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 . Some guidelines for avoiding or reducing this effect are: In conclusion, Jane Elliotts experiment demonstrates the fragility of coexistence and cooperation. Stripping away the veneer of the experiment, what was left had nothing to do with race. 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. One key assumption is that the sample population represents an actual society. The blue-eyed participants faced discrimination for two and a half hours. Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? Regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, decision making in psychology should protect individual rights and welfare to eliminate potential biases. 4 Pages. 1. In this 1998 photograph, former Iowa teacher Jane Elliott, center, speaks with two Augsburg University . Back in the classroom, Elliott's experiment had taken on a life of its own. We have to let people find out how it feels to be on the receiving end of that which we dish out so readily.". (Byrnes & Kiger, 1992). However, in this classroom, having blue-eyes had become a condition of inferiority. "Hey, Mrs. Elliott," Steven yelled as he slung his books on his desk. If you white folks want to be treated the way blacks are in this society, stand. The experiment known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. "Malinda? That's what it feels like when you're discriminated against.". 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. In 2001, she was still trying to make a change. The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise received national attention shortly after it ended. Disclaimer: SpeedyPaper.com is a custom writing service that provides online on-demand writing work for assistance purposes. Jane Elliott has done a lot of reflection about the consequences of the minimal group experiment. The Hangout Bar & Grill, the Riceville Pharmacy and ATouch of Dutch, a restaurant owned by Mennonites, line Main Street. A difference as simple as eye color, defined and established by the authority figure, created a rift between the students. "She stirs people up. When Elliott first conducted the exercise in 1968, brown-eyed students were given special privileges. All rights reserved. How do you think the world would change if everyone experienced the perils and setbacks that come with prejudice and discrimination? The interaction only strengthened Elliott's resolve. Elliott shared the essays with her mother, who showed them to the editor of the weekly Riceville Recorder. These differences lead to war and hate. These initial criticisms didnt stop Elliott. 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. Thousands of educators across the United States folded the experiment into their curriculums. She has since refused to answer any of my inquiries. In a grassy front yard down the block is a hand-lettered sign: "Glads for Sale, 3 for $1." Abstract The effectiveness of a well-known prejudice-reduction simulation, "Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes," was assessed as a tool for changing the attitudes of ncnblack teacher eduction students toward blacks. Danko, M. (2013). The results showed a . "It's Riceville 30 years ago. Elliott pulled out green construction paper armbands and asked each of the blue-eyed kids to wear one. Elliott, who is white, separated the students into two groupsthose with blue eyes and those with brown eyes. The blue-eyed children were told not to do their homework because, even if they answered all the questions, theyd probably forget to bring the assignment back to class. 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. They all either smiled or laughed and nodded.". Elliott split her students into two groups, based on eye color. 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. Society made them believe they were better than other people for arbitrary reasons such as skin color or gender. But not Elliott. The day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, Jane Elliott, a teacher in a small, all-white Iowa town, divided her third-grade class into blue-eyed and brown-eyed groups and gave them a daring . Could you?". Mary and Zeke have three children, all of whom have blue eyes. She was hesitant to enroll in Elliotts workshop but was told that if she wanted to succeed as a manager, shed have to attend. 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." Her class, Blue Eyes vs. Brown Eyes Experiment. It also documents small-town White America's reflex reaction to the . The brown-eyed children felt suddenly that they were discriminated, while the blue eyed started seeing them as inferior. Folks leave their cars unlocked, keys in the ignition. The following are some of her most insightful quotes on these issues. Fourteen years later, the students featured in The Eye of the Storm reunited and discussed their experiences with Elliott. Facilitators should be aware that Jane Elliott's focus on white people can lead viewers to the wrong impression that people of color are passively molded by white people's behavior when, in actuality, people of color can and do respond to racism in a variety of ways. I felt mad. The corn grows so fast in northern Iowafrom seedling to seven-foot-high stalk in 12 weeksthat it crackles. The children said yes, and the exercise began. Elliott said that blue-eyed people were less intelligent and less clean. Elliott was even brought on The Tonight Show to talk about her experiences. When Elliott walked into the teachers' lounge the next Monday, several teachers got up and walked out. She asked them if they would like to experience what it felt like to be in a person of colors shoes. She has led training sessions at General Electric, Exxon, AT&T, IBM and other corporations, and has lectured to the IRS, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Department of Education and the Postal Service. Cookie Policy Then tell them that . On the first day, the blue-eyed students were informed that they were genetically inferior to the brown-eyed students. Weve been here before, with unsettling and disturbing results. