Blue Eyes/ Brown Eyes Experiment: Ethics

Question

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 Elliot’s 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.

The video link for this discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGvoXeXCoUY

Thoughtfully reflect on the issues discussed in the video we watched.

In our in-class discussion, we will 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?