Jane Elliot's 1970 eye color experiment is a great example of one of the defects of human nature. Humans tend to act horribly when they are given license to do so, especially as part of a group. In this example, children are easily persuaded to discriminate against their classmates on the basis of eye color. Please comment with your thoughts on this video by Monday, 2/9. A few thoughtful sentences will suffice. A few questions to think about: Do you think this experiment has merit? Do you think young students would react in the same way in the 2010's? What similarities do you see between this video and another piece of literature we have studied this year?
I really liked the experiment this teacher did, and i definitely think that it did have merit to it. These children got to learn what being discriminated against really feels like and not just the idea of it. They realized how terrible it really feels and in the end became closer as a whole from the experiment. Young students in 2010 would definitely react a lot differently in my opinion because i feel like they'd take it more to the heart with all the bullying and everything along those lines going on today. This experiment reminds me of when in The Lord of The Flies, there was Ralph's group and Jack's group and Jack's group would treat Ralph's group really awfully just because they weren't in Jack's group. They would beat them and try to kill them, and this is a more extreme similarity, but i do see the similarity between the two.
ReplyDeleteI think that this experiment is really eye opening, but she's right when she said something about not being able to apply it to the real world. People know discrimination is wrong, but they don't realize when it's being done because I don't know why really. In this experiment, people are discriminated and nobody likes it but it doesn't mean they will stop. Even people who are discriminated on a daily basis, still discriminate against others. Everyone has discriminated and whether or not it was voluntary, it happens way too much. For a reason I can't explain, people do it almost automatically. I, also, don't have a solution and yup.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Jane Elliot’s 1970 eye color experiment, I believe this experiment did have merit because it showed young children what discrimination is really about. At first I thought this documentary was going to be a harsh way to show children discrimination, but Mrs. Elliot’s experiment was very logical and precise. Since their class was white children as a whole, Mrs. Elliot’s twist on using eye color to discriminate each other was very creative. You can tell her experiment was helpful because when the students were being discriminated against, they were upset and felt less worthy than the dominant eye color; which opened their eyes to see the real discrimination going on in this world. If Mrs. Elliot were to do this experiment again in the year 2010, she could probably still do the eye color experiment because now we have all kinds of ethnicities in the same classroom. Therefore, hopefully it wouldn't make much of a difference, because we almost treat everyone equally today in the modern world. I can see similarities in this documentary and in the book The lord of the Flies because when the whole group split into two different tribes, Jack’s tribe thought they were the dominant group because they could hunt and kill things. And Ralph’s tribe was the group being discriminated against because they wanted rules and order to be rescued, instead of killing pigs and losing their innocence. In my opinion, Jane Elliot’s experiment to show discrimination is very noteworthy because of the outcomes that come with it; children that wouldn't usually be discriminated against learn how it feels because back then mostly only African Americans knew how it felt to be discriminated on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteJane Elliot’s 1970 eye color experiment was a very smart way to show kids what discrimination truly is. By dividing her class by eye color and making one eye color superior to the other, she taught the kids how it felt to be discriminated against. At first, I was not sure how the third graders would understand what was going on but, by the first fifteen minutes of discriminating, I could already tell they knew exactly what they were doing. I found it shocking that one minute the third graders were all friends and the next minute they were throwing fists on the playground. This experiment definitely has merit because it was beneficial in teaching the kids about the wrongness of discriminating. All of the kids got to feel what is was like to be judged only by their eye color and all of them still thank the teacher today for this valuable lesson. There is really no way to know how horrible discrimination is until it is done to you and that is exactly what Jane Elliot taught her class. Even if Elliot did this in the 2010’s, I think the kids would react the same but, it would be different because of the discrimination differences today. Back in the 70’s her class was only white children but, today we have many different races that fill a classroom. Hopefully she would still divide them by eye color because once race becomes a factor things tend to escalate. Whatever way she might have divided up her classroom, the experiment still would have been effective because it still shows the class how it feels to be discriminated against. Jane Elliot’s experiment shows a lot of similarity to William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” because in both instances discrimination is taking place. In “Lord of the Flies” Jack’s group of savages discriminate against Ralph’s group of well mannered and orderly boys because of their difference in lifestyle. Jack’s savages just want to be wild, hunt and survive while Ralph’s group just want to maintain order and focus on getting rescued. Whether we are referring to “Lord of the Flies” or Jane Elliot’s experiment, in both cases discrimination is relevant and dividing. At the end of the day, Ralph and Jack’s group could have worked in unity but instead, they let their differences divide them. Similarly, Elliot’s third graders let the great feeling of superiority and difference divide their once harmonious classroom. Whatever the case may be, we can all agree that discrimination is always degrading, ignorant and wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think that this experiment is really eye opening, but she's right when she said something about not being able to apply it to the real world. People know discrimination is wrong, but they don't realize when it's being done because I don't know why really. In this experiment, people are discriminated and nobody likes it but it doesn't mean they will stop. Even people who are discriminated on a daily basis, still discriminate against others. Everyone has discriminated and whether or not it was voluntary, it happens way too much. For a reason I can't explain, people do it almost automatically. I, also, don't have a solution and yup. Are we supposed to answer those questions? Well I answered one so whatever I still did it, right?
