Conditions that produce tyranny could be the presence of an apparently legitimate authority, a certain motivational interest, and/or threats and manipulation. The roar of the Nuremberg Rally blasted into vision. In the library or in gym students would be seen giving this strange hand jive. Nothing. Mr. Jones used his own students to test out his theory, that the desire for order and discipline was the key to manipulating a body of people to act a certain way. He told me about his friends that had been killed in Germany. For years after the second world war, when the world had time to reflect, we had taken the conclusions of these experiments and the words of Arendt to conclude that evil, in itself, is banal, and can be found in the most ordinary of upstanding citizens. The factors that motivated the students then were: fear of losing marks; confidence and pride in their tutor; and a desire to be part of an exciting new movement that would change their world. Every word seemed to be taken and absorbed. It was fun. [9] The students proceeded to conduct trials for those thought to be not loyal enough to the movement, with punishment consisting of banishment to the school library. A strange calm is in effect when a room full of people sit in quite observation and anticipation. I took the film from the three cameras in the room and pulled the celluloid into the exposing light. It affected everyone. He added "Strength Through Community" to the chalk board, and named his "movement" "the Third Wave". They aren't bright, they can't make the athletic teams, and don't strike out for attention. Following minutes of progressive drill assignments the class could move from standing positions outside the room to attention sitting positions at their desks without making a sound. But most of the students looked straight ahead in earnest concentration. The Third Wave experiment involved the use of authoritarian dynamics similar to Nazi Party methods of mass control in a classroom setting by high school teacher Ron Jones in Palo Alto, California, in 1967 with the goal of demonstrating to the class in a vivid way how the German public in World War II could have acted in the way it did. In my view and pedagogical experience, a good pedagogical simulation should involve a sense of ambivalence between real and artificial that promotes an inquiry and reflection among the students. The Aversion Project (1970s and 80s). Proper seating became the most important aspect of learning. or say then with various degrees of loudness. The exchange of physical hardships for superior mental and physical facilities. The Third Wave had become the center of their existence. It must be coming on. This incidence of monitoring meant that half the class now considered it their duty to observe and report on members of their class. Talk about tone deaf. "The Third Wave isn't just an experiment or classroom activity. Oh, you make promises to call each other but It won't happen. Therefore, it becomes necessary in some cases to manipulate and monopolise peoples confidence. Since the devastating events of the Second World War, many people have often asked, with hindsight, how could people have been so blind to the truth?. How an athlete feels having worked hard and regularly to be successful at a sport. The project was adapted into an American film, The Wave, in 1981, and a critically acclaimed German film, Die Welle, in 2008. I explained how at noon on Friday a national candidate for president would announce the formation of a Third Wave Youth Program. There was a mental tug of war between the people in the room and the television. Jones?" "The Third Wave presents inside look at Fascism". With Ron Jones, Philip Zimbardo, Scott Thomson, Sherry Tousley. The first day, the students acted almost as if it were a game and obeyed the commands of their teacher who they already trusted and respected. As for my part in this exercise, I had nothing but questions. ", "You thought that you were the elect. pride, and action. Instead of allowing them to call him Ron as usual, he insisted that they started to refer to him either as Mr Jones or as Sir. I want you to remember and be able to recite by tomorrow the name and address of every Third Wave Member. The room stayed deadly still. Hold them tight. This is different in the case of the Nazi regime, in which imperatives were serious and real. I explained how discipline and community were meaningless without action. Always we said them together, emphasizing the proper way to sit, stand, and talk. The Third Wave experiment brought to light our creepy reverence for authority, shedding harrowing Milgram-esque insight into how easily we assuage moral conflict and diffuse responsibility when we . I walked up and down the aisles of seated students pointing out small flaws, making improvements. Manipulated. Steve will continue to grow and change. We ran into each other quite by accident. Ron's problem is he let it get out of control and that is why he was fired. It's raising a barn with your neighbors, it's feeling that you are a part of something beyond yourself, a movement, a team, La Raza, a cause. My heart was pounding. We get or take an ascribed role and then bend our life to fit the image. ''Is this part of the campaign, Mr. Taken to an extreme we have seen and perhaps felt what these actions will lead to. Kids were instructed in posture, began each remark with Mr. and saluted. Arrogance, violence, terror. O my Gosh, I thought this story was amazing. Indeed, people of all nations and races . The Third Wave had ended. If you will stand up and display what You have learned in the past four dayswe can change the