More than 50 years after her famous exercise, Elliott is still fighting. 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." 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. Its not surprising to anyone that some social groups discriminate against others due to ethnicity, religion, or culture. This was the smaller group. You should be happy! "Blue-eyed people sit around and do nothing. If you have ever heard of the self-fulfilling prophecy, these results may not come as a surprise. She has made statements about the increase in hate crimes and racism in recent years. Danko, M. (2013). "Black children grow up accustomed to such behavior, but white children, there's no way they could possibly understand it. Jane Elliott, one of the most controversial figures in U.S. education and diversity training, began her journey to international acclaim in Riceville, Iowa. 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. Society made them believe they were better than other people for arbitrary reasons such as skin color or gender. Thus, the dominant group, supported by the authorities, will always have the upper hand. She decided to continue the exercise with her students after lunch. They are steeped in centuries of economic deprivation and cultural appropriation. To most people, it seemed to suggest that racism could be reduced, even eliminated, by a one- or two-day exercise. "Hey, Mrs. Elliott," Steven yelled as he slung his books on his desk. 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. Privacy Statement Dick DeMarsico/New York World-Telegram & the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection/PhotoQuest/Getty Images, Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship. One of the ways Hitler decided who went into the gas chamber was eye color, Elliott said in a later speech. She was hesitant to enroll in Elliotts workshop but was told that if she wanted to succeed as a manager, shed have to attend. "She said, on the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, 'I don't know why you're doing that I thought it was about time somebody shot that son of a bitch,' " she said. one girl asked. School ought to be about developing character, but most teachers won't touch that with a ten-foot pole.". ", Steve Harnack, 62, served as the elementary school principal beginning in 1977. Perhaps because the outcome seemed so optimistic and comforting, coverage of Elliott and the experiments alleged curative powers cropped up everywhere. Elliott split her students into two groups, based on eye color. That spring morning 37 years ago, the blue-eyed children were set apart from the children with brown or green eyes. However, the study shows some bias in the sample size and race of participants. "A Class Divided": How We Learn to Discriminate - Psychology Today Malinda Whisenhunt? Decent Essays. One student answers, since the day I was born. Throughout the entire experiment, Elliott leads frank conversations about race and discrimination. Mental Sandboxes and Their Usefulness in Today's World, The Law of Reversed Effort: When Taking Action Isn't the Best Option. Elliott pulled out green construction paper armbands and asked each of the blue . I felt like quitting school. . This is the phrase that inspired one of the most well-known experiments in education. She then made the blue-eyed students believe that they were better and smarter than their counterparts. The exercise is "an inoculation against racism," she says. Ethical issues were 1/3 of the participants refused to take the head off the rat . On the first day of the two-day experiment, Elliott told the . On the second day of the experiment, Elliott switched the childrens roles. people are better than blue-eyed people. At points, you are likely to feel uncomfortable. 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 . It is sometimes cited as a landmark of social science. You didnt understand the directions. "It changed my life. She told them that people with brown eyes were better than people with blue eyes. PDF TRAUMA-RELATED PSYCHOLOGY EXPERIMENTS - Boston University 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. At the time, she was a third-grade . "No person of any age [was] going to leave my presence with those attitudes unchallenged," Elliott said. The Blue-Eyes, Brown-Eyes Experiment. Three sections were selected to be administered the simulation . Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Grey eyes are also a rare eye color. Once indoors, the brown-eyed group was then treated to coffee and doughnuts, while the blue-eyed group could only stand around and wait. 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. In Jane Elliott's experiment she made the third graders believe that the blue eyed people were better,than the brown eyed people. The test also included violation of consent in which participation of the children was made involuntarily. The anti-racism sessions Elliott led were intense. The smell of the crops and loam and topsoil and manure wafted though the open door. What Was The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment? ", 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Most Riceville residents seem to have an opinion of Elliott, whether or not they've met her. Part of the problem is that the blue-eyed group is exclusively white, while the brown-eyed group is predominantly non-white, so that eye colour is no longer an analogue or metaphor for race but a . Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes: The Jane Elliott Experiment - Exploring Your Mind Charity is humiliating because its exercised vertically and from above; solidarity is horizontal and implies mutual respect.. "Probably because they have been taught how they're treated in this country that they have to understand us. Throughout the day, Elliott continued to give the children with blue eyes special treatment. "That's what I tried to teach, and that's what drove the other teachers crazy. The basic idea was to separate the class into two halves, students with blue eyes and those with brown. The latter felt discriminated against by the other brown-eyed children. March 26, 1985. Jane Elliott was a third grade teacher in Riceville, Iowa when she developed the Blue Eyed/ Brown Eyed exercise to teach the effects of racism. ISBN 9780520382268. "Well, what do you expect from him, Mrs. Elliott," a brown-eyed student said as a blue-eyed student got an arithmetic problem wrong. In 1968 after Martin Luther King was assassinated the United States was in turmoil. ", Elliott says the role of a teacher is to enhance students' moral development. She and her husband, Darald Elliott, then a grocer, have four children, and they, too, felt a backlash. At recess, three brown-eyed girls ganged up on her. On Monday, Elliott reversed the exercise, and the brown-eyed kids were told how shifty, dumb and lazy theywere. On the first day of the experiment, Elliott told the children who had blue eyes that they were superior to the children with brown eyes; that they were better, nicer and smarter. She has spoken at more than 350 colleges and universities. "I understand this is the first time you've flown?" She wanted them to understand what discrimination felt like. Order from one of our vetted writers instead, First name should have at least 2 letters, Phone number should have at least 10 digits, Free Essay with a Response to Cross Words by UIW President Louis Agnese, How Does Donald Duk View His Chinese Heritage? Even family members can turn against each other if some authority suddenly decides that those differences are a problem. A second look at the blue-eyes, brown-eyes experiment that taught third-graders about racism. Why was the Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment considered - Study She says its because racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, and ethnocentrism are mean and nasty. Elliott was even brought on The Tonight Show to talk about her experiences. "How dare you try this cruel experiment out on white children," one said. 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. 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. 10," Elliott said. There were more brown-eyed students in the room. . With a couple of basic and arbitrary examples, Elliott made the case that brown-eyed people were better. I think it can. 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. 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. A columnist at a Denver newspaper called it "evil. In doing the research for my book with scores of peoples who were participants in the experiment, I reached out to Elliott. We dont have to learn about those who are other than white. "You have to put the exercise in the context of the rest of the year. Blue Eyed versus Brown Eyed Students Jane Elliott was not a psychologist, but she developed one of the most famously controversial exercises in 1968 by dividing students into a blue-eyed group and . On Friday, April 5, 1968, in Riceville, IA, a third-grade student walked . When you read about this experiment, its hard not to question labels. BLUE EYED - Faciliator Guide - Newsreel For many, the experiment went horribly awry. The tallest structure in Riceville is the water tower. "How do you think it would feel to be a Negro boy or girl?" The day after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in 1968, Jane Elliott, a schoolteacher in rural Iowa, introduced to her all-white third-grade class a shocking . While Jane Elliot's experiment makes several assumptions, it also has some ethical concerns. She split the class in two categories, according to eye color, and told the children that one group was superior to the others. 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. View Module 2 Discussion_ Are We Still Divided_ Blue Eyes_Brown Eyes_ A 3rd Grade Lesson for Us All.pdf from HUMN 330 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. We walked into the principal's office at RicevilleElementary School, Elliott's old haunt. ", The two hugged, and Whisenhunt had tears streaming down her cheeks. Elliot wanted to show that the same thing happens in real life with brown eyed people (minority). "She taught in this school for 18 years." Social Emotional Learning Lessons for Jane Elliott - Advancement Courses APA principles acknowledge that individuals rights to privacy, self-determination, and confidentiality is paramount to all psychological activities. Cookie Policy The brown-eyed students also exercised a certain level of power over the blue-eyed students when they put the armbands on them. Not everyone appreciated Elliotts exercise. those with brown eyes (or hazel eyes). It also documents small-town White America's reflex reaction to the . Elliott is nothing if not stubborn. Children often fight, argue, and sometimes hit each other, but this time they were motivated by eye color. The next day when the tables were turned, "I felt like quitting school. 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. 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 . ", Then, the inevitable: "Hey, Mrs. Elliott, how come you're the teacher if you've got blue eyes?" The Associated Press followed up, quoting Elliott as saying she was "dumbfounded" by the exercise's effectiveness. She continued to conduct the exercise with her third graders. 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. She told the students that the brown-eyed children were inferior and repeated the experiment. The hate and discrimination that we see in adults have their origin in their upbringing. Did they know what it was like to be discriminated against? A Class Divided: An Experiment Involving Race and Prejudice Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? The empathy she works to inspire in students with the experiment, which has been modified over the years, is necessary, she said. "You better apologize to us for getting in our way because we're better than you are," one of the brownies said. ", "I've never forgotten the exercise," Whisenhunt volunteered. Professor Jane Elliott performed a group experiment with her students that they would never forget. Module 2 Discussion_ Are We Still Divided_ Blue Eyes_Brown Eyes_ A 3rd You've still got that same sweet smile. When the exercise ended, some of the kids hugged, some cried. Introduction. She was a local girl and the other teachers were intimidated by her success. 4. Sign up for Politics Weekly.]. 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. Exploring your mind Blog about psychology and philosophy. 