ReplyDeleteI believe this experiment was very effective. It was made very obvious that the students were learning as the day went along what it really felt like to be discriminated against. Not only did it upset them, but it also effected their learning abilities. After being told they weren't good enough, the students started to believe it and did not perform well in classroom activities. At the end, it really opened their eyes to what it felt like to be deemed inferior. I don't believe that this experiment would go the same way if it were repeated in our day and age. This is mainly due to the fact that one of the kids will probably go home and tell mom or dad, and then mom or dad will send angry emails to the school. But putting aside that, I feel as if people are not as racist as they were before, and because little kids look to their mom and dad for life beliefs, they would probably know that discrimination is wrong. Of course there's always going to be the "Jack" who when given the permission to act barbaric, will act barbaric, but I do believe that little kids in our day and age would be a bit more reluctant to engage in an activity such as this one.
ReplyDeleteThe experiment does not have any merit because there was no control group. In order determine whether or not the variable, the introduction of a prejudice idea, changes the children’s behavior, we would need to see the students’ behavior before the introduction of the prejudice idea of a better eye color. Also, all of the children in the experiment had at least one thing in common: they were all white Americans. So could this experiment be explaining not a defect in human nature, but a defect in white American nature? Moreover, only one experiment took place, and are we really able to explain a defect in human, or even white American, nature by the results of one experiment? For all we know, the kids in the classroom were future Hitlers, Mao Zedongs, and Pol Pots. We would need to see hundreds or, preferably, thousands of experiments like this to draw a conclusion. It would only be when we compare schools of the U.S., France, Brazil, Japan, and every other country that we could conclude something about all of human nature. Thus, there is not enough data to conclude that students would act the same way today; there are too many different schools and too many different variables to take into consideration. I see no similarities between the video and another piece of literature because the video contained artificial discrimination, unlike The Lord of the Flies or The Crucible. The kids were playing game; I see no proof that the kids truly felt that on eye color was superior over the other. Such discriminatory ideas are pounded into kids heads over years while the experiment contained a discriminatory idea given to a small group of children over the course of a minute.
ReplyDeleteThe experiment, in my opinion, was very effective towards the third grade children and even the college students. The kids and adults got to see how the real world is through the eyes of, in that decade, the inferior races. In the span of a day, the children experienced being repeatedly told how worthless and stupid they were and as an effect they truly felt like they were. This experiment was probably a huge realization to them of how people of color are treated everyday. Also, with the college students, they only dealt with the cruel treatment for an hour before seeing how demeaning and horrible they would feel if they were to experience that treatment everyday of their life. Both groups learned a huge lesson that day, one that shows how racism is an unjust crime. I don’t think that this experiment would work today. Mostly because even though racism is still an enormous problem in certain areas, it has lessened through time. These days’ kids learn in school to treat others the way they want to be treated. And even though some don’t, most do. Additionally, because of how racially mixed society has become, most white children grow up going to school with and playing with other colored kids. Plus, even if a child’s parents were racist, children watch their parents and learn from their mistakes. As Jane Elliot very truly stated, racism isn’t something you’re born with, it’s something you learn. And you can always unlearn something you’ve learned.
ReplyDeleteI was shocked when I watched this video. I knew the children would start to discriminate against each other but I was amazed how quickly it happened. This experiment has merit. It teaches how people feel when they get bullied or discriminated against. Children today will act exactly the same way in this experiment because human nature lives in all of us. This video is exactly like Lord of the Flies. Once people are given permission to hurt others, there will always be people in a society that will.