destiny of this nation. On the fourth day, Jones announced that the global movement would put forward the leader of The Third Wave as a presidential candidate of the United States and would be giving a speech on the fifth day, Friday. While the class sat at attention I gave each person a card. It would later be called 'The Third Wave' experiment. Some swirled back to momentarily hold Robert and me. In this room. Taking in large uncontrollable gulps of air. Yes, I had been pushing information at them in an extremely controlled setting but the fact that they found it comfortable and acceptable was startling. The deed was concluded. Something in all of us. Just smiling and saluting other class members. ", "If our enactment of the Fascist mentality is complete not one of you will ever admit to being at this final Third Wave rally. Others cried openly and then brushed away tears to carry on. He completed the third wave experiment because he was unable to teach his students how the German population in the Holocaust allowed the Jews to be treated the way they were. As abruptly as it started the film froze to a halt on a single written frame. Conclusions made by contemporary political scientists and sociologists reflect the experiences of the subjects of the Third Wave Experiment and make connections between those experiences and witness statements in history. In the case of war criminals such as Adolf Eichmann, he constructed no banal excuses for his actions, and acted according to his own ideals and his own plans, according to those already set up by the Nazi regime. Many questions haunted me. At least he was equal to everyone. We talked and laughed about the Third Wave for the next few hours. It was one of the most interesting classes I have ever had. Yes, we know in a small way what it feels like to find a hero. Over two hundred students were crammed into the room. Oh I was benevolent. [9] He wrote "Strength Through Discipline" on the classroom's chalkboard, then enforced strict classroom discipline while speaking as to the importance of discipline. While Jones taught his students about Nazi Germany during his senior level Contemporary World History class, Jones found it difficult to explain how the German people could have accepted the actions of the Nazis. The ultimate triumph. Students were expected to sit at attention before the second bell, had to stand up to ask or answer questions and had to do so in three words or fewer, and were required to preface each remark with "Mr. Jones". Steve Conigio had been a sophomore student in my World History class. Klink, Bill. I was exhausted and worried. It helped me approach them in a deliberate way. I began to think of myself as a part of the experiment. They watched the activities and participated in a mechanical fashion. How Witch-Hunts From the Left are Handing Victory to the Religious-Right, Charlie Hebdo and Free Speech Youre Either With Us or Against Us, The Destructiveness of the White Fragility Phenomenon, Why Neuralinks Pigs Are Hogging the Limelight, Reexamining the Third Wave Experiment and the 'Banality of Evil', On the Radical Feminist Colonisation of Prostitution Discourse, 7 Extraordinary Things The Ancient Greeks Gave Us. The discipline. Be seated. The pleasure of doing something right and being rewarded. Many of the students were completely into being Third Wave Members. 2008 German film The Wave, based on these events, A first-hand account from the Chicago Teachers Union strike, from education worker Agnieszka Karoluk. I worried for students doing things they would regret. Edit: here is a video and post of Sherry Tousley describing the assembly in the gym on the last day among other things. We would repeat the mottos in a rotating chorus. Ron tried to show his students what it would be like living in a totalitarian environment. In speed drills the class learned to move from standing position to attention sitting in fifteen seconds. Controversial and unorthodox as the Third Wave Experiment might be, there is a lot we can take from social experiments such as these, especially amidst the disaster and upheaval we have witnessed so far in 2020. My God He's a member of the Third Wave. Students showed increased academic skill and motivation. Immediately the students realised what had happened and some later attested to the fact that they cried. 2019 Netflix Germany Miniseries . After 5 days students were informed it was an experiment on how NAZIsm spread. But no. It concerned a bewilderment at the German populace claiming ignorance and non-involvement in the Nazi movement. The Third Wave Experiment took place over five school days. We can bring it a new sense of order. Strength Through Action!" As the class period was ending and without forethought I created a class salute. You will keep this day and this rally a secret. Late Wednesday afternoon I found Robert following me and asked what in the world was he doing. You're more alert. Students were rewarded for making an effort at answering or asking questions. I sure do, it was one of the most frightening events I ever experienced In the classroom. [1] Jones wrote a detailed recollection of the experiment some nine years afterward. I felt air rush back into the room. At this stage of the game I was debating in my own mind whether to stop the experiment or continue. Ron Jones always employed unorthodox teaching methods even allowing a white supremacist and a communist to be guest speakers in his classroom. The act of apology. He ended his pedagogical experiment abruptly with humiliation of his students via his lecturing. In concluding this conversation I envisioned similar conversations throughout