My blog post is regarding Culture & Diversity, I am using the "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise" from Jane Elliot who has been teaching this exercise since 1968.
I have included an interview she recently had with Jimmy Fallon; she first taught this lesson on April 5th, 1968. The day after Martin Luther King, Jr was killed.
She wanted to teach something to her students as a result of his killing. No other teachers in her school did anything to talk to their students. She taught this "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise". She divided the class between brown eyed people and blue eyed (or any other non-brown eyed) people.
She said, if she had known how it would work, she probably wouldn't have done it. She lost all her friends, no teacher would speak to her, her parents lost their business. Her children were spit on, their belongings destroyed, they were mentally and physically abused by their peers, their teachers, and the parents of their peers. Teachers she spoke to that day in April didn't understand why she was teaching it. They didn't care about addressing the issue.
She has been teaching this for over 50 years.
Generations of teachers have taught this in classrooms, as noted by NPR. Think of all the people that she helped see racism and bigotry and changed their ways, or learned early that discrimination is wrong. The great impact that Jane Elliot has had on the world and teaching.
How can we as teachers follow the lesson that Jane has set out over the last 50 years?
What can we do as teachers to help our students understand that our differences are ok and to make an inclusive classroom for all? This exercise is one way.
Nicole@NU
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