http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24076709#24076709
OK, time for honesty here. How do you think *your* child would do on this test? How do you think YOU would have done when you were five? I'll be honest with you... I'm not sure and I'm not sure. I don't imagine that kids get the idea that the black doll is the "bad" doll from their parents. Or, as is suggested, by some of the comments on the video, by a lack of "multiculturalism" in the public schools. Good grief, you'd almost think white people didn't exist if you were to look at the curriculum in our local school. AND in public schools, black folks get their very own month during which black achievement is stressed. Want to do a biography during February? It has to be about a black person. Book report? Black author, please. See a movie? Has to be about black people. (Just try pulling off a "Whites Only History Month" and see how far you get.)
Mayyyybe you could kinda stretch it and say the idea of blacks being inferior would take root if the child attends Catholic school. The poor kid would see that oppressive photo of blondie Jesus every day. The historically inaccurate horror of it all! Don't you think older paintings of Jesus and the disciples are *interesting?* You'd think the Pharisees would've been a lot smarter than to kill the guy with the GIANT YELLOW HALO around his head. BTW, "God the Father" is also white because He was kind enough to pose for Michelangelo's painting in the Sistine Chapel.
OK, seriously. There can't be any easy answers to a question like this. And when I see people questioning the children about which doll is "bad" I wonder if the result would be what the child thinks the QUESTIONER wants to hear and has nothing to do with self-esteem anyway. Maybe the whole test is silly.
Speaking of silly... what, pray tell, do you think would have happened if the Teletubbies were put in a lineup like that? Would Tinky Winky be the fall guy for Po's antics? I always thought that Dipsy and LaLa were underhanded, what with yellow and green being the colours of evil and all...
Those bad dolls. Maybe they should do a Twilight Zone episode about that idea.
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The whole thing wouldn't load for me, so I only saw the first part where the questions were asked and the children answered. I would be interested in seeing the answers of caucasian children for starters AND a cross section of family backgrounds. I agree, it seems silly to me, but then I am 'white'. I struggle to see the relevance of alot of those tests.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably all you needed to see unless you wanted to see a discussion on why these kids pointed out the black dolly as the "bad" doll.
ReplyDeleteThere were no white kids that *I* saw in this video, but it was a shortened version of some longer version I guess they're broadcasting later. I did wonder some of those questions you asked myself.
Interesting post mate.
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