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? She would conduct the exercise for the nine more years she taught the third grade, and the next eight years she taught seventh and eighth graders before giving up teaching in Riceville, in 1985, largely to conduct the eye-color exercise for groups outside the school. Biddle, B. J. Even though the response to the Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise was initially negative, it made Jane Elliott a leading figure in diversity training. From the moment the experiment begins, Jane Elliott uses a mean tone to speak to the participants. The May 25 killing of George Floyd set off weeks of nationwide protests over the police abuse and racism against black people, plunging the U.S. into a reckoning of racial inequality. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 prompted educator Jane Elliott to create the now-famous "blue eyes/brown eyes exercise.". The test violated the principle of respect for people's rights and dignity. Thousands of educators across the United States folded the experiment into their curriculums. Watch it online right now! New York: Elsevier Science. ", Vision and tenacity may get results, but they don't always endear a person to her neighbors. On the other hand, privileged members of the community are treated as in-groups which earn them undue respect and capacity to abuse the less advantaged. The textbook publisher McGraw-Hill has listed her on a timeline of key educators, along with Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, Horace Mann, Booker T. Washington, Maria Montessori and 23 others. However, in this classroom, having blue-eyes had become a condition of inferiority. In explaining the experiment rules to the brown-eyed contestants, she addresses the people of color in the room. "Maybe the way to sell the exercise would have been to invite the parents in, to talk about what she'd be doing. "This here is Jane Elliott," I said. "It's the same thing over and over again," Cross says. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation Media Group Ltd. 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. Role Theory: Expectations, Identities, and Behaviors. They didnt need to engage with a single Black person. Evaluation of Jane Elliott's "Blue-Eyed Brown-Eyes" Elliot's approach to the experiment involved creativity in which the pupils' age and ability to comprehend discrimination was taken into account. 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. he asked. The results showed a . Not a day goes by without me thinking about it, Ms. Elliott. A class divided: lessons learned - Times Bulletin "Eye color, hair color and skin color are caused by a chemical," Elliott went on, writing MELANIN on the blackboard. The story was then picked up by the Associated Press. Separate the class into two halves - those with blue eyes and those with brown. The brown-eyed children didnt want to play with the blue-eyes during recess. "Malinda? Lesson of a Lifetime | Science| Smithsonian Magazine In Zimbardo's experiment the conditions were much more controlled for later study but the r. She wanted to show her students that an arbitrarily established difference could separate them and pit them against each other. Ethical & Pedagogical Issues 2. A smart blue-eyed girl who had never had problems with multiplication tables started making mistakes. Before she could answer, another boy piped up: "If she didn't have blue eyes, she'd be the principal or the superintendent.". 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 rattled off the rules for the day, saying blue-eyed kids had to use paper cups if they drank from the water fountain. 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. Website. Two Important Psychological Experiments: The Blue Eye/Brown Eye and Back when she introduced the experiment to her Iowa students more than five decades ago, at least one student had the audacity to challenge Elliotts premise, according to those who were in the classroom at the time. But Elliotts experiment had a more sinister impact. 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 Eye / Brown Eye experiment - Everything2.com . Want a quality guarantee? "They are cleaner and they are smarter.". The Blue Eye/Brown Eye was an experiment performed by Jane Elliot in 1968 on the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. . "It's Riceville 30 years ago. Thats just the way blue-eyed kids were, Elliott told the students. Professor of Journalism, University of Iowa. Yet what Elliott did continues to stir controversy. Was The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment Ethical? Yes, that day was tough. ", 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. Jane Elliot and the Blue-Eyed Children Experiment. Elliott? In her article, Peggy McIntosh compares the "white privilege" to an invisible set of unearned rewards and . ", When I met Elliott in 2003, she hadn't been back to Riceville in 12 years. Her class, "They can't forget me," she said, "and because of who they are, they can't forgive me. In this article, we'll explain what happened during the experiment and discuss its consequences. She appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show five times. Elliott created the blue-eyes/brown-eyes classroom exercise in 1968 to teach students about racism. Many critics that the children were too young to understand the exercise. "It would be hard to know, wouldn't it, unless we actually experienced discrimination ourselves. A second look at the blue-eyes, brown-eyes experiment that taught third 10 Psychological Experiments That Could Never Happen Today - Mental Floss Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes by Stephen G. Bloom - Hardcover - University of The roots of racism and why it continues unabated in America and other nations are complicated and gnarled. How do you think the world would change if everyone experienced the perils and setbacks that come with prejudice and discrimination? That's not true. And our number two freedom is the freedom to deny that were ignorant., I want every white person in this room who would be happy to be treated as this society in general treats our citizens, our black citizens, if you, as a white person, would be happy to receive the same treatment that our black citizens do in this society, please stand. The experiment is to help the children to understand about prejudice and discrimination. I felt mad. The students initially involved wished that everyone could participate in an exercise like this. Jane Elliott's experiment of dividing an otherwise homogenous group of school kids by their eye color.

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