It was a full page color advertisement in the current issue of Time for some lumber products. A German documentary entitled The Invisible Line (Die Geschichte der Welle) debuted on television on December 19, 2019. As I spent more time playing the role I had less time to remember its rational origins and purpose. I called it the Third Wave salute because the hand resembled a wave about to top over. Their faces held looks of disbelief. You are no better or worse than the German Nazis we have been studying. They aren't bright, they can't make the athletic teams, and don't strike out for attention. We practiced this new attention position over and over. Within this avalanche of reporting one legitimate conspiracy did seem underway . Three women in the class had told their parents all about our classroom activities. The entire collection however looked like one force as they sat in perfect attention. The air in the room seemed to be drying up. Strength Through Community! It was as if everyone wanted to dissect the moment, figure out what had happened. "Pride is more than banners or salutes. I shared this silence with two hundred students. There is no such thing as a national youth movement called the Third Wave. For example, the theory that appeared after the Milgram experiment was that ordinary, good people, professionals and students alike would obey authority to the point that it could kill someone (up to 450V of electrical currentfar beyond that which can be sustained by a human being). The same can often be said in the natural sciences. To allow students the experience of direct action I gave each individual a specific verbal assignment. In staccato words he pleaded that I understand and help him get home. It was 12:07. 6. It was as if the climax of shouting souls had pushed everything out of' the room. We worked on this simple act for the entire class period. Then add two more until finally the whole class was standing and reciting. I was only doing my job. "Everyone must accept the blame No one can claim that they didn't in some way take part.". 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. While Jones taught his students about Nazi Germany during his senior level Contemporary World History class, Jones found it . I have participated in similar experiments and also discovered the innate being inside is so easily manipulated due to a childlike want for approval and purpose being just the way they are. A strange calm is in effect when a room full of people sit in quite observation and anticipation. That's right. Or he is exaggerating, or what? A blank field of white. It caused a lot of problems at the school because students were not prepared properly to understand what was being taught. He was correct. Moving toward the door and the world outside. I reminded students of what it felt like being in classes where competition caused pain and degradation. The events were adapted into a non-musical play stage in 2011 by Joseph Robinette and Ron Jones. That you were better than those outside this room. By the end of the day the movement had over 200 participants. It was like we were all witness to a birth. . I lectured about the beauty of discipline. Emotionally and psychologically they had exposed themselves. 2010 Third Wave Documentary Film "Lesson Plan". He was a retired air force colonel who had spent time in a German prisoner of war camp. I confided that they were the students selected to represent their area. Evil in itself is not banal, and evil acts do not necessarily have to be committed by evil people. The room was empty of sound. Like awakening from a dream and deep sleep, the entire room of people took one last look back into their consciousness. On Thursday I began to draw the experiment to a conclusion. Something in all of us. [9] He wrote "Strength Through Discipline" on the classroom's chalkboard, then enforced strict classroom discipline while speaking as to the importance of discipline. The Third Wave (experiment) 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 accept the actions of the Nazi regime during the Second World War. The feeling of being "in" or part of something so great and orderly. Students from across the school joined in. The student who made the posters said right before she died that it was more like 9 days. If you will stand up and display what You have learned in the past four dayswe can change the destiny of this nation. They were something special. Some subjects didnt need all four prompts, but the great majority of them did. It felt hard to breathe and even harder to talk. Adolf Eichmann, however, was no ordinary man. It concerned a bewilderment at the German populace claiming ignorance and non-involvement in the Nazi movement. The Third Wave experiment once again indicates that the normal group processes that make social life possible also can lead people to conform to standardsin this case fascismthat most of us would reject. [a] Jones, finding himself unable to explain to his students how the German people could have claimed ignorance of The Holocaust, decided to demonstrate it to them instead. Based on his account, he did not question his students' experiences and reflections by careful listening to them and providing them with sensitive guidance. He told me about his friends that had been killed in Germany. "The Third Wave isn't just an experiment or classroom activity. Many questions haunted me. programming. 