May 26, 2003
Prisoner 819 Did A Bad Thing
NYTimes - "U.S. Youths Rebel at Harsh School in Costa Rica" :
Children were divided into six levels, the lower ones forbidden to speak freely or raise their eyes, the higher ones free to discipline and punish inferiors.
Wow, I knew schools like this existed, but I didn't realize how jacked up they were, or that they were in places like Costa Rica. Haven't these people ever heard of the Stanford prison experiment ?
Posted by Dirtae at May 26, 2003 11:38 PMTwo things amaze me about this incident, and the whole Wwasps setup:
1) That these people thought an artificial, violently enforced caste system would work. Is there a single educator/administrator in the country who hasn't heard of Jane Elliot's "Blue Eyed" experiment in '68? I mean, Jesus F. Christ, the lady's turned it into an entire business enterprise by now. Don't people get that if artificial divisions can't be sustained beyond a couple of days, they certainly don't make a good business model?
2) The calm eloquence of the children enrolled in these programs. The best descriptions come from 17 year old boys deemed unhandlable by their local schools, AFTER one of them has been physically beaten, and a fourteen year old girl who witnessed multiple riots? This is a far cry from the Beavis & Butthead stereotype, and it pleases me.
Posted by: Michael at June 1, 2003 02:30 PM
