Georgi Genchev

SES 360
January 28, 2015
Assignment 1

Martin Luther Kings death had played a major role in the African-American civil rights movement.
Soon after his death Jane Elliott, a third-grade teacher in Iowa decided to show her students what
discrimination is and how does it affect peoples behavior. For this purpose, she divided her class,
consisting of 10-year-olds, into two groups, blue and brown eyed. The arbitrariness of the eye color
on which to base decisions about these childrens value and worth is arbitrary as choosing the color of
their skin or the part of the world in which they were born. She conducted this experiment in order to
prove that superiority is not an inborn quality of a person rather than something that is implied in
someones head and that even from small age our personality and the way we think can be shaped in
a certain way. I believe that the key moment in this experiment is when Elliott switched the dominant
group. What happened astonished both students and the teacher. On both days, children labeled
inferior took on the look and behavior of genuinely inferior students; they did inferior work.
Superior students excelled in their work and delighted in discriminating against their erstwhile
friends.
In the past couple of years, there is a tendency of increasing tension between both countries and
individuals from different races and religion. The West world has tried to dominance the middle east,
trying to implement democracy. What they did not take in mind was that some cultures are better off
the way there are, even though they live in a society full of intolerance, prejudice and inequality.
What we can learn from Elliotts experiment is that we are able to change peoples behavior, by
showing them what is to be on the other side. In the video we saw how easy not only a child be also
an adult can be drawn into prejudicial attitudes. Based on that, there are several things that we can
use to counteract the increasing ethnic and religious intolerance. First, as adults, we must be careful

about the attitudes we convey to children about difference. Second, as educated people it is our
responsibility to challenge prevailing norms and stereotypes and argue about the value of every
human as a unique individual. Just imagine that every school in the World implement Jane Elliotts
program. I believe that this will reduce intolerance, even in the countries that we now perceive as
problematic, such as Syria, Afghanistan etc. Further, imagine that every single human goes through

diversity trainings or team buildings all the companies are doing. I believe it is very successful
method, because in order to understand something one should experience it himself.

The key to making people compassionate and tolerant is when one should experience it himself in
order to truly understand another persons feelings. Children who will have the opportunity to
experience Jane Elliots program will grow up better people, aware of the mistakes of the past
generations. This is what I see as the ultimate goal - improving society