The experiment, known as Blue Eyes Brown Eyes experiment, is regarded as an eye-opening way for children to learn about racism and discrimination. 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 . More than 50 years after her famous exercise, Elliott is still fighting. 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). Everyone looked at Mrs. Elliott. Jane Elliott | Psychology Wiki | Fandom 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. Module 2 Discussion_ Are We Still Divided_ Blue Eyes_Brown Eyes_ A 3rd Stephen G. Bloom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Jane Elliot's experiment involves cheating and intentional misinterpretation of facts. They needed not acknowledge their privilege or reflect on it. She told them that people with brown eyes were superior to those with blue eyes, for reasons she made up. "Because we might catch something," a brown-eyed boy said. The Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment. After recess that day, the brown-eyed children complained that they were . On the first day, the blue-eyed students were informed that they were genetically inferior to the brown-eyed students. Elliott pulled out green construction paper armbands and asked each of the blue . How can we teach kids to be more like him? The results showed a reversal effect in which the blue-eyed students showed signs of inferiority and low self-esteem. Junior high, maybe. In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Jane Elliott devised the controversial and startling, "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise." This, now famous, exercise labels participants as inferior or superior based solely upon the color of their eyes and exposes them to the experience of . 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. The blue eye brown eye experiment. Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes: The Jane 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. Why are we still talking about this experiment over 50 years later? The brown-eyed children began to act aggressive and mean towards the blue-eyed children. The Blue-Eyed/Brown-Eyed Experiment: Investigation. The kids in the bottom group became timider and kept to themselves. The empathy she works to inspire in students with the experiment, which has been modified over the years, is necessary, she said. "Would you like to come on the show?" Lasting Impact of Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment, Words are the most powerful weapon devised by humankind. Privacy Statement (Byrnes & Kiger, 1992). Elliott flew to the NBC studio in New York City. In 1970, Elliott would come to national attention when ABC broadcast their Eye of the Storm documentary which filmed the experiment in action. I got to have five minutes extra of recess." She repeated the abuse with subsequent classes, and finally turned it into a fully commercial enterprise. The people and cultures already present in a place often feel threatened by new immigrants. Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? 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 . The corn grows so fast in northern Iowafrom seedling to seven-foot-high stalk in 12 weeksthat it crackles. She asked them if they would like to experience what it felt like to be in a person of colors shoes. ", 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 Elliott's Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes experiment was a turning point in social psychology. 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. They were forced to sit on the back rows and had to use a . She gave all of the students simple spelling and math tests two weeks before the exercise, on the days of the exercise, and after the exercise. The ethical concerns arising from the experiment are consent and deception. In explaining the experiment rules to the brown-eyed contestants, she addresses the people of color in the room. Sadly, these conversations are still relevant today. A columnist at a Denver newspaper called it "evil. It was the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968 that Elliott ran her first "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise in her Riceville, Iowa classroom. 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. If you have ever heard of the self-fulfilling prophecy, these results may not come as a surprise. ( 1985-03-26) " A Class Divided " is a 1985 episode of the PBS series Frontline. Elliott's friends and family say she's tenacious, and has always had a reformer's zeal. All rights reserved. Elliott was even brought on The Tonight Show to talk about her experiences. From Elliot's highly controversial experiment it is clear that prejudice and discrimination can only be understood through experience. The story was then picked up by the Associated Press. she asked the children, who were white. Tears formed in the corners of Elliott's eyes. On Friday, April 5, 1968, in Riceville, IA, a third-grade student walked . When Elliott conducted the exercise the next year, she added something extra to collect data. Elliott began the exercise by dividing her students by eye color. 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. "I don't think this community was ready for what she did," he said. Separate the class into two halves - those with blue eyes and those with brown. 4. 