ReplyDeleteWhat really stayed with me in these two videos is the little speech Ms. Elliot gives to the college students at the end of the learning experience. She is absolutely right. Racism has not stopped. Anyone who is anything but white knows this. It makes me angry when I hear all these things about how no one cares about race anymore. "Look, we had a black girl play Annie!" That isn't enough. When people asked Quvenzhané Wallis about her name, they were quite offensive. They simply refused to take the time to learn how to pronounce her name. This strong girl stood her ground though, which made me very happy. Racism is a part of everyday life. It boggles my mind how people can't admit it. I applaud Ms. Elliot for making herself an advocate as a job. She definitely made a mark on those kids' lives.
ReplyDeleteChildren are like sponges. They soak up information like bees to honey. But most of the lessons kids learn are from their parents. And if kids, especially at a very young age like the kids in those videos, emit signs of discrimination and racism, then America must be the same. The only way to eradicate the wrong in our society, is to eliminate it from the next generation; the future of America. In 2010 however, students would act in a completely different way. The worst form of social discrimination today would be stereotypes, but it really doesn’t do much harm. Sure, there are those radicals and old people that lived during the Mesolithic period, that are hardcore confederate or pro-slavery, but those views are outlawed. They aren’t the social norms like they were in the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteA society of adults should not be complaining about each other but rather concerned about each other's children, as they represent future society. Black and white children born and raised in the most recent era of public segregation watched as their parents and aunts and uncles treated other members of society poorly only due to their appearance (difference in race). The adult figures in their lives spent so much time trying to either promote or end racism among adults alike. Meanwhile, they instilled racism in their children, in younger generations, because it was such a talked-about issue.
ReplyDeleteRacism still exists. It will always exist, until, according to Morgan Freeman, we stop talking about it! The children in these videos and the children in society today are so quick to pull the race card. They have not been taught that consequences truly are the same for everyone so to avoid their consequences they claim that they are unjust. Mrs. Elliot proved this through her classroom experiments: the children played along quite quickly.
Jane Elliot's 1970 eye color experiment displays the defects of humans. As humans we are attracted to gossip and conflict. We are pulled into a crowd cheering for to individuals to fight as though if it was not our choice. Our ears are drawn to the quietest of whispers that roam through the hallways. In this experiment children are easily persuaded to discriminate against their classmates on the basis of eye color. They do so in a group or one at all. It has merit only because it showcases the key reaction to believing something whole heartedly. Once one kid has turned their back it doesn’t take long for the others to follow. In the year 2010 and so on it’s hard to tell what anyone might think. As we sat watching the videos, we laughed and made fun of something that we think is never likely to happen. Only because it hasn’t happened to us. Relating experience might trigger a different emotion rather than laughter and amusement. I think for the years to come it will depend on a person’s individual character to see if they would act the same way. These videos is similar to most things we have read. From calling witchcraft from the crucible to the most recent The Lord of the Flies. In the book The Lord of the Flies mob mentality plays a pat when Jack upheavals the make shift society with Ralph as leader. He becomes jealous and impulsive and a dictator. Soon the boys one by one join him not because of his grace and his way with pigs but for survival. Even Ralph if not rescued by the officer would have joined his murderous tribe. He had nothing left and if he couldn’t beat him he would join him because at least he would be somewhat alive then. Much like how in the real world bullying in group is common. This is because if you’re not the bully and don’t have the courage to stand up to him then you are the one being bullied. Human nature is selfish, survival and happiness whether it be yours or the person you’re trying to be invisible from.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video it surprised me at how easy it is to persuade people to go against each other. These little kids turned against their best friends and classmates in the matter of a day based on the color of their eyes. This experiment was very eye opening to some of the rules that discrimination involves. Watching it made me feel a sense of anger at how horrible this video seems since a teacher is telling these kids they have boundaries based on a characteristic that they can’t control, but this happens in the world every day and people realize this they just don’t do anything about it. I personally don’t believe discrimination will ever disappear because every race wants to be superior over the other.
