Description
Following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, Jane Elliot struggled with how to teach the detrimental effects of discrimination to her 3rd grade class in rural Iowa. In 1970, she embarked on the Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes experiment, in which she hoped to instill in these young students a sense of the power of inequality and prejudice to hurt and divide. Footage of the experiment was first broadcast in 1970 as an ABC documentary, “The Eye of the Storm.” Later, in 1985 it aired as a Frontline episode entitled, “A Class Divided,” which included follow-up interviews with the grown children from Elliots 3rd-grade class. After her teaching career, Jane Elliot became an anti-racism activist and a diversity educator. She continues to offer workshops and training sessions based on the early experiment.
Watch the following video about Jane Elliot’s classroom experiment:
Segment: A Class Divided (YouTube, 14:36)
The official full-length Frontline documentary about this experiment is available at A Class Divided (Frontline (PBS.Org), 53:05) (Links to an external site.)
As an additional resource, visit Jane Elliott’s official website.
Thoughtfully reflect on the issues discussed in the video you watched. In your discussion, address the following points:
- What was your initial reaction to viewing the footage of this experiment?
- What values and ethical issues did the experiment express?
- Do you think the experiment was effective? Why or why not?
- Do you think it was an appropriate exercise for a 3rd-grade class at that time in history? Why or why not?
- Do you think a similar type of experiment would be appropriate today? Why or why not?
Required Course Materials
Title: Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues
ISBN: 978-1305958678
Authors: Mackinnon, Barbara and Fiala, Andrew
Publisher: Cengage Learning
Publication Date: 2018
Edition: 9th
Format: Textbook
Read the following chapters from your textbook Ethics and Contemporary Issues, 9th Edition
- Chapter 2 – Religion and Global Ethics: This chapter introduces the complex issues related to our increasingly integrated global world, including the benefits and challenges of diversity. It focuses on the ethics and philosophy that form the foundation of religious doctrine and universal human rights.
- Chapter 13 – Equality and Discrimination: This chapter examines discrimination and racism as it manifests in contemporary societies, from a philosophical and practical perspective.
MEET THE PHILOSOPHER: PLATO
Plato was one of the earliest, and arguably one of the greatest philosophers. Together with his teacher, Socrates, and his famous student, Aristotle, Plato contributed to the very foundation of Western philosophy.
View the following videos summarizing some of Plato’s fundamental teachings:
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