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. In a grassy front yard down the block is a hand-lettered sign: "Glads for Sale, 3 for $1." Theyd have to use paper cups if they drank from the water fountain. ", Elliott defends her work as a mother defends her child. Not only were they fewer in numbers, but the authority figure was against them. Throughout the investigation, the classroom represented a real-life scenario in which the unprivileged and minority members of the society are treated as out-groups making them susceptible to discrimination. On the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in April 1968, Jane Elliott's third graders from the small, all-white town of Riceville, Iowa, came to class . If this arbitrary division that Elliott enforced for a few hours created so many problems in this classroom, whats happening on a larger scale? In 1970, she demonstrated it for educators at a White House Conference on Children and Youth. 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. A Review of Jane Elliott's Experiment In, a Class Divided 4 Pages. In 1968, schoolteacher Jane Elliott decided to divide her classroom into students with blue eyes and students with brown eyes. Their response is to create dichotomies of inferiority and superiority. Some people feel we can't move on when you have her out there hawking her 30-year-old experiment. Jane Elliott, shown here in 2009, remains an outspoken advocate against racism. The experiment was to be a division of eye colour starting with blue eyed student having superiority and then the following day, the roles would be reversed. It was typical of Elliott's blunt styleno "Good morning," no small talk. PDF Sociology. PUB DATE I'm tired of hearing about her and her experiment and how everyone here is a racist. PDF Blue eye Brown eye activity - The Classroom "People of other color groups seem to understand," she said. When the blue-eyed group saw that the brown-eyed group was going to be seated first, some became upset. On the morning of april 5, 1968, a Friday, Steven Armstrong stepped into Jane Elliott's third-grade classroom in Riceville, Iowa. "Eye color, hair color and skin color are caused by a chemical," Elliott went on, writing MELANIN on the blackboard. Unfortunately, you cant copy samples. Considering all the stereotypes and prejudices that exist, what kind of damage is being done? Solve your problem differently! That's what it feels like when you're discriminated against.". You give them something nice and they just wreck it." We use them to divide and destroy people., White peoples number one freedom, in the United States of America, is the freedom to be totally ignorant of those who are other than white. "Hey, Mrs. Elliott," Steven yelled as he slung his books on his desk. Her class, Group Prejudice | Jane Elliott's Brown Eyes vs. Blue Eyes Experiment 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. If you white folks want to be treated the way blacks are in this society, stand. According to the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, 2010 the experiment also violates the principle of Integrity. They are steeped in centuries of economic deprivation and cultural appropriation. Let's just move on. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation Media Group Ltd. However, in this classroom, having blue-eyes had become a condition of inferiority. The children were not aware of the experiment, and therefore they could not give their permission of involvement. Elliott was featured on nearly every national news show in America for decades. Undeterred, Elliott tried to appeal to Pauls self-interest. ", "I've never forgotten the exercise," Whisenhunt volunteered. In the most uncomfortable moments, Elliott reminds the students of violent acts caused by racism or homophobia. And the exercise continued in a similar fashion to how it was executed the day before. Jane elliots the blue eyes and brown eyes experiment - Course Hero Is it even possible today? ", 2023 Smithsonian Magazine I think it can. "You know, sweetheart, you haven't changed one bit. ERIC - ED300491 - Ethical and Pedagogical Issues in the Use of She told the kids that blue-eyed children weren't as good as brown-eyed or green-eyed ones. Jane Elliot's experiment explains the reasons for discrimination to a small extent. She has spoken at more than 350 colleges and universities. Why was the Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment considered - Study (PDF) A Class Divided - ResearchGate And you'll always have it. A Class Divided - Wikipedia 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. When Elliott first conducted the exercise in 1968, brown-eyed students were given special privileges. "Why?" Keep me from judging a man until I have walked a mile in his moccasins. This is a Sioux saying. Little children don't like uproar in the classroom. Is your time best spent reading someone elses essay? Elliott is nothing if not stubborn. The hate and discrimination that we see in adults have their origin in their upbringing. Why is Jane Elliot's exercise problematic for some people? It's cruel to white children and will cause them great psychological damage. Yes, the children felt angry, hurt, betrayed. Or alternatively you may decide to keep them in ignorance of what is happening. Terms of Use The blue-eyed girl apologized. Subsequently the brown-eyed children stopped objecting, even when Miss Elliott and the blue-eyed kids chastised and bullied them. Most Riceville residents seem to have an opinion of Elliott, whether or not they've met her. If you are the original author of this essay and no longer wish to have it published