ReplyDeleteThese videos show that we learn how to discriminate. We don't just pop out of the womb and hate a certain people. We see that in this video the children turned each other as soon as one eye color was inferior. In life, as soon as we see one race as inferior, the others always wallow. That's exactly what happen here. This experiment does merit but on the other hand it can't because we don't know how these kids acted before. This relates back to "The Lord of the Flies." As soon as they could turn on each other, with reason, they did. Since the children were able to discriminate the lesser eye color without punishment, they did just that. There were no consequences since that was the social norm. That's how it is in the real world too. You don't want to be left out and bullied, so you become the bully. That's human nature.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed how fast the kids discriminated their friends so but at the same time I wasn't. It's so easy for us to discriminate. Some may or may not be doing it voluntarily but we all do it. I believe that if the experiment were to be performed again, the same results would happen. Both experiments treat the kids as inferior but they show what it is like to be discriminated.
ReplyDeleteThis is experiment gives white children an insight to racism, but it has no merits. They aren't going to automatically stop discriminating against others just because of the experiment. They don't understand their privilege as white americans, and probably never will. My parents tell me all the time about their time in Vietnam and how they had to play with rocks as children. But every time I hear it, I feel bad for a second and continue with my life. Its the same with the children, they felt bad after being discriminated against for their eye color, but after the experiment was over their life was the same. They didn't go through any radical change. Also, humans are evil and if given too much power, they will abuse it. For example, Marina Abramović had a performance called Rhythm 0 in 1974 where she had objects placed on a table. The audience members were allowed to do anything within a certain period of time, and while at first they were cautious, towards the end of the performance they were wild and chaotic.Some people even tried to kill her. Anyways, it just goes to show that no matter what we do to prevent it, there's always going to be evil in this world because humans are evil.
ReplyDeleteJane Elliot’s 1970 eye color experiment was a very smart way to show kids what discrimination truly is. By dividing her class by eye color and making one eye color superior to the other, she taught the kids how it felt to be discriminated against. At first, I was not sure how the third graders would understand what was going on but, by the first fifteen minutes of discriminating, I could already tell they knew exactly what they were doing. I found it shocking that one minute the third graders were all friends and the next minute they were throwing fists on the playground. This experiment definitely has merit because it was beneficial in teaching the kids about the wrongness of discriminating. All of the kids got to feel what is was like to be judged only by their eye color and all of them still thank the teacher today for this valuable lesson. There is really no way to know how horrible discrimination is until it is done to you and that is exactly what Jane Elliot taught her class. Even if Elliot did this in the 2010’s, I think the kids would react the same but, it would be different because of the discrimination differences today. Back in the 70’s her class was only white children but, today we have many different races that fill a classroom. Hopefully she would still divide them by eye color because once race becomes a factor things tend to escalate. Whatever way she might have divided up her classroom, the experiment still would have been effective because it still shows the class how it feels to be discriminated against. Jane Elliot’s experiment shows a lot of similarity to William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” because in both instances discrimination is taking place. In “Lord of the Flies” Jack’s group of savages discriminate against Ralph’s group of well mannered and orderly boys because of their difference in lifestyle. Jack’s savages just want to be wild, hunt and survive while Ralph’s group just want to maintain order and focus on getting rescued. Whether we are referring to “Lord of the Flies” or Jane Elliot’s experiment, in both cases discrimination is relevant and dividing. At the end of the day, Ralph and Jack’s group could have worked in unity but instead, they let their differences divide them. Similarly, Elliot’s third graders let the great feeling of superiority and difference divide their once harmonious classroom. Whatever the case may be, we can all agree that discrimination is always degrading, ignorant and wrong.
