Within days, they had a motto, flag, salute, and began to view themselves as an exclusive, elite group. What's his name? To conclude the session on direct action, I instructed students in a simple procedure for initiating new members. Ron Jones himself was, at the time, part of the Black Panther movement which was a far-Left activist organisation that was strongly opposed to the Vietnam war and the US government. 6. Late Wednesday afternoon I found Robert following me and asked what in the world was he doing. I worried for myself. The real gestapo in the school was at work. I found one inaccuracy in his account based on what you wrote. The belief that human beings are basically evil and therefore unable to act well toward each other. A German documentary entitled The Invisible Line (Die Geschichte der Welle) debuted on television on December 19, 2019. The distinction is pertinent: why implies necessity, whereas the question how implies not necessity but rather by what mechanism the consequences came to be. In the final twenty-five minutes of the class I introduced some new rules. The same can often be said in the natural sciences. Be meaningful. [1] The idea that democracy emphasises individuality was considered a drawback, and Jones emphasised this main point of the movement in its motto: "Strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action, strength through pride. But no. It was one of the most interesting classes I have ever had. Our class was called Tech Prep(senior class) and it had only 13 boys in the class. Jones intended only a one-day experiment.[9]. I can tell you and anyone else about the Third Wave. I also questioned if they could make a good showing, because the press had been invited to record the event. Set in 1967 in Palo Alto, California, during the Vietnam war, racial integration and social revolution, the play centers around a young, popular teacher, Ron Jones, and his world history class. I found myself sliding into the role even when it wasn't necessary. No one moved. "It's over." Anticipation turned to anxiety and then to frustration. Instead of simply summarising Haslams theory, however, its necessary to study his newer formulation of old conclusions to analyse a different, lesser-known social experiment called The Third Wave Experiment. The room stayed deadly still. Proper seating became the most important aspect of learning. It was the last time I would ask anyone to recite. The high school was and still is one of the best in the state, well known for its progressive philosophy and intelligent students. When you're playing against all the odds the best action to take is to try the unexpected. (I later found out it was the father of one of the students. The only light in the room was coming from the television and it played against the faces in the room. Being a follower. The trials. 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. We just stood there exchanging smiles when without a conscious command I raised my hand in curved position. it's discipline. For a brief moment it all rushed back. The feeling of never acting, never being a part of something, never supporting each other. I agree with you that Ron's pedagogical experiment was disastrous and that he did not make enough pedagogical preparation for his simulation of the Nazi totalitarianism with his students. I decided to find out. "The first few days, the Third Wave was a game. We spent hours later talking about what he felt and did, but from that moment on Thursday morning I was more concerned with what might be happening at school. I began to think of myself as a part of the experiment. Sort by: best. I now can appreciate why the astronomer turns relentlessly to the telescope. The machine came to life producing a luminous field of phosphorus light. After a few minutes of waiting, Jones announced that they had been a part of an experiment in fascism and that they all had willingly created a sense of superiority, much as German citizens had done in the period of Nazi Germany. Steve turns and gives a quiet salute. "Is it a code or something?" The roar of the Nuremberg Rally blasted into vision. Hold them tight. Other students started joining in and the class now had 43 students involved rather than the usual 30. The students had become more and more involved in the project. You're more alert. Evidently, experimentation in the social sciences is different. [9] Subsequent articles by other authors followed, some featuring interviews with Jones and the students involved. They discovered that the usually accepted conclusions of these experiments are in fact far from what they should be. And they seemed to want more. Indeed, people of all nations and races . As the class period was ending and without forethought I created a class salute. He said that he invented the term "The Third Wave" and the salute for it. It was as if the climax of shouting souls had pushed everything out of' the room. Waiting. Some would say he abused this confidence that the students had in him to play the tyrant, but, ultimately, he was still respected by the students and his colleagues even after the movement was exposed as a lie. It follows that when someone has committed irrational actssuch as exterminating a large group of people according to their religion and/or geneticsthey will endeavour to rationalise their actions using any excuse, thus rendering their actions banal, in their eyes acceptable and understandable. 