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. I worried for myself. Let me show you your future. The trouble with the situation and role I had created was that I didn't have time to think where it was leading. Over the course of five days (or nine, according to student Sherry Toulsey), Jones, a member of the SDS,[6] Cubberley United Student Movement sponsor[7] and Black Panthers supporter[8] conducted a series of exercises in his classroom emphasizing discipline and community, intended to model certain characteristics of the Nazi movement. I'm very upset over Robert! "We can do it!" Ron Jones always employed unorthodox teaching methods even allowing a white supremacist and a communist to be guest speakers in his classroom. This also featured interviews with Jones and former students. We did noise drills in which talking was allowed only to be shown as a detraction. To conclude the session on direct action, I instructed students in a simple procedure for initiating new members. If I stopped the experiment a great number of students would be left hanging. Don't you feel better.". Knowing that one is being monitored changes ones behaviour significantly. 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. Powerful. Waiting. [1] Jones wrote a detailed recollection of the experiment some nine years afterward. I sure do, it was one of the most frightening events I ever experienced In the classroom. Of believing so thoroughly in yourself and your community or family that you will do anything to preserve, protect and extend that being. 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 machine came to life producing a luminous field of phosphorus light. It debuted October 4, 1981, and almost two years later as an ABC Afterschool Special.It starred Bruce Davison as the teacher Ben Ross, a character based on Jones. He turned on the TV placed in the middle of the room. That's just what Robert did. The Third Wave experiment took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California during the first week of April in 1967. I just kept talking. 1976 Ron Jones First Short Story "The Third Wave". How could the townspeople, railroad conductors, teachers, doctors, claim they knew nothing about concentration camps and human carnage. it's all right." The Aversion Project (1970s and 80s). So, he decided to demonstrate this . all?) 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. He seemed delighted and told me not to worry. The third wave, 1967: an account - Ron Jones. Jones was a teacher who usually granted his students a lot of leeway. ", The clincher came quite by accident. Others cried openly and then brushed away tears to carry on. It's a bit of both isn't it? "Should we wear white shirts?" In her book, Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963), Hannah Arendt wrote about the apparent normal psychological behaviour Adolf Eichmann demonstrated during his trial. It also helps us understand further how the Holocaust could have happened. Jones told his students of the true nature of the movement as an experiment in fascism, and presented to them a short film discussing the actions of Nazi Germany.[9]. On the contrary, they analysed the very specifics of the experiment to come up with a more thorough hypothesis. The feeling of never acting, never being a part of something, never supporting each other. I decided to find out. Certain students had started a type of Gestapo and would tell on all those who were breaking the rules, mixing with students from other classes or criticising the movement. They waited. Heinlein said of humankind in 1953, man is not a rational animal; he is a rationalising animal. Milgram's original "shock box" displayed at the Ontario Science Centre. Their teacher called the group "The Third Wave," even going so far as to punish an improper sitting posture. 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. Only a small minority of students saw through the faade, they were named the breakers who tore down Third Wave posters and replaced them with counter slogans. It was one of the most interesting classes I have ever had. The students obeyed. Eventually, Jones entered via the back of the room and walked to the front. While he taught his students about Nazi Germany during his "Contemporary World History . This is the wrong interpretation and the wrong conclusion to make. I discussed the beauty of taking full responsibility for ones action. ", "If our enactment of the Fascist mentality is complete not one of you will ever admit to being at this final Third Wave rally. Leler, Robin and Sakuma, Bernice. As the class period was ending and without forethought I created a class salute. Not a vacant seat could be found. Many students outside the class asked if they could join. Must be a former student. Simply upload, import the demo data, and swap out the text and images as you wish! The students had become more and more involved in the project. I had to stop for a minute to remember. These and other controversial experiments led . 