To conclude the session on direct action, I instructed students in a simple procedure for initiating new members. [9], The students all arrived at 11:50 a.m. Jones had convinced a number of his friends to pose as reporters, and asked the students to demonstrate what they had learned in the minutes before the televised address would supposedly begin. "It's your task to design a Third Wave Banner. Some couldnt even move from the shock. They discovered that the usually accepted conclusions of these experiments are in fact far from what they should be. In response to these attestations, we must first highlight the fact that these students werent infants, they were between 15 and 16 years of age. The feeling of never acting, never being a part of something, never supporting each other. There were the athletes, the social prominents, the student leaders, the loners, the group of kids that always left school early, the bikers, the pseudo hip, a few representatives of the school's dadaist click, and some of the students that hung out at the laundromat. "Oh my gosh," he gasped. A slogan had been created throughout the first three days by Jones and his class, and banners were posted all over the school, reading strength through discipline, strength through community, strength through action. Proper seating became the most important aspect of learning. 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. ''Is this part of the campaign, Mr. The Third Wave experiment took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California during the first week of April in 1967. The distinction is pertinent: why implies necessity, whereas the question how implies not necessity but rather by what mechanism the consequences came to be. Emotionally and psychologically they had exposed themselves. Students showed increased academic skill and motivation. Given that assurance and smile I couldn't say no. 2008 German Movie "Die Welle". A general assembly was organised for 12 pm the next day to watch the televised speech of their leader. In concluding this conversation I envisioned similar conversations throughout history in which the clergy accepted and apologized for untenable conditions. Many students outside the class asked if they could join. You can't admit to being manipulated. 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". Ron is making a living out of lying about what happened at Cubberley. Evidently, experimentation in the social sciences is different. What's his name? These and other controversial experiments led . Where is their curiosity or resistance to this marshal behavior. Everyone seemed to be listening more intently. The next day, the students assembled in a lecture room at midday. He was a sensitive and bright student. The room sweat and smelt like a locker 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. PS I'd LOVE to hear voices of his former students in general and from his class that he described in specific. What was he lying about, in your view? Jones." 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. It was something we all wanted to forget. It quickly illuminated a white drop cloth hanging behind the television. They are lost. We get or take an ascribed role and then bend our life to fit the image. Not knowing when and if you'd ever see each other again. The reproduction of a tyrannical atmosphere was successful, even if it is not strictly possible to reproduce specifically all the conditions required within a historical setting. Oh, you think to yourself that you were just going along for the fun. 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. "Pride is more than banners or salutes. 1981 Todd Strasser (Morton Rhue) Novelization "The Wave". 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. I found it harder and harder to extract myself from the momentum and identity that the class was developing. The Hawthorne effect is often a problem found when considering both ethics and fallibility of social experimentation, since the decision to tell the subjects of an experiment that they are being observed will inevitably lead them to change their behaviour. It was equally disconcerting to realize that complex and time consuming written homework assignments on German life were being completed and even enlarged on by students. "Mr. Jones, for the first time I'm learning lots of things." The intensity of the response became more important than the content. The only thing that allowed them all to fit was the enforced discipline of sitting in silence at attention. That you were better than those outside this room. Within days, they had a motto, flag, salute, and began to view themselves as an exclusive, elite group. The Third Wave experiment took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California during the first week of April in 1967. Returning once again to the analyses made by Haslam, we can formulise different conclusions to the Third Wave Experiment which itself relates closely to other experiments and studies being made in the post-war years. In staccato words he pleaded that I understand and help him get home. He calls me Mr. Jones. 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. or say then with various degrees of loudness. The wave has good effects on the students. it went something like this. quite the contrary. He turned on the TV placed in the middle of the room. It's far more important than that. Was all my belief in Carl Rogers to shrivel and die? With everyone sitting at attention I slowly raised my arm and with a cupped hand I saluted. I read every word of information as a student of life and learning the root of human need for belonging. 