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. Finally questions began to emerge. While the class sat at attention I gave each person a card. At eleven thirty students began to ant their way into the room; at first a few scouting the way and then more. The Third Wave was an experimental social movement created by California high school history teacher Ron Jones in 1967 to explain how the German population could have accepted the actions of the Nazi regime during the rise of the Third Reich and the Second World War.. Not a single student elected to leave the room. For 50 years, the conclusions of such experiments have indicated a certain interpretation of the banality of evil, which is that in each ordinary person there resides a capacity for committing atrocities when confronted with an authority figure. Every word seemed to be taken and absorbed. The Third Wave experiment took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California during the first week of April in 1967. We carry it like a disease. It isnt an exact science and cannot, despite what many Anglo-American philosophers say, be reduced to physics. My job. Others simply sunk into the activity and took self assigned roles. What does he do now (or after he was fired)? 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. Arrogance, violence, terror. 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. I would dismiss the class allowing them to leave their desks and then call them abruptly back to an attention sitting position. May 14, 2022 Lauren Coontz. Feel strong and in control of destiny. My announcement unleashed a fervor. The school cook asked what a Third Wave cookie looked like. If I stopped the experiment a great number of students would be left hanging. A fever pitch of excitement swelled across the room. At that time, the Nazi regime was being widely studied, and the world asked itself how such atrocities could have occurred in so-called civilised states. The students chanted their slogan in anticipation. Must be a former student. Many questions haunted me. Was The Wave Experiment by Ben Ross Succesful. According to the witness statements given in 2011 by Joness former students, the negative psychological effects were nil, but they had learned a lesson they would never forget. I will remain an ageless benchmark in his life. Here I was enacting an authoritarian learning environment and it seemed very productive. Some couldnt even move from the shock. This posture started with feet flat on the floor, hands placed flat across the small of the back to force a straight alignment of the spine. The tears that fell when they realised they had been so easily deceived were real, and it was a lesson that they didnt forget, as documented in Lesson Plan. Of believing so thoroughly in yourself and your community or family that you will do anything to preserve, protect and extend that being. Situations in which students were pitted against each other In everything from gym to reading. In speed drills the class learned to move from standing position to attention sitting in fifteen seconds. Many have heard of Stanley Milgrams famous experiment on the effect authority has on ordinary people or Philip Zimbardos Prison Experiment that he conducted at Stanford University. It's not going to happen. Third Wave Experiment. Our class came up with the motto the "the third wave" and the salute, but it stayed in our class and was not carried out into the school. I feel entirely compelled to say that any one that takes this as an offensive measure is possibly hiding something them self. With that, I gave the salute followed automatically by two hundred arms stabbing a reply. You are no better or worse than the German Nazis we have been studying. On Wednesday, I decided to issue membership cards to every student that wanted to continue what I now called the experiment. To conclude, the Third Wave Experiment may have been unorthodox, but the Third Wave Experiment produced several insights and conclusions into the nature and mechanism of tyranny. They had committed themselves in front of their peers to radical behavior. Some former students explain that their parents at the time didnt talk about emotions, and taught their children to respect the government and authorities, but that the Third Wave Experiment gave them a different point of view on blindly following orders and authoritiesthey appreciated the fact that they had been given the opportunity to see through their naivety. I couldn't let the Roberts lose again. Following the analyses of Israeli-German historian, Yaacov Lozowick, two British professors, Alex Haslam and Steve Reicher, have studied the experiments of Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo. Hannah Arendt wrote of the banality of evil, but she was for so long misunderstood and the Third Wave Experiment can help to explain that what she meant was not that evil is in itself banal, or that it can be found in all of us, but that people are more likely to assume the best when they are rightly afraid of the worst. To experience the power of discipline, I invited, no I commanded the class to exercise and use a new seating posture; I described how proper sitting posture assists mandatory concentration and strengthens the will. People being pushed into vans. The involvement level in the class moved from the few who always dominated discussions to the entire class. 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. "Through the experience of the past week we have all tasted what it was like to live and act in Nazi Germany. Some swirled back to momentarily hold Robert and me. A group photograph was taken. Given that assurance and smile I couldn't say no. In our consoling each other we became a rock in the stream of exiting students. To give validity to the seriousness of my words I turned to the three women in the class whom I knew had questioned the Third Wave. Performance in academic skill areas was significantly improving. Jones decided to continue the experiment after observing his students' strict adherence to the previous day's rules. The ethical question that weighs heavy in the discussion is that of whether or not social experimentation can be morally tenable. Ron's problem is he let it get out of control and that is why he was fired. Students were cutting class to participate and the school counselors were beginning to question every student in the class. How can people who were neighbors and maybe even friends of the Jewish citizen say they weren't there when it happened. The Third Wave had ended. 