ReplyDeleteJane Elliot’s 1970 eye color experiment was a very smart way to show kids what discrimination truly is. By dividing her class by eye color and making one eye color superior to the other, she taught the kids how it felt to be discriminated against. At first, I was not sure how the third graders would understand what was going on but, by the first fifteen minutes of discriminating, I could already tell they knew exactly what they were doing. I found it shocking that one minute the third graders were all friends and the next minute they were throwing fists on the playground. This experiment definitely has merit because it was beneficial in teaching the kids about the wrongness of discriminating. All of the kids got to feel what is was like to be judged only by their eye color and all of them still thank the teacher today for this valuable lesson. There is really no way to know how horrible discrimination is until it is done to you and that is exactly what Jane Elliot taught her class. Even if Elliot did this in the 2010’s, I think the kids would react the same but, it would be different because of the discrimination differences today. Back in the 70’s her class was only white children but, today we have many different races that fill a classroom. Hopefully she would still divide them by eye color because once race becomes a factor things tend to escalate. Whatever way she might have divided up her classroom, the experiment still would have been effective because it still shows the class how it feels to be discriminated against. Jane Elliot’s experiment shows a lot of similarity to William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” because in both instances discrimination is taking place. In “Lord of the Flies” Jack’s group of savages discriminate against Ralph’s group of well mannered and orderly boys because of their difference in lifestyle. Jack’s savages just want to be wild, hunt and survive while Ralph’s group just want to maintain order and focus on getting rescued. Whether we are referring to “Lord of the Flies” or Jane Elliot’s experiment, in both cases discrimination is relevant and dividing. At the end of the day, Ralph and Jack’s group could have worked in unity but instead, they let their differences divide them. Similarly, Elliot’s third graders let the great feeling of superiority and difference divide their once harmonious classroom. Whatever the case may be, we can all agree that discrimination is always degrading, ignorant and wrong.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this experiment, this gave me more insight for one of the many flaws in human nature: how easily people discriminate and prejudge one another. It is quite sad to see that even children discriminate and just by eye color. Those that were "superior" turned against, and mistreated the "inferior" children although they were all classmates. This similarly happened in "The Lord of the Flies" when Jack claimed that he and his tribe was far more superior than Ralph and his group, where they were all just trying to survive on the island.
ReplyDeleteIf I was asked all these questions in class, I would be way too scared to discriminate my classmates so easily. It was very easy for the little kids to easily believe they were higher than the opposite eye color. It’s actually crazy even at that young of an age they could be so separated. But this was only because they were told so. They were being taught to discriminate each other and that’s the sad part. Discrimination is taught, it isn’t given to us.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching these videos you can see that if someone of higher power than you says something you instantly believe it. The teacher told the children something and they went along with it. Even when something is wrong or mean they will do it anyway, if they know it is bad they do not care. This experiment shows how much you can manipulate little kids as long as you make it sound somewhat believable. In 2010's I feel as if kids may not act the same way because most of racism is over and done with and we all know to "treat others how we would like to be treated". This is is just like the book "Lord of the flies". If you are given permission to hurt someone you will do it, even if you know that it is not nice you will get over it and do it anyway.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Jane Elliot's 1970 eye color experiment it clearly shows the defects in human nature. This experiment was a great way to show the kids and to teach them such a valuable lesson at a young age. I do think the students may react the same way in the 2010's but I think they would know what they're doing is wrong. In this time period racism and discrimination is talked about a lot so this lesson wouldn't sneak up on the kids as much. The kids would know that it is wrong and they would know what their parents have taught them however they may still act the same. Everyone knows it's wrong to discriminate but people still do it. There are many similarities between this video and The Lord of the Flies. Mrs. Elliot gave the kids the power to be mean to their other classmates just like Jack. Jack told his tribe members that they could come along and hurt Piggy and Ralph and that's what they did. Also, when Ralph gave the boys the permission to hurt/kill the animals they did just that. If someone in authority gives someone lower in the hierarchy the power to hurt someone that person will because they feel it's right to do it since someone higher then them said so.
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ReplyDeleteI believe this experiment was very effective. It allowed students to feel what it was really like to be discriminated against. Once the students were told that they weren’t good enough, they began to actually believe it. And not only did this make them feel bad about themselves, but it also affected their learning abilities. Furthermore, this video wasn’t just an eye opener to the students, but to the viewers as well. This video was a perfect example of how messed up our society is, and how easily humans discriminate against each other.
I highly doubt that this experiment would be effective today. Times have changed, and children today aren’t as racist as they were back in the 70’s. Mostly because, many of us have learned to accept people who are “different”, and also because we are too busy focusing on other things. Additionally, most children are being raised in very diverse areas, so eventually they get used to being around them and just deal with them. People are so afraid of change, or in this case what is different. They believe that these people who are “different” will disrupt their “normal” daily activities. And that’s where all the nonsense and craziness begins.
