After reading the background information on Jane Elliot’s experiment I believe Elliot had every right to test that experiment on her class. Her experiment had good intentions and she was never trying to upset or discriminate against anyone in her class personally. Although she was downright cruel to her students, it was an experiment and she was doing it to help the children understand racism. I agree with her that taking a walk in someone else’s shoes is much more sufficient than trying to explain it.
A lot of people disagreed with Elliot and thought her whole experiment was ridiculous and cruel. People said that it is never acceptable to use cruelty to make a point, no matter how important the point is. I agree with that statement, but Elliot’s intentions were valid. She was trying to teach a very good lesson and she wasn’t intentionally being cruel to the kids, it was all an act. I know we’ve learned about the strategies to avoid responsibility and the consequences of oppression, but Elliot wasn’t necessarily joking, she just wasn’t serious. I think every child should be educated with racism. I feel growing up I was never taught how cruel racism is and was. I may have been told, but I never fully understood. Being put in someone else's shoes is definitely the most sufficient way of understanding how another feels. Being taught this at a very young age is the most important therefore you can grow up your whole life understanding racism and know how to treat others equally. Elliot got a lot of discrimination for her experiment, but in the end I believe most people came to realization that Elliot had a great point. Elliot’s experiment led to social changes and helped people understand racism.
I feel like people over exaggerated the "cruelty" of the experiment. I think that Elliot was completely justified and, frankly, not cruel. I do not recall any form of torture she used to conduct the experiment. I believe people are afraid of admitting that they have it any better than anyone else. The reality of that situation is that every one likes to believe that their troubles are worse then other peoples.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think the best way to learn something is to go out and do it, rather than just sit in a desk and talk about it. I do think some things Elliot did was cruel but like Lynette said, I think it's over-exaggerated. People are just afraid to admit that racism is a major issue and more importantly, that they are racist. These are the types of things that are needed to help get the point across to kids in today's society.
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