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. You won't admit to participating in this madness. Take part. And as predicted we also shared a deep secret. He handed in elaborate weekly reports copied word for word from the reference books in the library. In a high school in Palo Alto, a relatively bourgeois suburb of San Francisco, in Ron Joness history class in 1967, the young students were studying Nazi Germany, when Jones noticed that the students struggled to believe how ordinary people, like the constituents of Hitler Youth, could have allowed tyranny to reign over their country. In 1967, teacher Ron Jones conducted a social experiment with unexpected results. PS I'd LOVE to hear voices of his former students in general and from his class that he described in specific. I marked three of the cards with a red X and informed the recipients that they had a special assignment to report any students not complying to class rules. This unethical experiment is one of many reasons review boards were created and have made drastic changes in policy over experiments done on humans. O my Gosh, I thought this story was amazing. Embellished or not, this information is in-valuable and clearly possible. On Tuesday, the second day of the exercise, I entered the classroom to find everyone sitting in silence at the attention position. Events were crushing around me. Do you remember the question? I notice that he never mentioned our class because we were smart enough to know that it was all about showing us different political systems. To be right. The rabbi for one of the parents called me at home. I explained why I acted and then assigned four guards to escort the women to the library and to restrain them from entering the class an Friday. He smiled (I don't think I had ever seen him smile) and announced, "Mr. Jones I'm your bodyguard. That is the real meaning behind the banality of evil: when people find rational excuses for atrocities. We practiced short "silent reading" sessions. We worked on this simple act for the entire class period. If I suddenly jolted them back to classroom reality I would face a confused student- body for the remainder of the year. No. . "We can do it!" Oh, you think to yourself that you were just going along for the fun. The television won. I was shocked! Jones was a teacher who usually granted his students a lot of leeway. I have a question for you. I now began to ponder not just how far this class could be pushed but how such I would change my basic beliefs toward an open classroom and self directed learning. There was a mental tug of war between the people in the room and the television. in fact I instructed the class in a sitting posture. Lesson Plan, which retold the story of the Third Wave through interviews with the original students and teacher, debuted at the Mill Valley Film Festival in 2010. Hand curved in a similar fashion I return the gesture. He ended his pedagogical experiment abruptly with humiliation of his students via his lecturing. The Third Wave Experiment took place over five school days. I had a bodyguard. Edit: here is a video and post of Sherry Tousley describing the assembly in the gym on the last day among other things. The advertisement proclaimed in big red, white and blue letters, "The Third Wave is coming." Following my description of community I once again told the class that community like discipline must be experienced if it is to be understood. A belief that demands a strong leader and discipline to preserve social order. The rabbi became a part of the experiment In remaining ignorant of the oppression in the experiment he became an accomplice and advocate. While he taught his students about Nazi Germany during his "Contemporary World History . we each have witnessed something over the past week. The deed was concluded. Several friends of mine posing as reporters and photographers began to interact with the crowd taking pictures and jotting frantic descriptive notes. They would take the ridicule from the brighter students that participated in a measured and cautious way. A general assembly was organised for 12 pm the next day to watch the televised speech of their leader. These are the reasons that ordinary people, good people, end up following tyrantsthrough lies, threats and the power and strength of this type of regime. 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. He will explain all the things that he was able to manipulate the kids into doing which seems like would've taken weeks or months and claim it only took one day. They waited. Manipulated. It debuted on October 10[11] It was produced by Philip Neel and Mark Hancock, two of Jones's own former students. In fact I was surprised to find the ideas on discipline enacted at all. Any% nazi speedrun. "Sit down." Others cried openly and then brushed away tears to carry on. all?) 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". On the contrary, he had not simply followed orders blindly, he had actually planned his actions in great detailhe was an author of the Holocaust. "Everyone must accept the blame No one can claim that they didn't in some way take part.". Thanks, Eugene It's your job to read this pamphlet and report its entire content to the class before the period ends. Robert was at my side. When accosted by an English teacher for being a student in the "teachers' room" her just smiled and informed the faculty member that he wasn't a student. I am Mr. Jones. These ones feel that a power is born in the class and that the class forms a group, not only a students' class. [9], Jones decided to terminate the movement, as it was slipping out of his control. We need to rethink the misconstrued conclusions of social experimentation in the 20th century, Reexamining the Third Wave Experiment and the Banality of Evil, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Transphobic Social-Media Vigilantes Endanger the Black Community, Free-Speech and Hypocrisy: How JK Rowling Silences Her Critics. 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