How to Teach a White 5th Grader About Discrimination

Alex Marketos:

When I was in 5th Grade, my predominantly-White class studied the Civil Rights Movement. To make the lesson more concrete, we did an activity meant to simulate segregation and discrimination. This was probably inspired by the teacher Jane Elliot’s activity (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/introduction-2/) where one day, she divided her class by eye color and gave one group certain privileges that the other did not have. She then reversed which group was “privileged” the next day.

When I did the activity, half of the class wore one color Post-It Note and the other class wore another color. For one half of the day, people who wore a certain color Post-It Note were the only ones who could use the stapler and other classroom materials. At lunch, we were only allowed to sit with those who had the same stickers as us. Halfway through the day, we switched stickers, so everyone had a chance to “understand” what it meant to be discriminated against. I think that it is incredibly important for everyone, especially middle-school age children, to understand how discrimination affects people.

I am not totally sure of the efficacy of this activity, however. As I said, most of the kids in the class were White, people who are less likely to experience discrimination than their peers of color. There was a certain amount of privilege involved in simulating an activity like this among White people. Also, at the end of the class, we all took our Post-It Notes off, symbolizing that we were no longer “discriminated” against. Because this activity was tied into our larger discussion of the Civil Rights Movement, it may have been implied that discrimination no longer exists, when it still exists, even though Jim Crow laws do not.

This ties into the larger idea of the the “conundrum of privilege” because us privileged students were trying to learn about discrimination and segregation, but also were not as disadvantaged as the people in the lesson we were learning about. When Jane Elliott conducted this activity, Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated the day before. So, Civil Rights Movement-era racism was much more present then than it was when I did the activity, so children in Elliott’s study might have been able to connect the dots more effectively. As a result, children in Elliott’s study might have been able to connect the dots more effectively.

This activity was over a decade ago, so I don’t remember a lot about how I felt or what I learned. I also can’t really remember how other students in my class felt about it as well. I also can’t really remember how other students felt about it as well. When I discuss the activity with people, though, one of the first things I tell them is: “I wasn’t allowed to use the stapler.” This highlights how watered-down the activity makes segregation, as Jim Crow-era segregation went much deeper than not being able to use office supplies.

I think that while the activity has good intentions, it ultimately fails to accomplish its goal of simulating segregation. I think that this activity can be modified to incorporate the fact that racism still exists and is not just something that happened in the 1960s. I think that grounding the activity around current events, especially around a race-centered issue like police brutality or income disparity, would be effective - especially in the context of a history course to show that these topics are still relevant. I think that grounding the activity in the present, especially around a race-centered issue like police brutality or income disparity, would be effective - especially in the context of a history course to show that these topics are still relevant. Relating these issues to the present would also make White children aware of their privilege and that they benefit from a racist society. Already, this is completely different from only relating racism and segregation to Jim Crow because it anchors the lesson in the present, which is crucial towards racially socializing White children.