Melanin, she said, is what causes intelligence. School ought to be about developing character, but most teachers won't touch that with a ten-foot pole.". You can start from that point in Activity 2, or you can play the video from the beginning (00:00) so that your students can see civil rights era footage following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as Elliott's students returning to Iowa . Later, it would occur to Elliott that the blueys were much less nasty than the brown-eyed kids had been, perhaps because the blue-eyed kids had felt the sting of being ostracized and didn't want to inflict it on their former tormentors. The Anti-Racism Exercise That Taught Kids to Be Racist - Gizmodo Kors writes that Elliott's exercise taught "blood-guilt and self-contempt to whites," adding that "in her view, nothing has changed in America since the collapse of Reconstruction." 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. They embraced the experiments reductive message, as well as its promised potential, thereby keeping the implausible rationale of Elliotts crusade alive and well for decades, however flawed and racist it really was. Despite the adaptation of the experiment in psychological studies, Jane has been widely criticized for her unethical conduct and promotion of discrimination among children. It seemed to evince that all white people had to do to learn about racism was restrain themselves from an impulse to engage in made-up cruelty. In the most uncomfortable moments, Elliott reminds the students of violent acts caused by racism or homophobia. Want a quality guarantee? They don't replace the diagnosis, advice, or treatment of a professional. Locals say that drivers don't signal when they turn because everyone knows where everyone else is going. Would you like to get this essay by email? Elliott separated her all-white class of students into two groups: blue-eyed children and brown-eyed children. Some people feel we can't move on when you have her out there hawking her 30-year-old experiment. In the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Elliott developed a simple exercise that explored the nature of racism and prejudice.. Elliott's method for exploring racism in the context of an all-white classroom consisted of dividing her students into two groups on the basis of eye color, blue or brown (those with other eye colors were assigned to the group . The students started to internalize, and accept, the characteristics they'd been arbitrarily assigned based on the color of their eyes. On the second day, the roles were reversed, and those with brown eyes received special treatment, and the blue-eyed children were made to feel inferior (A Class, 2003). Her class, Some residents were furious. New York: Elsevier Science. At recess, three brown-eyed girls ganged up on her. On Friday, April 5, 1968, in Riceville, IA, a third-grade student walked . Normally, blue-eyes isnt an insult. Her bold experiment to teach Iowa third graders about racial prejudice divided townspeople and thrust her onto the national stage. Alan Charles Kors, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, says Elliott's diversity training is "Orwellian" and singled her out as "the Torquemada of thought reform." The experiment known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. Was The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment Ethical? This meeting, along with other clips of the exercises impact on education, is featured in a PBS documentary called A Class Divided. Jane Elliott's experiment of dividing an otherwise homogenous group of school kids by their eye color. "I understand this is the first time you've flown?" Jane Elliott, a teacher and anti-racism activist, performed a direct experiment with the students in her classroom. The exercise is "an inoculation against racism," she says. Thats just the way blue-eyed kids were, Elliott told the students. Ethical issues were 1/3 of the participants refused to take the head off the rat . Ethics + Religion; Health; Politics + Society; . Biddle, B. J. "It changed my life. One caller complained that white children would not be able to handle . 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. . Blue-eyed people would get 5 extra minutes on the playground and blue-eyed people could not talk to brown-eyed people. Its not surprising to anyone that some social groups discriminate against others due to ethnicity, religion, or culture. Blue eyes, brown eyes: Jane Elliott's race experiment 50 years later After the exercise white college students in . 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 . Introduction. Exercise or Experiment-- An Account of Jane Elliott's Tenacity: A Why do researchers use correlational studies? Carson asked, grinning. The results are mixed. She traveled to corporations, banks, prisons, schools and military bases. Thousands of educators across the United States folded the experiment into their curriculums. American Psychological Association, 4. 5/21/2020 Topic: Module 2 Discussion: Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? "Let me look at you," Elliott said. Consequently, the brown-eyed children started using blue-eyes as an insult. hide caption. On the second day of the experiment, Elliott switched the childrens roles. More than 50 years after she first tried that exercise in her classroom, Elliott, now 87, said she sees much more work left to do to change racist attitudes. Jane Elliott, shown here in 2009, remains an outspoken advocate against racism. Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER! But Paul, one of eight siblings and the son of a dairy farmer, didnt buy Elliotts mollification. Brown-eyed people, she told the students, are smarter, more civilized and better than blue-eyed people. It is quite powerful to watch. That says very plainly that you know whats happening, you know you dont want it for you. The tallest structure in Riceville is the water tower. When Elliott first conducted the exercise in 1968, brown-eyed students were given special privileges. She has spoken at more than 350 colleges and universities. She has made statements about the increase in hate crimes and racism in recent years. Unfortunately, you cant copy samples. How do you think the world would change if everyone experienced the perils and setbacks that come with prejudice and discrimination? The next day when the tables were turned, "I felt like quitting school. Many educators responded by holding mandatory workshops on institutional racism and implicit bias, reforming teaching methods and lesson plans and searching for ways to amplify undersung voices. Elliott flew to the NBC studio in New York City. people are better than blue-eyed people. The Blue Eyes & Brown Eyes Exercise. The secretary said the south side of the building was closed, something about waxing the hallways. Problems with this research were that it went against a lot of ethical issues. ", Elliott replied, "Why are we so worried about the fragile egos of white children who experience a couple of hours of made-up racism one day when blacks experience real racism every day of their lives?". According to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, 2010 the experiment also violates the principle of Integrity. To this day, at the age of 86, Jane Elliott continues this work. The brown-eyed people were told to step to the front of the line. Essay Sample: Ethical Concerns in Jane Elliot's Experiment. Back in the classroom, Elliott's experiment had taken on a life of its own. This way, she successfully created two distinct groups in her classroom: The consequences of the minimal group became evident very quickly. On the first day of the experiment, she declared the brown-eyed group superior and gave them extra privileges like seconds at lunch, extra recess time, and access to the new school playground. The ethical concerns arising from the experiment are consent and deception. After the local newspaper published a story on Elliott and the experiment, she was flown to New York to appear on May 31, 1968, on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, where she extolled the experiments effectiveness in cluing in her 8-year-old white students on what it was like to be Black in America. That might have been the end of it, but a month later, Elliott says, Johnny Carson called her. You can contribute to that positive change by watching the documentary. ", That spring morning 37 years ago, the blue-eyed children were set apart from the children with brown or green eyes. Looking back, I think part of the problem was that, like the residents of other small midwestern towns I've covered, many in Riceville felt that calling attention to oneself was poor manners, and that Elliott had shone a bright light not just on herself but on Riceville; people all over the United States would think Riceville was full of bigots. Regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, decision making in psychology should protect individual rights and welfare to eliminate potential biases. The story was then picked up by the Associated Press. You should be happy! ", Elliott says the role of a teacher is to enhance students' moral development. She noticed that student relationships had changed; even if students were friendly outside of the exercise, they treated each other with arrogance or bossiness once the roles were assigned. I felt mad. It also documents small-town White America's reflex reaction to the . From the moment the experiment begins, Jane Elliott uses a mean tone to speak to the participants. Some guidelines for avoiding or reducing this effect are: In conclusion, Jane Elliotts experiment demonstrates the fragility of coexistence and cooperation. Jane Elliott's Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes experiment was a turning point in social psychology. The subjects were 164 students enrolled in eight sections of an introductory elementary education course at a state university. A Review of Jane Elliott's Experiment In, a Class Divided "We give our children shots to inoculate them against polio and smallpox, to protect them against the realities in the future. Two Important Psychological Experiments: The Blue Eye/Brown Eye and "It's happening every day in this country, right now," she said in an interview with Morning Edition. Jane Elliot and the Blue-Eyed Children Experiment. "Well, what do you expect from him, Mrs. Elliott," a brown-eyed student said as a blue-eyed student got an arithmetic problem wrong. On the "Tonight Show" Carson broke the ice by spoofing Elliott's rural roots. Open Document. Having in mind that it would be difficult to explain to third graders about discrimination, she needed to be more practical so that her student could understand how discrimination and prejudice felt. As for the criticism that the exercise encourages children to distrust authority figuresthe teacher lies, then recants the lies and maintains they were justified because of a greater goodshe says she worked hard to rebuild her students' trust. ", We stopped on Woodlawn Avenue, and a woman in her mid-40s approached us on the sidewalk. However, in this classroom, having blue-eyes had become a condition of inferiority. ", Elliott defends her work as a mother defends her child. Jane Elliott, Creator of the "Blue/Brown Eyes" Experiment, Says Racism Is Easy To Fix. Articles and opinions on happiness, fear and other aspects of human psychology. 2012 2023 . To most people, it seemed to suggest that racism could be reduced, even eliminated, by a one- or two-day exercise. Initial Reaction to the Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Exercise. 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. She believed that experience was the only way her students could understand how it felt like to be discriminated. The video . "She got carried away by this possession she developed over human beings. Blue-eyed people. It is a must . The "invisible knapsack" is an analogy for a set of invisible and not widely talked about privileges that white people possess in the society. Many of them noted that when they hear prejudice and discrimination from others, they wish they could whip out those collars and give them the experience they had as third graders. The test also included violation of consent in which participation of the children was made involuntarily. those with brown eyes (or hazel eyes). The documentary has become a popular teaching tool among teachers, business owners, and even employees at correctional facilities. Amitai Etzioni, a sociologist at George WashingtonUniversity, says the exercise helps develop character and empathy. I interviewed Julie Pasicznyk, who had been working for US West, a giant telecommunications company in Minneapolis. The Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment. ( 1985-03-26) " A Class Divided " is a 1985 episode of the PBS series Frontline. It's the Jane Elliott machine. She began this work in The second day, Elliott reversed the groups. 