Blog Entry 3rd Week (4/10/2021 - 10/10/2021)

This week, I’ve been able to see a really interesting documentary called “A Class Divided”. The film follows an “experiment” carried out by Jane Elliott in one of her 3rd degree classes in order to address racism that consisted of dividing the class by their eye colour.



It is surprising how the experiment was carried out in the 70’s but it feels like it could have been made just some years ago. It is sad how racism is still as present in today’s society as it was 50 years ago. It shows how important it’s to talk about this topic, especially at schools. At that age, kids are learning and developing and they are usually more open-minded. We tend to become more closed-minded as we grow up as we think we know everything and we aren't willing to learn as much as when we were younger.


Starting from a really important problem and kids of an age in which you can’t just do a masterclass about it so they can understand it, she was able to create an effective method to teach kids about it: separating classmates depending on their eye colour. She carried out the experiment for several days. The first one, blue eyed people were better than brown eyed people. On the second day, on the other hand, brown eyed people were better than blue eyed people. The results of the experiment after these two days were, in my opinion, truly fascinating. In the first place, kids performed better when their eye color was considered better than the other. They did the same activities both days and the results varied negatively when they were part of the group whose eye color was worse. Another interesting thing that could be seen with the experiment is how some kids completely changed their attitude when they were part of the better group. They felt superior and their attitude changed drastically on the negative side. Some of them didn't have any problem rejecting or bullying classmates and friends that they've known for years just because of their eye colour. But, above all, the most important thing about the experiment is that it succeeded in its goal. Kids understood what it was like to be rejected by a simple color and how we all are equal in spite of our eyes or skin. They were able to empathise and put themselves in the place of people suffering racism. Part of the film shows the kids as adults watching the original documentary (“Eye of the Storm”) and reflecting about what the experiment taught them. Everyone of them received positive learning from it.


Some people may think that doing this experiment with third grade kids wasn’t a great idea because it made them suffer and fight (some kids cried during recess because of not being able to play and their friends rejecting them) but, I don't agree with it. The experiment achieved its objective and all the kids learned what it was like to be rejected because of your appearance. The teacher did a great job and I think kids learned many more things than just about racism. 

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