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . This was the smaller group. In 2001, Jane Elliott recordedThe Angry Eye,in which she revised and updated her experiment. Initial Reaction to the Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Exercise. She slumped. Her bold experiment to teach Iowa third graders about racial prejudice divided townspeople and thrust her onto the national stage. But they returned to a better placeunlike a child of color, who gets abused every day, and never has the ability to find him or herself in a nurturing classroom environment." "I think these children walked in a colored child's moccasins for a day," she was quoted as saying. ", Absolutely not. It makes you proud. Jane Elliott (ne Jennison; born on November 30, 1933) is an American diversity educator.As a schoolteacher, she became known for her "Blue eyes/Brown eyes" exercise, which she first conducted with her third-grade class on April 5, 1968, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Shermer and Bloom discuss: "Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes" Jane Elliott famous racism experiment reactions to it (in the classroom, locally, nationally, internationally) whether the "experiment" was really more of a demonstration public interest, from Johnny Carson to Oprah Winfrey the questionable ethics of the experiment what it reveals about tribalism, racism . One group consisted pupils with brown eye while the other group consisted of those with blue eyes. She asked the other teachers what they were doing to bring news of the King assassination into their classrooms. The killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, was a seismic event, a turning point that compelled many Americans to do something and do it with urgency. Questioning authority The mainstream media were complicit in advancing such a simplistic narrative. Proceeding with the experiment, Elliot divided the children into two groups each with nine pupils. Elliott asked her students to write about their experiences for the local newspaper. "They shot that King yesterday. In the 60s, the United States was in the midst of a social race crisis. In this documentary, Jane Elliott, a third grade teacher divided her class into two groups based on their eye color; one group had blue eyes and the other had brown eyes. They were also relevant in the 1950s when Elliott first began this work. The children were not aware of the experiment, and therefore they could not give their permission of involvement. "It would be hard to know, wouldn't it, unless we actually experienced discrimination ourselves. Jane Elliott's experiment. 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. In Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essential Virtues That Teach Kids to Do the Right Things, educational psychologist Michele Borda says it "teaches our children to counter stereotypes before they become full-fledged, lasting prejudices and to recognize that every human being has the right to be treated with respect." It has since evolved into an online blog and YouTube channel providing mental health advice, tools, and academic support to individuals from all backgrounds. Youve probably heard different versions of it. The test also included violation of consent in which participation of the children was made involuntarily. The empathy she works to inspire in students with the experiment, which has been modified over the years, is necessary, she said. Professor Jane Elliott performed a group experiment with her students that they would never forget. Consequently, the brown-eyed children started using blue-eyes as an insult. 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. She compromised the APA's Code of Conduct and Ethical Standard because she lied, after that she recanted the lies and kept as they were justified because of her greater purpose. She asks them if they have ever faced treatment like the type that blue-eyed people would experience in the following two and a half hours. "This here is Jane Elliott," I said. See Page 1. More than 50 years after her famous exercise, Elliott is still fighting. Or alternatively you may decide to keep them in ignorance of what is happening. The test violated the principle of respect for people's rights and dignity. Carson asked, grinning. 10," Elliott said. Jane Elliott and Dr. On April 5 1968 the day after the death of Martin Luther King Jr Elliott decided to show her students how easy it was to be influenced by racism. Decent Essays. As Elliott recalls, she engineered the "blue eyes/brown eyes exercise" in 1968 after watching the late-night news cycle announce the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Rather than be deterred by possible 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 . The goal of the minimal group paradigm is to establish subjective differences and create a climate of favoritism. It is a must . Hundreds of viewers wrote letters saying Elliott's work appalled them. In this scenario, students are told brown-eyed people . PracticalPsychology. When my grandchildren are old enough, I'd give anything if you'd try the exercise out on them. 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 blue eyes and brown eyes experiment According to supporters of Elliott's approach, the goal is to reach people's sense of empathy and morality. Elliott was not. She has spoken at more than 350 colleges and universities. Blue Eye/Brown Eye is an experiment performed by Jane Elliot in 1968 on the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated to demonstrate what prejudice was to her third grade class. 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." 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. Order from one of our vetted writers instead. Barbie had to have a Ken, so Elliott picked from the audience a tall, handsome man and accused him of doing the same things with his female subordinates, Pasicznyk said. What Lies Behind Your Urgent Need to Answer Work E Mails? hide caption. She could feel a chasm forming between the two groups of students. 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? The blue eyes/brown eyes experiment, which could last one to three days, was at a glance similar to other human-potential-movement workshops of the era, including Werner Erhard's est training . Brown-eyed people. In Zimbardo's experiment the conditions were much more controlled for later study but the r. This was intentional. Three sections were selected to be administered the simulation . How can put those little children through that exercise for a day? And they seem unable to relate the sympathy that theyre feeling for these little white children for a day to what happens to children of color in this society for a lifetime or to the fact that they are doing this to children based on skin color every day. Its not surprising to anyone that some social groups discriminate against others due to ethnicity, religion, or culture. She believed that experience was the only way her students could understand how it felt like to be discriminated. The results were the same. "You know, sweetheart, you haven't changed one bit. According to the article is Jane Elliot's experiment to small degree effective. 