[September 03, 2014] Shortly after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, an Iowa third-grade teacher did something remarkable. She gave her class an unforgettable lesson in discrimination. While this lesson is what we are most likely to see and appreciate, what we don’t see is behind the scenes in the moral courage of the teacher. Fortunately, there was a short video program made from this experience and the 1970 film is called “Eye of the Storm.”
Jane Elliot, Iowa public school teacher, gives a lesson in discrimination in the film “Eye of the Storm.”
PBS has made free public viewing the program possible. Of all videos I’ve seen, the “Eye of the Storm” is probably the most dramatic real-life program about human behavior. Parts 1 and 2 are the original program and I highly recommend taking the time to watch it. I’ve seen it at least 20 times. Watch the children closely and then watch the teacher if you watch it a second time (link to PBS program).1
It shows that people discriminate against others for many reasons, some for no reason whatsoever. The teacher divides the class into two groups: blue eyes and brown eyes. The class is all white as would be expected in 1968 Iowa classrooms. The first day, she tells the class that the “blue eyes” are smarter and better and therefore get privileges. Then we observe the discrimination occur among the third graders. The second day, she tells them she made an error and that the “brown eyes” are smarter and better. How the third graders treat each other is remarkable.
The story behind the program is that the teacher had difficulty getting permission to conduct the first class on discrimination. Good thing she did. The event caused a considerable stir in the community and nearly got her fired from her teaching job. Note the original lesson was given in 1968 but the video was made in 1970. Each time she conducted the lesson, the results were similar. It took a strong person to find the courage to conduct the lesson and the teacher has our respect for going forward with this strong first-hand lesson in discrimination.
I am confident that something like this would never be attempted in a public classroom today.
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[1] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html