Come on, they have been shocked for so long they are numb to it anyway

This story was published on Teachers4Change over a year ago. We thought it appropriate to publish it again because of all the talk of pending budget cuts and layoffs.

1961-1962 Stanley Milgram conducted a series of studies at Harvard while working on his Ph.D. The experiments were done at Yale based on his study. These studies would revolutionize psychology in the study of studying “obedience to authority”. Stanley wanted to know why members of the Nazi party in World War II carried out crimes against humanity without any question to the authority sanctioning these atrocities.

Stanley Milgram set up a series of experiments where a person was brought in to help with an experiment. There were three people involved: an experimenter, a teacher, and a student. The experimenter and student were in on the experiment and did not let the teacher know they were working together. The teacher is taken to an adjoining room which contains a generator. The teacher is instructed to read a list of two word pairs and ask the student to read them back. If the student gets the answer correct, they move on to the next word. If the answer is incorrect, the teacher is supposed to shock the student. The generator has 30 switches in 15 volt increments, each labeled with a voltage ranging from 15 up to 450 volts. Each switch also has a rating ranging from “slight shock” to “danger; severe shock”. The final two switches are labeled “XXX.” The teacher automatically is supposed to increase the shock each time the student misses a word from the list. The student was part of the experiment and never received shocks, but let out occasional screams as the shocks increased.

At times the worried teachers questioned the experimenter, asking who was responsible for any harmful effects. Upon receiving the answer that the experimenter assumed full responsibility, teachers seemed to accept the response and continued shocking the student. Some teachers were obviously uncomfortable, but continued anyway.

The theory that only the most severe monsters on the sadistic fringe of society would submit to such cruelty is disclaimed. Findings showed that two-thirds of the study’s participants fall into the category of ‘obedient’ subjects, and they represent ordinary people. Ultimately 65% of all teachers punished the students to the maximum 450 volts. Not one teacher stopped before reaching 300 volts.

Perhaps this study shows how lack of compassion for human life came to the forefront during the Eichman trials. This may explain why so many soldiers carried out the orders, knowing that it was wrong, but accepted the authority to proceed. According to Milgram, every human has the dual capacity to function as an individual exercising his or her own moral judgment and the aptness to make their own moral decisions based on their personal character. So what happens to the average person who is obedient to authority when it overrides their own moral judgment?

In 1970 CCCTA was confronted with a rival union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Charges were filed with the EMRB to allow AFT to negotiate a contract. Immediately CCCTA and CCSD joined together and convinced the EMRB that they represented the majority of teachers in Clark County. At that time they represented 400 teachers out of 2,000. The EMRB recognized that this was apparently a majority and since the District recognized them, why change the representation. The AFT, in disgust left Clark County and has never returned. All of this information is public record and on file with the EMRB.

So why would CCSD step up and embrace CCCTA, many of their own administrators have admitted over the years,”because they are inept and they do our bidding.” So now we have the authority figure and the subordinate, being CCEA. When CCEA accepts MOU’s, and without question modifies contracts, now it can be understood. The authority figure is there telling them, it is okay, go ahead and give them another shock. CCSD even takes some of these people administering the shock and gives them a position in administration. Now they get to be the authority figure and keep the masquerade going.

When members are being shocked with expulsion and sanctions, someone on the board has to be questioning their moral character, but the authority figure is there to assure them it is okay to shock them. Even the upper executives have morals and have to ask what is going on, so CCSD steps up and assures them it is okay to shock the membership. Come on, they have been shocked for so long they are numb to it anyway.

Would you pull the switch? Obviously Uncle Walt will and has in the past. Now we know where the budget cuts will come from, the backs of teachers of course.