1. The blue-eyed participants faced discrimination for two and a half hours. You didnt understand the directions. Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes: A Cautionary Tale of Race and Brutality They are cleaner than blue-eyed people. From Elliot's highly controversial experiment it is clear that prejudice and discrimination can only be understood through experience. Brown eyes and blue eyes Racism experiment Children Session - Jane Blue-eyed students suggested that the teacher use a yardstick to discipline brown-eyed students that misbehaved. The demonstration has since been taught by generations of teachers to millions of kids across the country. Elliott was even brought on The Tonight Show to talk about her experiences. SpeedyPaper.com 2023 All rights reserved. The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise continues to be relevant. 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. The next day, Jane made it known to the students that she had made a mistake and that the brown-eyed pupils were better and smarter than their counterparts. Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER! Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? She was hesitant to enroll in Elliotts workshop but was told that if she wanted to succeed as a manager, shed have to attend. But in reality, I found in researching for my book Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes that the experiment was a sadistic exhibition of power and authority levers controlled by Elliott. In 1968 after Martin Luther King was assassinated the United States was in turmoil. Through this study, Elliot demonstrated how easy it is for prejudice and discrimination to emerge from just a simple message that people with one eye color are superior to people with another eye color. PracticalPsychology. The study also violates the American Principles of Psychologist codes of conduct making its replication or further investigation unethical. "Brown eyes and Blue eyes" Study | sabbaila Mental Floss, 4. The blue-eyed girl apologized. I felt mad. In the case of any doubt, it's best to consult a trusted specialist. The results were the same. Traditionally, society has always treated leadership as a male issue. Order from one of our vetted writers instead. I often think about Paul Bodensteiner. One of the main ones was the fact that their right to withdraw was taken away from them. Now, almost four decades later, Elliott's experiment still mattersto the grown children with whom she experimented, to the people of Riceville, population 840, who all but ran her out of town, and to thousands of people around the world who have also participated in an exercise based on the experiment. "You have to put the exercise in the context of the rest of the year. Thats what it feels like when youre discriminated against., -A child participant in the Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes experiment-. She had never met me, and she accused me in front of everyone of using my sexuality to get ahead.. The musical is about romance, but it integrates issues of race and discrimination (Norris, 2014), and the song is about how discrimination is taught carefully, in long term. They wouldnt be allowed second helpings for lunch. "Because we might catch something," a brown-eyed boy said. ", Steve Harnack, 62, served as the elementary school principal beginning in 1977. Brown-eyed people. The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise is now known as the inspiration for diversity training in the workplace, making Jane Elliott one of the most influential educators in recent American history. Jane Elliots work and experiences have made her an authority on education and anti-racism. Elliott was shocked by the results and decided to switch the roles the following day. Given the ethical concerns, will you still rely on a quasi-experimental research design as a source of information in counselling psychology? Cookie Settings, Kids Start Forgetting Early Childhood Around Age 7, Archaeologists Discover Wooden Spikes Described by Julius Caesar, Artificial Sweetener Tied to Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds, Rare Jurassic-Era Insect Discovered at Arkansas Walmart. One caller complained that white children would not be able to handle the exercise and would be seriously damaged by the exercise. she asked the children, who were white. On the first day, the blue-eyed students were informed that they were genetically inferior to the brown-eyed students. "People of other color groups seem to understand," she said. The empathy she works to inspire in students with the experiment, which has been modified over the years, is necessary, she said. In explaining the experiment rules to the brown-eyed contestants, she addresses the people of color in the room. Two students even got into a physical altercation. "Things are changing, and they're going to change rapidly if we're very, very fortunate," she said. She asked the other teachers what they were doing to bring news of the King assassination into their classrooms. At lunchtime, Elliott hurried to the teachers' lounge. She described to her colleagues what she'd done, remarking how several of her slower kids with brown eyes had transformed themselves into confident leaders of the class. She told the kids that blue-eyed children weren't as good as brown-eyed or green-eyed ones. How can we teach kids to be more like him? Although actions from the experiment show lack of respect towards subjects it has widely been recognized in the study of human behavior in social and cultural context.
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