on the 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. She also made the brown-eyed students put construction paper armbands on the blue-eyed students. PPT The Ethics of Using Human Participants - University of New Mexico Jane Elliott's experiment of dividing an otherwise homogenous group of school kids by their eye color. The tallest structure in Riceville is the water tower. Social Emotional Learning Lessons for Jane Elliott - Advancement Courses It brings up immediate anger and hatred. Perhaps because the outcome seemed so optimistic and comforting, coverage of Elliott and the experiments alleged curative powers cropped up everywhere. She has . . The secretary on duty looked up, startled, as if she had just seen a ghost. The more melanin, the darker the person's eyesand the smarter the person. Danko, M. (2013). They are cleaner than blue-eyed people. The idea of white privilege is closely tied to Elliotts initial question to her students. "Do blue-eyed people remember what they've been taught?" 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. 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 . When some of the . "It's happening every day in this country, right now," she said in an interview with Morning Edition. The test violated the principle of respect for people's rights and dignity. Blue-eyed people. 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. Melanin, she said, is what causes intelligence. In fact, most of the initial response was negative. I often think about Paul Bodensteiner. I interviewed Julie Pasicznyk, who had been working for US West, a giant telecommunications company in Minneapolis. Even family members can turn against each other if some authority suddenly decides that those differences are a problem. "They can't forget me," she said, "and because of who they are, they can't forgive me. Brown eyes and blue eyes Racism experiment Children Session - Jane 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. "How do you think it would feel to be a Negro boy or girl?" Written and verified by the psychologist Francisco Roballo. 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. She told her students that she had made a mistake the previous day and that brown-eyed students . PracticalPsychology. At points, you are likely to feel uncomfortable. 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. Days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout the day, Elliott continued to give the children with blue eyes special treatment. Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Its goal was to demonstrate what prejudice was to her third grade class. She nodded. 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. 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. Much like the Zimbardo's Stanford Prison experiment where students were divided by either being the jailer or the jailed. Weve been here before, with unsettling and disturbing results. Advertising Notice A difference as simple as eye color, defined and established by the authority figure, created a rift between the students. In the early morning, dew and fog cover the acres of gently swaying stalks that surround Riceville the way water surrounds an island. Thats how it started, and thats how it went all day long. She was hesitant to enroll in Elliotts workshop but was told that if she wanted to succeed as a manager, shed have to attend. 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 experiment to demonstrate . That says very plainly that you know whats happening, you know you dont want it for you. Was The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment Ethical? The contents of Exploring Your Mind are for informational and educational purposes only. As the morning wore on, brown-eyed kids berated their blue-eyed classmates. She told them brown-eyed . . ", A former teacher, Ruth Setka, 79, said she was perhaps the only teacher who would still talk to Elliott. But Paul, one of eight siblings and the son of a dairy farmer, didnt buy Elliotts mollification. Elliott championed the experiment as an inoculation against racism., [The Conversations Politics + Society editors pick need-to-know stories. Want a quality guarantee? That spring morning 37 years ago, the blue-eyed children were set apart from the children with brown or green eyes. The subjects were 164 students enrolled in eight sections of an introductory elementary education course at a state university. 296. Stephen Bloom on Jane Elliott's Famous Experiment on Race and She told them that people with brown eyes were better than people with blue eyes. 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. Children with brown eyes were forced to wear armbands that made it easy for people to see that they had brown eyes. Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes: A Cautionary Tale of Race and Brutality A smart blue-eyed girl who had never had problems with multiplication tables started making mistakes. ", A chorus of "Yeahs" went up, and so began one of the most astonishing exercises ever conducted in an American classroom. "That you, Ms. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Two years later, a BBC documentary captured the experiment in Elliott's classroom. . 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. The roots of racism and why it continues unabated in America and other nations are complicated and gnarled. The basic idea was to separate the class into two halves, students with blue eyes and those with brown. And they are smarter than blue-eyed people." The brown-eyed children got to sit in the front of the room, to go to lunch first, and to have more time at recess. It is quite powerful to watch. 