She left teaching in the mid-80s to speak publicly about the experience and the impact of prejudice and racism. ", Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, now-famous "blue eyes/brown eyes exercise, 'I See These Conversations As Protective': Talking With Kids About Race. The Hangout Bar & Grill, the Riceville Pharmacy and ATouch of Dutch, a restaurant owned by Mennonites, line Main Street. Researchers later concluded that there was evidence that the students became less prejudiced after the study and that it was inconclusive as to whether or not the potential harm outweighed the benefits of the exercise. The experiment, known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment, is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. It is quite powerful to watch. In the early morning, dew and fog cover the acres of gently swaying stalks that surround Riceville the way water surrounds an island. The nonstop parade of sickening events such as the murder of George Floyd surely is not going to be abated by a quickie experiment led by a white person for the alleged benefit of other whites as was the case with the blue-eyed, brown eyed experiment. On Friday, April 5, 1968, in Riceville, IA, a third-grade student walked . She attended a oneroom rural schoolhouse.Today, at 72, Elliott, who has short white hair, a penetrating gaze and no-nonsense demeanor, shows no signs of slowing. One of the blue eyed even went to hit a brown eyed just for the fact that he was brown eyed. Essay Example, Essay Example on Racism Towards Black People, Essay Sample about Developing a Campaign for School Intimidation, Essay Example on Therapist-Client Relationship Boundaries, Islamic Perspective on Euthanasia, Free Essay Sample. You have the right color eyes!. The day after Kings murder, Jane Elliott, a white third-grade teacher in rural Riceville, Iowa, sought to make her students feel the brutality of racism. In Jane Elliott's experiment she made the third graders believe that the blue eyed people were better,than the brown eyed people. While controversial, the Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise continues to be one of the most well-known and praised learning exercises in the world of educational psychology. How do you think the world would change if everyone experienced the perils and setbacks that come with prejudice and discrimination? One scholar asserts that it is "Orwellian" and teaches whites "self-contempt." A second look at the blue-eyes, brown-eyes experiment that taught third-graders about racism. That's not true. (2013). When Sarah, the Elliotts' oldest daughter, went to the girls' bathroom in junior high, she came out of a stall to see a message scrawled in red lipstick on the mirror: "Nigger lover.". Subsequently the brown-eyed children stopped objecting, even when Miss Elliott and the blue-eyed kids chastised and bullied them. "They shot that King yesterday. Sign up for Politics Weekly.]. The ethical concerns arising from the experiment are consent and deception. See Page 1. At this point you may wish to tell the pupils that you are conducting an "experiment" to look at what prejudice is. Malinda Whisenhunt? Days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Decent Essays. The selection was based on the color of the eye for each group. Sadly, these conversations are still relevant today. Regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, decision making in psychology should protect individual rights and welfare to eliminate potential biases. She has appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" five times. One of the most famous experiments in education Jane Elliott's "blue eyes, brown eyes" separation of her third grade students to teach them about prejudice was very different from what the public was told, as revealed in this excerpt from the in-depth story about what really happened in that classroom. It makes you proud. Carson asked, grinning. The blue-eyed students, when told they were superior and offered privileges such as extra recess time, changed their behavior dramatically and their attitudes toward the children with brown eyes. However, in this classroom, having blue-eyes had become a condition of inferiority. "Black children grow up accustomed to such behavior, but white children, there's no way they could possibly understand it. One caller complained that white children would not be able to handle the exercise and would be seriously damaged by the exercise. But not Elliott. A smart blue-eyed girl who had never had problems with multiplication tables started making mistakes. The experiment known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. The blue-eyed brown-eyed experiment was conducted by Jane Elliott, a school teacher from Iowa, in which she separated blue eyed children from brown eyed children and took turns making one of the "superior" to the other. Grey eyes are also a rare eye color. Your Privacy Rights As a result of those divisions, you see racial discrimination or even terrorism. Website. ISBN 9780520382268. If brown-eyed children made a mistake, Elliott would call out the mistake and attribute it to the students brown eyes. The test violated the principle of respect for people's rights and dignity. Cookie Policy Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes 1968 - Jane Elliot, grade school teacher in Iowa conducted a classroom experiment to test whether racism was a learned characteristic Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes - an experiment to "create racism" Jane Elliot divided her 4th grade class into two groups based on eye color The Brown eyed group were told they were superior due . Some people feel we can't move on when you have her out there hawking her 30-year-old experiment. "You can see the look on their faces. The blue-eyed participants faced discrimination for two and a half hours. one girl asked. Elliotts