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. We ran into each other quite by accident. Schoolteacher Ron Jones's personal account of his experiment which created a proto-fascist movement amongst his high school pupils in Palo Alto, California, which in 2008 was subject of the award-winning film The Wave. It's not going to happen. It was also the genesis of a secret that I and two hundred students would sadly share for the rest of our lives. I then proceeded to talk about the meaning of action. Students were cutting class to participate and the school counselors were beginning to question every student in the class. Performance in academic skill areas was significantly improving. This rally is for members only.". Discipline. Oh, you make promises to call each other but It won't happen. To be number one. invisible. Then smiled, and slowly raised a hand in a cupped position. In our consoling each other we became a rock in the stream of exiting students. The subjects were told that they were taking part in a rare experiment studying education. No. If I remember the question. Does This Put The Transgender Debate to Rest? What does he do now (or after he was fired)? Late Wednesday afternoon I found Robert following me and asked what in the world was he doing. Students slowly rose from their Chairs and without words filed into the outdoor light. 509-10) told his students in the . 1981 Todd Strasser (Morton Rhue) Novelization "The Wave". [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. This is exactly what happened across one . Students were issued a member card. This lesson was the question that started our plunge in studying Nazi life. Steve Conigio had been a sophomore student in my World History class. Yes, we know in a small way what it feels like to find a hero. Hand raised upward in a shape of a curling wave. In concluding this conversation I envisioned similar conversations throughout history in which the clergy accepted and apologized for untenable conditions. 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 . Strength through pride I confessed my feeling of sickness and remorse. Well, the Third Wave gave Robert a place in school. The trial was over. 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.. Some of their faces were relaxed with smiles that come from pleasing the teacher. The tension and anticipation was beyond belief. He walked always on my right. Students seemed intent on the assignment and displayed Accurate recitation of facts and concepts. May 14, 2022 Lauren Coontz. Like the Germans, you will have trouble admitting to yourself that you come this far. A new member had only to be recommended by an existing member and issued a card by me. It was too late to step back. in fact I instructed the class in a sitting posture. Here Ive met a student and we've talked for hours about this nightmare. The real gestapo in the school was at work. To grab quick solution. But where were you heading? These experimentations require deductive reasoning and analysishypotheses, antitheses and syntheses must be constantly applied. I graduated in 1967 and lost contact with Ron, But my mother worked at the school and kept me up to date as to what was going on with him. Every person focusing on the T.V. I am Mr. Jones. What was he lying about, in your view? Taken to an extreme we have seen and perhaps felt what these actions will lead to. I expected a flood of questions, but instead got intense quietness. On Wednesday, I decided to issue membership cards to every student that wanted to continue what I now called the experiment. Jones named the movement "The Third Wave" as a symbol of strength, referring to the mythical belief that the third in a series of waves is the strongest. Always we said them together, emphasizing the proper way to sit, stand, and talk. In the still darkened room I began the explanation. In the four years I taught at Cubberley High School no one ever admitted to attending the Third Wave Rally. New people were speaking. Upon their arrival, the students were presented with a blank channel. Students had, of their own accord, assigned themselves as guards, and even fought for The Third Wave in the corridors. 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. Where is it? Jones announced to the class that this movement was a part of a nationwide movement and that on the next day a presidential candidate of the Third Wave would announce its existence to the public. I particularly remember Robert. A hushed silence shrouded the room. The Third Wave was still alive. Ordinary people will rationalise rather than be rational when they are in a threatening or difficult situation, in order to excuse themselves for being part of something that they fundamentally disagree with. 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. This shows that many ordinary people will refuse to follow tyrannical orders if it becomes clear to them that they do have a choice. At eleven thirty students began to ant their way into the room; at first a few scouting the way and then more. Both options were unworkable. The Wave is a made-for-TV movie directed by Alex Grasshoff, based on The Third Wave experiment put on by teacher Ron Jones to explain to his students how the German populace could accept the actions of the Nazi regime. During the 1960s, Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted a series of obedience experiments that led to some surprising results. The trance with the television continued for what seemed like hours. Many students were over the line. Upon hearing of our activity he simply lost control Late in the evening he broke into the room and tore it apart. I wondered if this doesn't happen to lots of people. He then led them in shouting chants of "Strength through Discipline! "There isn't any leader is there?" He could do something. "Yes.1' "Now listen carefully. Replace reason with rules. Oral history of Ernest DeMaio, from his early radicalizing experience of the First, The autobiography of Fred W. Thompson - socialist, Wobbly, organizer, soapboxer, editor, class-war prisoner, educator, historian, and publisher, A collection of essays written by Dwight Macdonald, most of which appeared in his. It must be coming on. [9] Jones started a movement called "The Third Wave" and told his students that the movement aimed to eliminate democracy. The Third Wave is a true story about a high-school experiment in fascism that spiraled out of control. Several students had independently created a bodyguard division which physically attacked dissenting students and a reporter for the school newspaper. Below this I wrote a second law, "STRENGTH THROUGH COMMUNITY.". This kind of lie has been criticised for being inherently unethical but is, in fact, the only way in which experimenters can ensure that their subjects are acting in an authentic way. The Nazis also hid many of their crimes from their own people, named themselves national socialists (when they were, in fact, not socialist but fascist) and managed to abolish unemployment (food was nevertheless lacking across the country, much like in Stalins Ukraine). TIL about the Third Wave experiment. He normally let them call him Ron, and was much respected, charismatic and popular. 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?. He was surprised when around twenty of the students made such reports. Each time the response was louder. Anticipation turned to anxiety and then to frustration. If I suddenly jolted them back to classroom reality I would face a confused student- body for the remainder of the year. Some swirled back to momentarily hold Robert and me. His students where attached to the order. Oh, you think to yourself that you were just going along for the fun. I can tell you and anyone else about the Third Wave. They would take the ridicule from the brighter students that participated in a measured and cautious way. My heart was pounding. At this stage of the game I was debating in my own mind whether to stop the experiment or continue. The procedures were simple. They were asked to read out questions to a student and whenever the student got a question wrong, the subjects were ordered to electrocute the student, increasing the force of the current gradually the more questions that they got wrong. [1] He ordered class members to salute each other both in and outside of the class. The Milgram experiment was a famous and controversial study that explored the effects of authority on obedience. My God He's a member of the Third Wave. "Sit down." Wednesday evening someone had broken into the room and ransacked the place. How far would you have gone? Oh I was benevolent. Given that assurance and smile I couldn't say no. I also questioned if they could make a good showing, because the press had been invited to record the event. 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. Taking in large uncontrollable gulps of air. Then it was time to part. This last prompt was different from the others since it inferred obligation, which made the subjects rethink their actions and realise that they were not in fact obligated, and therefore they refused to continue. Just smiling and saluting other class members. "Is it a code or something?" Evidently, experimentation in the social sciences is different. The school cook asked what a Third Wave cookie looked like. We knew that it was interesting learning about different political systems, but not something we would ever emulate. They were doing something together. Was the desire for discipline and uniformity a natural need? In objective terms I began to describe the past events. The intensity of the response became more important than the content. I couldn't let the Roberts lose again. How could the German populace claim ignorance of the slaughter of the Jewish people. The television won. The advertiser identified his product as the Third Wave. He was holding on to me and shaking. Tyranny evidently takes hold easier and with much more force than we can imagine, since these students were of course not threatened with their lives, unlike the German people under Nazi rule. Some couldnt even move from the shock. The only reason I came to know Robert at all is that I found him eating lunch in my classroom. The third wave, 1967: an account - Ron Jones. They were learning more. The Third Wave disaster. Not knowing when and if you'd ever see each other again. The involvement level in the class moved from the few who always dominated discussions to the entire class. or say then with various degrees of loudness. 10. It was the last time I would ask anyone to recite. 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. He ordered students to attend a noon rally on Friday to witness the announcement. Talk about tone deaf. The Librarian thanked me for the 30' banner on learning which she placed above the library entrance. 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. Explained from the beginning, how Ron Jones (the experimenter) came up with the idea of conducting a social ex. You bargained your freedom for the comfort of discipline and superiority. I was following the group dictate as much as I was directing it. This last lesson is perhaps the one of greatest importance. 1967 Original "Third Wave" Class, Palo Alto, California. They had indeed fallen for the trap. If only he would have raged in anger or simply investigated the situation I could point the students to an example of righteous rebellion. 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