Jane Elliott conducted an experiment with her second grade class to demonstrate discrimination. She separated students into blue-eyed and brown-eyed groups, treating the blue-eyed students poorly to simulate how minorities are discriminated against. While the blue-eyed students only experienced this for a few hours, it gave them insight into the constant discrimination faced by minorities. The author felt the harsh treatment was effective at showing how discrimination can degrade and isolate people. Witnessing the experiment helped the author better understand discrimination in society.

1. Blue Eye Brown Eye Experiment
Jane Elliott has been conducting a seminar to teach people about discrimination for quite
some time now. The experiment started with her second grade class many years ago when there
was a lot of controversy between blacks and whites. In the seminar, she pins the brown eyed
people against the blue eyes, making the blue eyes the minority. The blue eyed people are treated
very poorly, simulating how blacks and other ethnic groups feel. In the experiment, Jane is
extremely rough on the blue eyed group, but it is merely to make a point. The blue eyed people
only have to deal with this torment for a couple of hours, whereas minority groups have to deal
with this kind of discrimination all the time. There is no safe place for minorities, they can’t just
walk out of a place and be safe because they face discrimination everywhere they go.
While watching the experiment, I felt very bad for the blue eyed group. Although I think
that the treatment they were given was worse than most minority groups, the seminar would not
have been as influential without that harsh treatment. The seminar we watched in class really
made me think about how we as a society treat people who are different than we are. Although I
never really realized it until I saw the video, I have seen people be treated similar to how the blue
eyed group was treated. Sadly, I did not think very much of it because in our society, it is
somewhat “normal.” Now that I have seen this seminar, I know how much discrimination can
tear someone down and how awful it can make them feel. I personally imagined myself in the
shoes of a blue eyed person during part of the seminar. I thought about how I would feel being a
part of that group, and I do not think I could take that kind of verbal abuse. I personally agree
with how Jane Elliott teaches the lesson on discrimination, and I think that everybody needs to
experience a seminar similar to hers to really see how discrimination hurts. At the very least,
watch one of her videos on YouTube.