Watching these videos made me realize how easy people are mind controlled by groups and leaders, it's sad how they can't think for themselves and how they discriminate just because everyone else is doing it and because the people are different, it makes me really upset because this is are world, people are still learning about how bad this problem really is everyday, I hate when they also discriminate with little details too is extremely wrong like eye color or how big your nose or ears are it makes me so mad, the worst is when you expose children to it that don't know any better, so then the kids think its ok because children don't believe in feelings except for themselves but if your an adult and you discriminate like that I consider you evil. I think this teacher lady really slapped a lot people in the face with these videos but I honestly don't think discrimination will ever die down like people say it will because this is human nature.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching experiment part one I was too disgusted to watch the second part, I'm tired of hearing all of this crap about racism. First of all everyone will make my whole statement invalid because I'm a white male but anyway let's continue. This experiment proves nothing valid at any sort of degree, human psychology makes us want to obey authority as demonstrated by the milgram experiment. Therefore making this experiment invalid, the students were responding to authority not eye color. People believe that racism and sexism is only one way but in reality it isn't, the media only portray what ever side will get the most attention. I've seen more racism to white males than any other race/sex. We can label anyone that tells the truth a racist. After people end up reading it I'm probably gonna be called racist/ sexist but there's a beautiful irony in this, the people that always claim to want equality are the first to label others as racist and sexist.
ReplyDeleteIf this happen in 2010 the response would be the same, as demonstrated by the Milgram experiment humans obey authority. Children wouldn't react to racism but the fact that there is an authority figure in the room is what the children are reacting to. She brought up how hitler used eye color to determine life and death but failed to realize that she was actually playing the role of Hitler. If humans have an authority figure to justify there actions they will commit evil crimes without any thought .
This experiment really shows how racism is and what mob mentality can do to even little kids. It made friends turn on other friends. It even affected how the kids thought. Thinking that if they're eyes were a certain color, they weren't smart. This experiment gave the children a new insight on discrimination. Even though it lasted for a few days, there are many people who go through this everyday. I feel that discrimination can die if everyone knows what it feels like to be discriminated against.
ReplyDeleteThe Blue-Eyed experiment teaches us three things. As human beings, we are quick to judge and discriminate. Just because someone has their differences, we feel the need to accept them. It also teaches us that being discriminated against does not feel good. Especially when you put it in the context of the African Americans, Mexians, and quite possibly, Asians. The last thing that the experiment teaches us is to never discriminate. We have seen what we have done to the African Americans and other different races. What reason is there to continue to discriminate? But would this work today? Well, I babysit and I'll say that kids are willing to believe ANYTHING from an authority figure. So, yeah it would most likely work today, but probably only with little kids.
ReplyDeleteIf this experiment was done today with today's youth the results would be similar. Kids will always be kids. They will always want to play, and to them the blue eyes and brown eyes eperiment was just a game. The kids would be less offensive now than the kids in the video. But when the older people did this experiment there were harsher results but generally no one wanted to be that person who was being judged. This is kind of the same case with the crucible. In the crucible no one wanted to be convicted of witch craft. They created elaberate stories that essentially moved the blame to someone else.
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ReplyDeleteI applaud Mrs. Elliot for going through this experiment and also coming up with it in the first place. This experiment definitely has credibility because, as shown in the videos, the children learned what it really feels like to be labeled and discriminated. It was brilliant of her to use something other than skin color to pick apart her students, because something smaller like eye color was more relatable to small children and even to college students. Though the experiment went well in the Seventies, I do not believe it would survive on an audience of kids today. In every class, there is at least one kid who would not take it seriously and ruin it for the others. And of course there are always those adults at home who don't approve of even the discussion of racism. Unfortunately, no matter what age the children are, this experiment would not be a success due to the fact that in modern slang, pop culture, and just everyday life, people make racist jokes like it's no big deal. We are accustomed to hearing about the Civil Rights Movement and Black History, when the third graders from the 70's had, just before undergoing the experiment, heard of Dr. King Jr's assassination. Lastly, each and everyday, we insult each other as a joke, and because of this, calling someone "Brown Eyed" and meaning it to be a negative thing would only result in smiles and laughs. Though I predicted that this experiment would not last as a whole, though there are always those people who resemble Jack in character, from Lord of the Flies, who would gladly abuse anyone when given the power.
