Lesson Plan
The story of the Third Wave experiment as told by the students and their teacher, Ron Jones
A documentary about the 1967 Third Wave experiment in fascism that took place at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California. The charismatic teacher, Ron Jones, created a classroom setting wherein students subjugated personal freedom for the good of the community. Within one week, 30 students grew to 200. Taking on a life of its own, the Third Wave students unwittingly re-enacted the roots of the Third Reich. Replete with salutes and Gestapo-like informants, the experiment soon attracted scores of students throughout Cubberley as well as neighboring schools, spiraling the exercise not only out of Jones' control but the students' as well. Original students, Ron Jones, school administrators and Dr. Philip Zimbardo (creator of the Stanford Prison Experiment) have been interviewed for this film. What makes the film so unique is that the director was a member of the original Third Wave class.
Reviews and More
Lesson Plan has inspired 'We Are The Wave' on Netflix featured by Esquire Magazine here
Spring, 1967: Disillusionment, anger and confusion bubble to the surface of the nation's psyche. American youth are on the precipice of a social revolution and, for a few tumultuous days Ron Jones, a young, gifted, high school history teacher attempts a startling social experiment that will inspire comment and analysis to this. In 1967, Ron Jones was in his first year teaching at progressive, upper-middle class Cubberley High Schoo, responsible for instructing World History to 10th grade students. He had a dynamic connection with his students who recall him being "one of us". Eager to shake up the political consciousness of his pupils, Jones launched an experiment over the course of two weeks, igniting a firestorm.
To explain the appeal of fascism in Nazi Germany, he created a classroom setting wherein students subjugated personal freedom to the good of the community, following almost without question. Replete with salutes and Gestapo-like informants, the so-called Third Wave soon attracted scores of students throughout Cubberley and neighboring schools, spiraling out of Jones' control. This moving recounting by Jones, school administrators, former students, and many others enthralls with the force of inescapable conclusions, and demonstrates how its theme has only grown in relevance. LEARN MORE
WATCH MORE
JOIN THE DISCUSSION State Of Crisis Productions Inc