history in which the clergy accepted and apologized for untenable conditions. Pledge allegiance to that society. I just kept talking. In her book, Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963), Hannah Arendt wrote about the apparent normal psychological behaviour Adolf Eichmann demonstrated during his trial. I glanced over my shoulder. I'm afraid something will happen to you. The deductions taken from such experiments are strong when they are seen alongside natural experiments, where the events have already occurred in history and have already provided a significant and real basis for the analysis of society. "It's over." How could this be? The trials. It was rewarding to see their satisfaction and excitement to do more. Jones decided to continue the experiment after observing his students' strict adherence to the previous day's rules. The world misinterpreted her idea of the banality of evil; many believed that the phrase meant that within each of us there is evil and that the Nazi criminals were ordinary people simply following orders. I waited for several minutes to let everyone catch up. The rabbi became a part of the experiment In remaining ignorant of the oppression in the experiment he became an accomplice and advocate. Evidently, experimentation in the social sciences is different. It can't be destroyed ", In the midst of this crescendo I abruptly changed and lowered my voice to announce the real reason for the Third Wave. Robert was at my side. Was The Wave Experiment by Ben Ross Succesful. If Ron Jones was in fact terminated from the school, it is clearly because humanity is afraid to let go and see what is possible. You would be walking down the hall when all of a sudden three classmates would turn your way each flashing a quick salute. I made up stories from my experiences as an athlete, coach and historian. He then led them in shouting chants of "Strength through Discipline! This also featured interviews with Jones and former students. "There is no leader! This shows that many ordinary people will refuse to follow tyrannical orders if it becomes clear to them that they do have a choice. The intellectual skills of questioning and reasoning were non existent. I worried for myself. The Third Wave disaster. How can a people be a part of something and then claim at the demise that they were not really involved' What causes people to blank out their own history? You will not allow your friends and parents to know that you were willing to give up individual freedom and power for the dictates of order and unseen leaders. They, in fact, believed in change but were easily indoctrinatedif only for those five daysby what they believed was a superior cause. They were learning more. Third Wave Experiment. The group seemed to be composed of students from many persuasions. TIL about the Third Wave experiment. Third Wave banners hung like clouds over the assembly. There is no such thing as a national youth movement called the Third Wave. It quickly illuminated a white drop cloth hanging behind the television. tax collector. That's what I did. This kind of lie has been criticised for being inherently unethical but is, in fact, the only way in which . We carry it like a disease. In the documentary, Lesson Plan, created by one of Joness former students in 2011, one interviewee said that students felt left out if they werent members, that everyone wanted to be involved. You would hear a crash of cafeteria food only to have it followed by two classmates saluting each other. Finally questions began to emerge. The only reason I came to know Robert at all is that I found him eating lunch in my classroom. That you were better than those outside this room. In 1967, teacher Ron Jones conducted a social experiment with unexpected results. It's strange, you most a past student In these chance ways, You catch a few moments of your life. You are a selected group of young people chosen to help in this cause. "There can't you breath more easily? We did noise drills in which talking was allowed only to be shown as a detraction. Jones was clear, history can repeat itself, but sometimes it does under controlled conditions. A blank field of white. Simply upload, import the demo data, and swap out the text and images as you wish! Situations in which students were pitted against each other In everything from gym to reading. This is the wrong interpretation and the wrong conclusion to make. This conclusion falls flat on the hard ground, as many critics have concluded, including Arendt herself. "Before turning on the national press conference, which begins in five minutes, I want to demonstrate to the press the extent of our training." Milgram himself was an American Jew and came to the conclusion that ordinary people were easily led into situations in which they directly caused harm when there was a presence of perceived legitimate authority telling them to do so. What was he lying about, in your view? Not a vacant seat could be found. Although . He drilled them on their adherence to these rules. The experiment continued. In the next few minutes and perhaps years, you will have an opportunity to answer this question. Here are ten bizarre psychology experiments that totally crossed the line. Or he is exaggerating, or what? Lesson Plan: Directed by David Jeffery, Philip Carr Neel. In the beginning, the students treated the new regime as a game but became more serious once their teacher told them their marks were at stake. To avoid the Hawthorne effect, Milgram told the volunteers that the subject was, in fact, the learner behind the screen, and not themselves. 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