Lesson Idea: Conformity Activity

What better way to teach your students about history than how people were forced to be the same? Mostly known within the US, the idea of conformity arose during eras of history where people became scared of the unknown-scared of the differences between themselves and others. What resulted was a system where those straying too far from the path were punished, usually very badly. But unlike what most people think, this ideal was not limited to the US; the USSR had its fair share of conformity issues while pledging to be a "Utopian" society. So, it's crucial for your students' understanding to be able to teach this subject of recent history and have it make sense. More often than not, a teacher will try to tell of conformity when they have lived on its receiving end, and the bias is VERY real. To make this as unbiased as possible, you need to leave your opinions at the door and listen to an idea from someone who never lived through it. I know that sounds absurd, but trust me-it's what's best for the students.

To begin, you'll need a basic outline. Let's say this activity takes place in the community of "Anyville", where everyone conforms to a certain set of rules in the face of ostracizing. These rules are as follows:

• Absolutely no talking when the teacher is talking.
• Students must raise their hands to answer a question and keep them so until called upon.
• No complaints against the teacher's decisions.
• Any crude noises (sneezing, coughing, etc.) will be met with a warning. Three warnings=punishment.
• Students must always agree with the teacher, no matter what opinions they possess.

The lesson should take place over the course of a week. During this time, I suggest that the teacher teach any sort of outrageous dogma-it could even relate to the unit at hand. For example, you could teach of McCarthyism as if the man was a saint or Communism as a Godsend-either way, try to be as unpopular in your opinions as possible. The point of this lesson is to see how long it will take for students to break conformity, and how their fellow classmates will react.

In this case, you can have three outcomes. The Bad Outcome is when, after a student breaks conformity, the rest of the class gang up on them and chastise them for their "crime". This means the students have accepted conformity and you have a lot of explaining to do to their other teachers/parents. The Neutral Outcome is when their are a fair amount of students who break conformity, but are not ganged up on or chastised; rather, the class realizes it was a mistake and moves on. While not ideal, it means the students have understood conformity in the scholarly way. The Good Outcome is when all students break conformity; not only does this provide a perfect segway into the Sixties (for those in the US), it means that your students still have free will, and recognize the dictator-like rules you've put in place.

As history learned from conformity, nothing good really came of it. Unless we want another Joe McCarthy or Joe Stalin on our hands, this activity can be a good way to show your students the impact of it on even a small group of people. If you want any more inspiration, show them the German film Die Welle (The Wave), which delves further into conformity with modern fascism.

-Pharaoh Noh-Tyep