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Ethically, I have mixed feelings on the way Jane Elliot tried to demonstrated how racism was present in the kid’s personalities. She claims that when she did this experiment, the kids grew up to have more respect towards people of color. The problem lies in her not consulting this experiment with their parents. One would say that if the kids would have told their parents about the experiment beforehand, the parents would not want to get their kids involved in it because they would ask questions on how hard is Jane going to on their kids. And if they knew they would be put down and feel helpless, most parents would not want their children to feel that way.
When looking at it like that, Jane had no right in using the kids in this experiment. But if we look at society at that time and place, people living there did not need another lecture of how racism is wrong. They were already experiencing the social rights movement front on. What they needed it their society was a more aggressive and effective lesson on racism. So Jane tried this experiment and from what I see it, it was a success. But I really couldn’t say a total success because I don’t really know how all kids, now adults, turn out to be in society now.
I like the point you made in how it is questionable whether or not children should be involved, as most parents do not want their children to be put down in school. I also think that Jane took a leap of faith in trying this experiment out at a time when they were already experiencing the social rights movement, but who knows how different people are going to react.
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