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 . Professor Jane Elliott performed a group experiment with her students that they would never forget. Elliott split her students into two groups, based on eye color. ", Steve Harnack, 62, served as the elementary school principal beginning in 1977. 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. Blue Eyes Brown Eyes - Jane Elliott | Practical Psychology The blue eyes brown eyes study was a study on group prejudice and discrimination conducted by Jane Elliot. The results showed a . But Elliotts experiment had a more sinister impact. 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. It makes you proud. Jane Elliott, a teacher and anti-racism activist, performed a direct experiment with the students in her classroom. "I think these children walked in a colored child's moccasins for a day," she was quoted as saying. Their 12-year-old daughter, Mary, came home from school one day in tears, sobbing that her sixth-grade classmates had surrounded her in the school hallway and taunted her by saying her mother would soon be sleeping with black men. Some guidelines for avoiding or reducing this effect are: In conclusion, Jane Elliotts experiment demonstrates the fragility of coexistence and cooperation. She continued to conduct the exercise with her third graders. It has everything to do with power.. ", Absolutely not. Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER! "Let me look at you," Elliott said. 10 Psychological Experiments That Could Never Happen Today - Mental Floss Blue-eyed students slumped in their chairs, as though . 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. In this 1998 photograph, former Iowa teacher Jane Elliott, center, speaks with two Augsburg University . Elliott was shocked by the results and decided to switch the roles the following day. ", When I met Elliott in 2003, she hadn't been back to Riceville in 12 years. The second day, Elliott reversed the groups. Jane Elliott's blue eye brown eye case study is/isn't more ethical than Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes offers an intimate portrait of the insular community where Elliott grew up and conducted the experiment on the town's children for more than a decade. ", Vision and tenacity may get results, but they don't always endear a person to her neighbors. Withdrawn brown-eyed kids were suddenly outgoing, some beaming with the widest smiles she had ever seen on them. Elliott was not. 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. She said she watched and was horrified at what she saw. 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. Need an original essay on Essay Sample: Ethical Concerns in Jane Elliot's Experiment? She chatted about the experiment, and before she knew it was whisked off the stage. It also shows how arbitrary and subjective things can turn friends, family members, and citizens against each other. Before proceeding with the test, she began with random questions to fully understand the children's perception of Negroes. Jane Elliott, an educator and anti-racism activist, first conducted her blue eyes/brown eyes exercise in her third-grade classroom in Iowa in 1968. Professor of Journalism, University of Iowa. Jane Elliot: Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes - UKEssays.com Blue Eyed vs Brown Eyed Study Conducted by Jane Elliott Presentation by Bree Elliott Ethics Background The Results In 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated, Jane Elliott was the teacher of a third grade class in the town of Riceville, Iowa. Issues such as the right to know, the right to privacy, and informed consent. Now 45, she had been in Elliott's third grade class in 1969. At her lunch break that day in the teacher's lounge, she told her colleagues about the exercise. "Malinda? Within a few hours of starting the exercise, Elliott noticed big differences in the childrens behavior and how they treated each other. To get her points across, Elliott hurled insults at workshop participants, particularly those who were white and had blue eyes. Pasicznyk joined 75 other employees for a training session in the companys suburban Denver headquarters in the late 1980s. Elliott went after Ken and Barbie all day long, drilling, accusing, ridiculing them, to make the point that whites make baseless judgments about Blacks all the time, Pasicznyk said. "It's the same thing over and over again," Cross says. 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. "Things are changing, and they're going to change rapidly if we're very, very fortunate," she said. "That's what I tried to teach, and that's what drove the other teachers crazy. 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." In the case of any doubt, it's best to consult a trusted specialist. She and her husband, Darald Elliott, then a grocer, have four children, and they, too, felt a backlash. "We want to see Room No. The children said yes, and the exercise began. Elliott asked her students to write about their experiences for the local newspaper. Thats just the way blue-eyed kids were, Elliott told the students. "You can see the look on their faces. One even wrote a lipstick message with racial slurs. Kids on top would tease the children who were deemed as the inferior group. "This here is Jane Elliott," I said.