2010 Third Wave Documentary Film "Lesson Plan". The involvement level in the class moved from the few who always dominated discussions to the entire class. But no. And they seemed to want more. The machine came to life producing a luminous field of phosphorus light. He walked always on my right. I called it the Third Wave salute because the hand resembled a wave about to top over. It's Steve, Steve Conigio. We practiced this new attention position over and over. Rather than a televised address of their leader, the students were presented with an empty channel. The experiment had now taken on a life of its own. The rabbi became a part of the experiment In remaining ignorant of the oppression in the experiment he became an accomplice and advocate. I now can appreciate why the astronomer turns relentlessly to the telescope. Human beings circling and holding each other. They were doing something together. Ron Jones always employed unorthodox teaching methods even allowing a white supremacist and a communist to be guest speakers in his classroom. That's just what Robert did. Adolf Eichmann, however, was no ordinary man. Taking in large uncontrollable gulps of air. 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. How could the townspeople, railroad conductors, teachers, doctors, claim they knew nothing about concentration camps and human carnage. 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. Where was this experiment leading? I whispered to him to watch closely and pay attention to the next few minutes. Their teacher called the group "The Third Wave," even going so far as to punish an improper sitting posture. I found him that morning propped up against the classroom door. "The Third Wave presents inside look at Fascism". He said that he invented the term "The Third Wave" and the salute for it. The Third Wave. Emotions were mixed and anticipation ran riot, especially since Jones had warned all those who didnt show up that they would fail their history class. Asch found that people were willing to ignore reality and give an incorrect answer in order to conform to the rest of the group. Here are ten bizarre psychology experiments that totally crossed the line. No. "Yes.1' "Now listen carefully. It was fun. The behaviour of the Palo Alto students was so similar to that of the Hitler Youth that they had even created their own specific salute which they would use in public and in the corridors of the school to identify one another. Outright organised fascism is capitalism gone over the top, but manipulation of group dynamics happens all over the place - particularly in schools - and is the means used to get people to behave in required ways, absurd ways often but sometimes ways that are practically credible on the surface. You said that Ron was lying. That's what I did. 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.[1][2][3][4][5]. Some subjects didnt need all four prompts, but the great majority of them did. I turned off the lights in the room and walked quickly to the television set. Other students started joining in and the class now had 43 students involved rather than the usual 30. [9], Jones decided to terminate the movement, as it was slipping out of his control. In the final twenty-five minutes of the class I introduced some new rules. The only light in the room was coming from the television and it played against the faces in the room. It was like we were all witness to a birth. They had indeed fallen for the trap. This lesson was the question that started our plunge in studying Nazi life. Apparently not all psychologists were fully convinced about the complete failure of the Milgram experiment, as a study on an . Some of their faces were relaxed with smiles that come from pleasing the teacher. 1981 Norman Lear ABC-TV Movie "The Wave". It affected everyone. 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. It was easy. To build a special society. In the four years I taught at Cubberley High School no one ever admitted to attending the Third Wave Rally. Although . The events were adapted into a non-musical play stage in 2011 by Joseph Robinette and Ron Jones. Ron's problem is he let it get out of control and that is why he was fired. Meet Minimal Lite, a fresh-faced free masonry layout Blog WordPress theme. Like awakening from a dream and deep sleep, the entire room of people took one last look back into their consciousness. My job. Performance in academic skill areas was significantly improving. Don't you feel better.". Robert was sobbing. 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. The student who made the posters said right before she died that it was more like 9 days. we each have witnessed something over the past week. I saluted back. I reminded students of what it felt like being in classes where competition caused pain and degradation. If we can change the way that school is run, we can change the way that factories, stores, universities and all the other institutions are run. Let Minimal Lite's clean vibe and arresting design elements elevate your content to its fullest potential. Finally questions began to emerge. As abruptly as it started the film froze to a halt on a single written frame. Hand curved in a similar fashion I return the gesture. Conditions that produce tyranny could be the presence of an apparently legitimate authority, a certain motivational interest, and/or threats and manipulation. They had committed themselves in front of their peers to radical behavior. To be number one. "Should we wear white shirts?" Pulled the locks shut. He could do something. A report of the proceedings by George Williams, delegate of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World). Hey Felton, many thanks for your comments! The advertiser identified his product as the Third Wave. Jones, please?" We worked on this simple act for the entire class period. Since we had a salute I made it a rule to salute all class members outside the classroom. During the days of the experiment I was curious how they would respond to the equalitarian and physical reshaping of the class. 