Jane Elliot's project, "Brown Eyes-Blue Eyes" was something that I am glad I had the opportunity to watch. According to the background, though it appears its not 100 percent proven, Jane Elliot created this project right after Martin Luther King's assassination. She stated that it seemed the children were not aware of the concept of racism. They could not internalize what African Americans were going through during that time.
After the experiment, the results seemed astonishing. The "inferior" children seemed to be doing poorly in their studies and seemed more meek in demeanor and attitude. They were even made to wear collars around their necks to signify the difference between them and the "superior" children. The "superior" children did much better in class and their attitude seemed bossy, they even looked down upon the "inferior" children. They seemed to carry themselves with more authority and confidence.
I think that Jane Elliot's experiment was something that was necessary for those children, and probably many more children across the board. Ethically to a certain extent this exercise in no way harmed the children. She didn't physically hurt them and though she might have been a bit harsh, the outcome was remarkable. In the 60's with everything that was going on, I believe that what she did was a life lesson and was very important. The children got to experience what it was like to be white versus black in that time period. They got to experience how terrible it was to be inferior to someone else, based on nothing but a physical change. I agree with the lesson, I agree with what she was trying to accomplish. I also believe that those children in her 3rd grade class got to experience something they will probably never forget.
Great post! I agree with your thoughts on Elliott. I think the proof is in the pudding. The kids, as adults, said that they were all happy they went through the training. Yes, it was not easy, but it seemed to really help them understand difference in important ways.
ReplyDelete