In this expirement where students discriminate against other students based on their eye colors we can see a defect in human nature. All the teacher had todo was tell the students that one eye color was superior to the other and a group of innocent kids turned into discriminating savages. I don't think kids would've reacted the same today as they did in the video. Of course they would become cocky but I personally think we wouldn't treat each other as bad as they did In the video.
ReplyDeleteThis experiment shows that even small children are capable of discrimination. At the end of the video, the children seemed to grasp the idea that discrimination was wrong. However, while I hate to criticize a teacher trying to teach her students an important lesson, some students may not have learned anything. If this happened today, first of all there would be lawsuits. Secondly, the outcome would have been more effective. Despite racism being prominent in some areas of the U.S., the country is much less racist as a whole nowadays. This is very similar to Lord of the Flies because all it took was a little temptation to cause children to become hateful of each other.
ReplyDeleteThis expirament was very effective for its purpose. Starting this expirament all the kids in the class were friends. Within one hour they turned their backs on each other. When the teacher said that the brown eyed kids were superior they went with it right away. If this expiring were to be done now it would not be as effective. Not that kids wouldn't be effected now but discrimination is not as large as an issue.
ReplyDeleteI really like the experiment and i do not find it fascinating at all the it works. People hear what they like to hear and racism is an issue based on one's views. If people don't like to be called what they are then it is the person's fault. People can't change who they are so one just have to accept it. If the problem is not about acceptance but ignorance then it is the ignorer's fault. I think some people just over react for no reason and make a big deal like the girl did in the modern video. "Treat others how you want to be treated". This quote applies here really well because the teacher treats the blue-eyed people as if they were blacks in a white community.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the kids would have reacted the same way in 2010 because they have learned a lesson in young age and they probably would have remembered it throughout their whole life.
DeleteThis experiment shows how easily young kids rather not think for themselves and believe someone else. when the teacher tells them that one eye color is better then the other they automatically believer her. The discrimination from the children is like they are built with it. but i don`t think this would have the same results now because kids learn from a lot younger age not to bully and that discriminating is wrong.
ReplyDeleteNathan Grabel
It's intresting to examine innocent children, in the midst of a rascist society, to become these vicious, discriminatory, social monsters, turning on one another based off a fellow class member's eye color. Though a tad over zealous, the experiment at hand does prove to be effective on multiple levels, teaching the evils of the mob mentality.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching these two experiments it's shown me how our society works. Society discriminates certain races and genders in our world today and that's not right. The way we judge others should be the way we want to be treated. For people to be pushed aside and shut down is not a way to be treated. Teaching these kids this lesson will definitely change there view on people in a good way. I agree with this technique because it really teaches these kids to not judge others by there skin or gender.
ReplyDeleteThis experiment is interesting, and they way they reacted when they felt superior over the others. Examples of this type of behavior is shown all over the world and a common everyday thing. Although now bullying is looked upon today as a much bigger problem, so i dont think they would react the same way they did. But i think that this was a great experiment and really displays a great lesson.
ReplyDeleteThis experiment is interesting, and they way they reacted when they felt superior over the others. Examples of this type of behavior is shown all over the world and a common everyday thing. Although now bullying is looked upon today as a much bigger problem, so i dont think they would react the same way they did. But i think that this was a great experiment and really displays a great lesson.
ReplyDeleteAfter Watching this experiment, it tells me that even children can discriminate each other just because of different eye color. When this experiment was done on kids, it wasn't as bad because the kids knew it was for fun and the learning experience. In the end, kids were able to learn how their society at the time works and what is discrimination. In the experiment with adults, they took it differently. The adults knew it was an experiment, but it seen that they really felt it was real. This experiment show how a simple differences like races, ethnics, eye's color, and more can start discrimination.
ReplyDeleteThis experiment is very plausible. Mrs. Elliot's methods were productive. Teaching children about discrimination at such a young age will help them be accepting in the future. Mrs. Elliot made her students walk a mile in someone else's shoes so they would know what it felt like to be any other race, but based on eye color. In the adult experiment, they were aware of what was happening but they still felt the affects of disrimination.
ReplyDeleteThis experiment really made me think. People can be so mean and discriminatory to each other. I found it so interesting that a group of children could be taught so easily to discriminate. I also thought it was kind of horrible. It's horrible that people can go against someone just because of their characteristics. The children really hated the one's with different colored eyes. The experiment really showed how easily it is for us humans to discriminate towards another.
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