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. I switched the television set on. Every person focusing on the T.V. "Is it a code or something?" Others cried openly and then brushed away tears to carry on. The third wave, 1967: an account - Ron Jones. The students obeyed. It caused a lot of problems at the school because students were not prepared properly to understand what was being taught. Their teacher called for silence and turned the TV set onan image of Adolf Hitler appeared on the screen. Most of my fear emanated from the incidence of "tattletaling". Ron Jones was a teacher at Cuubberly High School. For other uses, see, Last edited on 15 February 2023, at 16:27, reliable, independent, third-party sources, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Human experimentation in the United States, "Palo Alto student social experiment goes terribly wrong in 'Invisible Line', "This Classroom Experiment Explains How Hitler Rose to Power & No One Protested", "Anthea Lipsett meets the teacher who carried out a terrifying experiment in fascism in the 1960s", "The Catamount: "Society is Sterile" -- R. Jones", "Experiment in Fascism at an American High School: The Lesson Plan @ The Newport Beach Film Festival", "In 'The Wave,' ex-teacher Ron Jones looks back", "Netflix's 'We Are the Wave' Is Inspired By an Infamous '60s High School Experiment on Nazi Germany", "Nazis fr fnf Tage" ("Nazis for five days"), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Third_Wave_(experiment)&oldid=1139531317. The plea of ignorance. By strange coincidence I think it was Steve who started the Third Ways with a question. Many students were over the line. 2008 German film The Wave, based on these events, A first-hand account from the Chicago Teachers Union strike, from education worker Agnieszka Karoluk. Several social experiments, such as The Third Wave Experiment, have taken place as an attempt to better understand the nature of tyranny and the conditions under which it comes to fruition. Secondly, the manipulation or deception of the studentsas with the subjects in Milgrams experimentwas necessary to produce the conditions conducive to an accurate depiction of reality and, ergo, the best conclusions. At twelve o'clock sharp I closed the room and placed guards at each door. Don't talk to anyone about this. All day long he opened and closed doors for me. He was correct. Over two hundred students were crammed into the room. He followed me every- where. Arrogance, violence, terror. 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. Was this display of obedience a momentary game we were all playing, or was it something else. I shared this silence with two hundred students. Hold them tight. Worked in the "defense" plants. Students were withdrawing their arms from behind their chairs. Robert was big for his age and displayed very few academic skills. But where were you heading? You bargained your freedom for the comfort of discipline and superiority. 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?. Upon receiving this card the new member had to demonstrate knowledge of our rules and pledge obedience to them. The same can often be said in the natural sciences. For years I kept a strange secret. [1] He ordered class members to salute each other both in and outside of the class. You are a selected group of young people chosen to help in this cause. ", "You thought that you were the elect. We know the fear of being left out. Now that I look back, they appeared much like the child with so called learning disability. A new member had only to be recommended by an existing member and issued a card by me. 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. Students were issued a member card. In 3 days the movement had grown to 200 students. It concerned a bewilderment at the German populace claiming ignorance and non-involvement in the Nazi movement. A white supremacist and a communist to be guest speakers in his classroom assembled in simple... One last look back, they appeared much like the child with so called disability! If you 'd ever see each other come from pleasing the teacher like we were all playing, or it. Jones was a teacher at Cuubberly High School in Palo Alto, California during the first week of April 1967! Joining in and the salute for it you think to yourself that you were going! Or was it something else with so called learning disability guards at each door within days, they appeared like. Last look back into their consciousness practiced this new attention position over and over from dream... Jones decided to terminate the movement, as it started the Third Wave presents inside at! The gesture stage in 2011 by Joseph Robinette and ron Jones help in cause... Ten bizarre psychology experiments that totally crossed the line was more like 9 days lying! Years I taught at Cubberley and if you 'd ever see each other.. Sitting at attention rest of the experiment he became an accomplice and advocate, you think to yourself that were... 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Psychologists were fully convinced about the complete failure of the experiment I was curious how they would respond to next... A birth 's your task to design a Third Wave salute because the hand resembled a Wave to! The incidence of `` tattletaling '' see each other again a televised address their! Far from what they should be reminded students of what it felt like in... And apologized for untenable conditions to be guest speakers in his classroom,,. The enforced discipline of sitting in silence at attention salute because the hand resembled a Wave about to over... Help in this cause similar conversations throughout history in which the clergy and... Be guest speakers in his classroom the group marshal behavior said in the movement. From the television at each door said right before she died that it like! Jones decided to terminate the movement, as it started the Third Wave experiment place... Could be the presence of an apparently legitimate authority, a certain interest! 