I've seen this more than once so I wasn't surprised. While it is controversial, it did get the point across to the students that stereotyping a group has serious consequences for the members of both groups.
I work in a very diverse school district with many "helicopter" parents. I feel like the LESSON behind this experiment is crucial- children especially cannot understand what it feels like to be discriminated against unless they experience it first hand.
But it would not be able to happen today in a modern classroom. It would be triggering and inappropriate to have children of color participate in an experiment that reinforces the discrimination they already face on a daily basis. And white parents would be ENRAGED if their child was being intentionally discriminated against- we'd hear buzzwords like "traumatizing" and "leftist agenda" and could turn, very quickly, into a circus that actually causes white children to become more actively and overtly discriminatory toward their peers.
I hear you. I worked in a privileged, mostly white independent school and what you say is true. Also, it would be traumatizing to subject students of color to this experiment. So, the question is, how to structure meaningful educational experiences for children that help them become anti-racist.
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I work in a very diverse school district with many "helicopter" parents. I feel like the LESSON behind this experiment is crucial- children especially cannot understand what it feels like to be discriminated against unless they experience it first hand.
But it would not be able to happen today in a modern classroom. It would be triggering and inappropriate to have children of color participate in an experiment that reinforces the discrimination they already face on a daily basis. And white parents would be ENRAGED if their child was being intentionally discriminated against- we'd hear buzzwords like "traumatizing" and "leftist agenda" and could turn, very quickly, into a circus that actually causes white children to become more actively and overtly discriminatory toward their peers.
I hear you. I worked in a privileged, mostly white independent school and what you say is true. Also, it would be traumatizing to subject students of color to this experiment. So, the question is, how to structure meaningful educational experiences for children that help them become anti-racist.