The Experiment That Taught Kids Racism…



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39 thoughts on “The Experiment That Taught Kids Racism…”

  1. In a way studing the experiment in school would be good. Like have students guess what would happen during the experiment and then reveal what actually happened.

    This reminds me of the experiment in the book "the wave". The students are wondering why so many people would follow the Nazis. The teacher works out an experiment where the start an elitist group. In the end most of the school is part of the group and it doesn't end well.

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  2. probably one of the “best“ and long lasting ways i have seen to teach about important subjects, like the moral and life lessons that not only cover/touches areas regarding development, empathy and handeling personal feelings and others feelings ex. being in the other persons shoes.
    might not be to fun as a kid but its some important lessons to learn

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  3. Ironically, it was experiencing my own discrimination and problems in my life at school that helped me to understand things.

    I spoke German, and everyone I went to school with knew of my background since a parent used it for work. I had kids from fifth or sixth grade on calling me a N*zi and treating me badly on what I now realize were national origin grounds.

    Later in school, I made a friend who was an expat from a Muslim country, and it was, what, 2003? But because I knew it felt bad to be treated that way, I had no problem telling racist people or those who thought she had some fault in world events, where to go.

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  4. All I hear in the experiment is the same I hear coming from our politicians, media, and other notable leaders. Can’t figure out why people on both sides of the perceived aisle are growing apart not finding ways to come together. It has gone so far beyond skin color or religion that no one is safe from discrimination by someone.

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  5. I saw a documentary about this which showed the filmed experiment with the kids and the reunion, but also showed the experiment done with adults, and some of the adults didn’t seem to get it. I remember one woman saying you don’t see black people treated this way, and there was a lot of outrage

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  6. Children are not stupid, they just have limited knowledge through lack of experience. Screaming at a kid a thousand times to not do something won't have the same effect as sitting them down, and explaining why they should refrain from doing it.
    Children's don't care about politics, borders, race or genders.

    The people looking at this from a scientific level, and calling it "immoral" or likewise, are plain wrong.
    The words of student in later life speak louder than any of their psychoanalysis.

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  7. Which raises the question: If the Nazis HAD succeeded in eliminating everyone they felt was inferior, what would they do next? Their entire culture was based on hate. Once they completed their Final Solution, they would need to find someone else to hate.

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  8. I have been a "participant" in one of these exercises most of my life – it mentally scars little kids when they need to get "husky" or "portly" size clothing because they are fat. Being called "Fat Albert" after the title character in the Bill Cosby cartoon show (and although fat, i was neither an Albert nor African-American). Growing up, it was cool to be of Irish or Italian heritage, but when you are German-American… Yeah… lots of lovely Bellamy salutes and WWII references. Well, at least i turned out heterosexual….. um….. nope, failed that too.

    So, my take on her exercises, is that we need more of it in our educational institutions. Start young, and keep reinforcing it throughout primary, secondary, and college environments.

    I'm not sure if it's nature, nurture, or both that does it, but we seem to have this biological need to engauge in an "Us vs Them" fight. Us vs Evil, Us vs Communism, Us vs Homosexuality, Us vs Indigenous People, Us vs Persons of Color, Us vs Migrants, Us vs Democrats, Us vs Republicans, Us vs MAGA Trumpers, etc etc etc.

    Are any of us capable of living a life of acceptance of the differences in one another? I fear we are not. 😢

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  9. It is absolutely infuriating that people are like "Oh, this experiment is too damaging." Okay, I agree, but, why are these children protected and told they can't do something this damaging, and yet the other children who literally are hated simply for the color of their skin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigrant status are "allowed" to have these things said to them? Oh. Wait. I know why. Because they're the "others", right? They don't matter, right? It's only the "normal" children who should be protected from "such a horrible and damaging experiement." Gotta protect the children, right? Unless they're Black/Brown, LGBTQIA+, Trans/Nonbinary/Gender fluid, or undocumented.

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  10. Our history teacher in germany did this with us because we couldn't understand how people in nazi-germany could simply believe that their friends and neighbours whom they'd known for years lesser than them suddenly.
    It worked immediately! Took my class less than 10 minutes to conform to the idea that group A was superior to group B

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  11. Life is full of stress, and what stress doesn't overwhelm you will make you stronger. My teacher tried this experiment with my class on a smaller scale in primary school and I think it really expanded my world view and made it easier to empathise with others at a young age. Just because we shouldnt be cruel to children doesn't mean we should coddle them.

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  12. I think this ‘experiment’ is cruel it may have worked in a way but it isn’t right to do this with such impressionable minds because you could impress some of them in a direction you really do not want to impress them

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