Many people know that I am a Kurt Vonnegut fan. I loved “Slaughterhouse Five,” which is based partly on his experiences as a POW in WWII. Not many people though are familiar with his short story “Harrison Bergeron.” Written in a time before our school systems became an equal results playing field, I thought it ever so poignant that we studied this short story (which was made into a 26 minute film, titled “2081”) in the 9th grade Civics class that I am a student teacher in this semester. When discussing the message behind the film, I was surprised that the children actually picked up on the dystopian views of Vonnegut’s story as well as the true difference between equal opportunity and equal results. In my personal opinion, our utopia of freedom, which started hundreds of years ago has now changed. When you watch this film, ask yourself this question, “Am I for equal results or equal opportunity?”
Equal Opportunity versus Equal Results
Legends of Green Isle 