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. Thats just the way blue-eyed kids were, Elliott told the students. Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images How can we teach kids to be more like him? "Why?" Days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 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. Elliot said that when the children were given the test on the same day that they were in the superior group, they tended to get the highest scores. If brown-eyed children made a mistake, Elliott would call out the mistake and attribute it to the students brown eyes. SpeedyPaper website, please click below to request its removal: Liked this essay sample but need an original one? One scholar asserts that it is "Orwellian" and teaches whites "self-contempt." On the second day of the experiment, Elliott switched the childrens roles. Malinda Whisenhunt? They gossiped about her in the hallway. Jane Elliott on The Tonight Show on May 31, 1968. The exercise is "an inoculation against racism," she says. 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 brown-eyed children could take off their armbands and give them to the blue-eyed children, who were now taught that they were inferior to the brown-eyed children. I felt like hitting them if I wanted to. That phrase came to my mind when I watched the video, A Class Divided, about education experiment to teach stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination (Frontline, 1985 . 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. She left teaching in the mid-80s to speak publicly about the experience and the impact of prejudice and racism. Multi-Problem Adolescents: An Increasing Problem, Professor Jane Elliott performed a group experiment, the current problems related to discrimination. a brown-eyed boy asked. They wouldnt be allowed second helpings for lunch. In the case of any doubt, it's best to consult a trusted specialist. 980 Words. Elliott's friends and family say she's tenacious, and has always had a reformer's zeal. The experiment is to help the children to understand about prejudice and discrimination. The students started to internalize, and accept, the characteristics they'd been arbitrarily assigned based on the color of their eyes. Elliotts coworkers avoided her after her appearance on The Tonight Show. Kids on top would tease the children who were deemed as the inferior group. They didnt need to engage with a single Black person. This is the phrase that inspired one of the most well-known experiments in education. Some residents were furious. The fourth of five children, Elliott was born on her family's farm in Riceville in 1933, and was delivered by her Irish-American father himself. In this article, we talk about leadership and female discrimination.. Withdrawn brown-eyed kids were suddenly outgoing, some beaming with the widest smiles she had ever seen on them. The subjects were 164 students enrolled in eight sections of an introductory elementary education course at a state university. I was stunned. It's cruel to white children and will cause them great psychological damage. In 1970, Elliott would come to national attention when ABC broadcast their Eye of the Storm documentary which filmed the experiment in action. ", The two hugged, and Whisenhunt had tears streaming down her cheeks. Yet what Elliott did continues to stir controversy. Elliott was shocked by the results and decided to switch the roles the following day. The brown-eyed students also exercised a certain level of power over the blue-eyed students when they put the armbands on them. She and Darald split their time between a converted schoolhouse in Osage, Iowa, a town 18 miles from Riceville, and a home near Riverside, California. In a similar vein, Linda Seebach, a conservative columnist for the Rocky Mountain News, wrote in 2004 that Elliott was a "disgrace" and described her exercise as "sadistic," adding, "You would think that any normal person would realize that she had done an evil thing. These are the sources and citations used to research Jane Elliott's blue eye brown eye case study is/isn't more ethical than Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment. It didnt take long for the children to turn on each other. Introduction. Much like the Zimbardo's Stanford Prison experiment where students were divided by either being the jailer or the jailed. In Jane Elliott's experiment she made the third graders believe that the blue eyed people were better,than the brown eyed people. 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. The anti-racism sessions Elliott led were intense. Jane Elliot's experiment explains the reasons for discrimination to a small extent. She also made the brown-eyed students put construction paper armbands on the blue-eyed students. Essay Sample: Ethical Concerns in Jane Elliot's Experiment. The tallest structure in Riceville is the water tower. PracticalPie.com is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. "She was an excellent school teacher, but she has a way about her," says 90-year-old Riceville native Patricia Bodenham, who has known Elliott since Jane was a baby. She also assumed that none of the children had interacted with black people and that the only place they could have seen them is on television. Elliott asked. The first thing that Jane Elliott did was divide the children into groups: those with blue eyes and those with brown eyes. Jane Elliott, one of the most controversial figures in U.S. education and diversity training, began her journey to international acclaim in Riceville, Iowa. "She could get kids to do anything she wanted them to," he says of Elliott. Thats how it started, and thats how it went all day long. Ethical & Pedagogical Issues 2. "Would you like to come on the show?" 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.

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