things that Ms. Dresser talked about and their importance for teachers to be aware of when teaching a student from a different background. Investigating the traditions and beliefs can prevent many mistakes from being made. Some of the mistakes that can be made can be hurting a child's feelings, or even more so that child can fail at all that they are trying to do. Not only does a teacher have to worry about the student but they must also worry about a relationship with the parents or guardians. Insulting a parent can lead to a strained relationship and that will not be in the best interest of the child.