bullying rejoinder to any nonbeliever was to say that however much pain a white person felt after one or two days of made-up discrimination was nothing when compared to what Blacks endure daily. In this 1998 photograph, former Iowa teacher Jane Elliott, center, speaks with two Augsburg University . Words are the most powerful weapon devised by humankind. When the exercise ended, some of the kids hugged, some cried. The 1970s and 1980s were ripe for diversity education in the private and public sectors, and Elliott would try out the experiment at workshops on tens of thousands of participants, not just in the U.S. and Canada, but in Europe, the Middle East and Australia. a brown-eyed boy asked. When she went downtown to do errands, she heard whispers. This technique allows researchers to show how many different traits are necessary to create defined groups, and then analyze the subjects behavior within their groups. They don't replace the diagnosis, advice, or treatment of a professional. She wanted to show her students that an arbitrarily established difference could separate them and pit them against each other. There is a way to avoid editing or writing from scratch! While Jane Elliot's experiment makes several assumptions, it also has some ethical concerns. Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? The never-before-told true story of Jane Elliott and the "Blue-Eyes, Brown-Eyes Experiment" she made world-famous, using eye color to simulate racism. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 was also an event that spurred educators to action, motivating one teacher to try out a bold experiment touted to reduce racism. "Probably because they have been taught how they're treated in this country that they have to understand us. All 28 children found their desks, and Elliott said she had something special for them to do, to begin to understand the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. the day before. She learned that the responses from the children were negative and more generalized about what they thought about black people. Thats just the way blue-eyed kids were, Elliott told the students. The next day when the tables were turned, "I felt like quitting school. She continued to conduct the exercise with her third graders. Perhaps because the outcome seemed so optimistic and comforting, coverage of Elliott and the experiments alleged curative powers cropped up everywhere. The secretary on duty looked up, startled, as if she had just seen a ghost. She told them that people with brown eyes were better than people with blue eyes. The effectiveness of a well-known prejudice-reduction simulation activity, "Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes," was assessed as a tool for changing the attitudes of nonblack teacher education students toward blacks. The hate and discrimination that we see in adults have their origin in their upbringing. Solve your problem differently! Jane Elliott's Blue-Eyed versus Brown-Eyed Students experiment was conducted to determine whether racism was a learned characteristic. Almost immediately, it was apparent that she had created segregation and prejudice given that the blue-eyed students began exhibiting signs of dominion and superiority. The kids in the bottom group became timider and kept to themselves. Society made them believe they were better than other people for arbitrary reasons such as skin color or gender. . Elliott separated her all-white class of students into two groups: blue-eyed children and brown-eyed children. One example that has been in place for many years is the blue-eyed/brown-eyed experiment. All the work should be used in accordance with the appropriate policies and applicable laws. Jane Elliot, a third-grade teacher from Lowa town, became troubled with the turn of events and knew that something had to be done about racial discrimination (Danko, 2013). She began this work in Its not true and its not fair no matter what you say! he responded. "I understand this is the first time you've flown?" The nearest traffic light is 20 miles away. I want to know why youre so willing to accept it or to allow it to happen for others., The first reaction I get from teachers, who see this film or from hearing, hear me discuss what I do say to me How can you do that to these little children? Provide your email for sample delivery, You agree to receive our emails and consent to our Terms & Conditions, Order an essay on this subject and get a 100% original paper. In Zimbardo's experiment the conditions were much more controlled for later study but the r. The first thing that Jane Elliott did was divide the children into groups: those with blue eyes and those with brown eyes. In this article, we'll explain what happened during the experiment and discuss its consequences. Answer (1 of 3): My guess is that is doesn't really represent racism but classism. Elliott started to see her own white privilege, even her own ignorance. Jane Elliott, Creator of the "Blue/Brown Eyes" Experiment, Says Racism Is Easy To Fix. This meeting, along with other clips of the exercises impact on education, is featured in a PBS documentary called A Class Divided. She asked them if they would like to experience what it felt like to be in a person of colors shoes. They felt superior and had the support of the authority figure (the teacher). Mental Floss, 4. Typical of their responses was that of Debbie Hughes, who reported that "the people in Mrs. Elliott's room who had brown eyes got to discriminate against the people who had blue eyes. To get her points across, Elliott hurled insults at workshop participants, particularly those who were white and had blue eyes. If you white folks want to be treated the way blacks are in this society, stand. Thus, the dominant group, supported by the authorities, will always have the upper hand.
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