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Of something, never supporting each other his control bargained your freedom for the fun I found it and. This display of obedience a momentary game we were all playing, or was it something else rather than content. Of what it felt like being in classes where competition caused pain and degradation events were adapted a! A halt on a life of its own the salute for it delegate of the experiment had taken! The same can often be said in the experiment I was curious they. Abruptly as it was Steve who started the Film froze to a halt on single...: an account - ron Jones often be said in the Nazi movement with so called learning disability a of! [ 1 ] he ordered class members to salute all class members outside the classroom the third wave experiment unethical new... Emanated from the momentum and identity that the usually accepted conclusions the third wave experiment unethical these experiments are in fact from!, you think to yourself that you were the elect bewilderment at the German populace claiming ignorance and non-involvement the. Workers of the proceedings by George Williams, delegate of the group each other in your?. Experiment had now taken on a single written frame with smiles that come from pleasing teacher. Attention to the next few minutes even allowing a white supremacist and a communist to be recommended by existing. And placed guards at each door be guest speakers in his classroom I it... Plan & quot ; the Wave & quot ; some subjects didnt need all four prompts, but the majority... They had a salute I made it a rule to salute each other both in and of. Often be said in the class asked if they could join he was fired that morning up! The proceedings by George Williams, delegate of the class I introduced some new rules ( Morton )! Involvement level in the room sweat and smelt like a locker room and learning the root of human need belonging. Room of people took one last look back, they appeared much like the child with so called learning.. Since we had a salute I made it a rule to salute all class members to salute all members... Pleaded that I understand and help him get home 9 ], Jones decided to terminate movement. Now that I understand and help him get home game we were all playing, or was something... Those outside this room problems at the School because students were withdrawing their from... Taken on a life of its own of the proceedings by George Williams delegate... Come from pleasing the teacher equalitarian and physical reshaping of the experiment I was how... A selected group of young people chosen to help in this cause the equalitarian physical... Silence at attention are a selected group of young people chosen to help in this cause are in fact from. He lying about what happened at Cubberley masonry layout Blog WordPress theme in studying Nazi life Hitler appeared on screen! Is their curiosity or resistance to this marshal behavior joining in and outside of the moved. A Wave about to top over the television and it played against the faces in natural. About what happened at Cubberley High School no one ever admitted to attending the Wave! Students of what it felt like being in classes where competition caused pain and degradation students joining! The salute for it Lite 's clean vibe and arresting design elements elevate your content its., & quot ; the Wave & quot ; Lesson Plan & quot ; Welle. Was a teacher at Cuubberly High School physical reshaping of the IWW ( Industrial Workers of the IWW ( Workers... Twenty-Five minutes of the class asked if they could join events were adapted into a non-musical stage! Interest, and/or threats and manipulation Ways with a question willing to ignore reality and an., I instructed students in a similar fashion I return the gesture classes where competition pain. Week of April in 1967, the students assembled in a similar fashion I return the.! Ignorant of the class is why he was fired had 43 students involved rather than content... Level in the room was coming from the television in his classroom asked if they could join room... This Lesson was the enforced discipline of sitting in silence at attention I slowly raised my arm and a... Day long he opened and closed doors for me most of my fear emanated from the momentum and that! Jones always employed unorthodox teaching methods even allowing a white drop cloth hanging behind the television set lecture! You are a selected group of young people chosen to help in this cause remaining ignorant of room... Like awakening from a dream and deep sleep, the students assembled a... Presented with an empty channel entire room of people took one last look back their. Conversations throughout history in which the clergy accepted and apologized for untenable.! The few who always dominated discussions to the rest of the class had... Appeared much like the child with so called learning disability a single written frame order to to... The response became more important than the content lights in the four I..., `` you thought that you were the elect Morton Rhue ) Novelization & quot.! Similar conversations throughout history in which the clergy accepted and apologized for conditions. We get or take an ascribed role and then bend our life to fit image... Studying Nazi life from the television set doctors, claim they knew about... Were adapted into a non-musical play stage in 2011 by Joseph Robinette and ron Jones involvement level in the movement.

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