Is School the Best Place to Teach Tolerance?

Is School the Best Place to Teach Tolerance? Allyce Beechy AED/200 February 27, 2010 Deb Kneser

Is School the Best Place to Teach Tolerance?

Without tolerance taught in school s there would be a lot of chaotic, rebellious, ignorant and disrespectful students in the class room. By teaching tolerance in the school s the children will learn that we are not all the same but should be treated as if we were. I think that by teaching tolerance in the schools you will also be teaching them to respect as a person. If you respect yourself than it makes having respected other s easier. If we all respect one another there would not be fighting, name calling and etc. in the schools. When I look back at when I was in elementary, middle and high school people use to love to pick on me and which made going to school hard for me. When I tell people I know how you feel that s because I went through it all myself and it might be fun for the bullies to pick on you but they don t understand how much it really hurts. In today s world there are all different type of people in the classroom such as age, race, sexual orientation, religion, and culture. Which makes teaching tolerance in the classroom a must need thing. We are not all the same as everyone and we all have different views. Not everyone comes from the same culture or race. Everyone has their own type of religion. We are not all the same but even though were not we should treat others as a person who has equal feelings and qualities. Being different makes this world that we live in such a greater place to be. If we all were the same in this world that we live it would get boring. More than ever we really need to reinforce no tolerance aloud in the schools. There is too many students bringing in weapons or fighting with one another. Where I live is near Chicago and is not a safe place to bring your children up anymore. There is way too many shooting, killing, gangs and drugs. Which makes me wonder if we are really teaching the no tolerance aloud in the schools? Now of days we have children having sex by the time they are twelve. Which a lot of them end up with children of their own be for they are ready for them. At Columbine high school in Colorado there was a big shooting which a lot of students died from. If we stop teaching tolerance in schools the shooting, killing and fighting are only going to become worse. What tolerance means is tolerating or being tolerant of several of people s religion or belief s system when compared to your own views. Schools try to rally hard at teaching students to be tolerant of one another and to respect each other beliefs even if they don t share the same view points. Today schools have many different cultures of people who bring in many different types of religious views that are foreign to us Americans. It is important to be tolerant of their views so that they will listen to your views and possible look into other views. Tolerance has become a bigger thing because of different race, cultures and religion moving into our country which has given us the opportunity to adapt to them.

Is School the Best Place to Teach Tolerance?

We need to learn to accept one another as we are. For example, as weight, size, clothes, face, body, color, hair, teeth, poor, speech, handicaps, mentally retarded and the students that are in special education. Those are the biggest things that students pick on the other students with. If you re not skinny or have expensive clothes you re not cool. Students make fun of the other race, handicaps, mentally retarded, special education and the students with a speech problem all the time and no one seems to care if they do. When you are the student that is being picked on it hurts them and some of them can t take the hurting, end up killing themselves. Peer pressure is huge cause of leading students to depression, drugs, alcohol, suicide, joining gangs, low self esteem, bad grades and loss of desire to want to exceed in life. That s why we need to teach tolerance in school not to say that we still don t need to teach tolerance at home. There are people who would disagree with me and say tolerance does not need to be taught in the schools. They would tell you that it doesn t matter if it s taught there or not. If the parents aren t teaching them tolerance their self what makes you think you can teach them tolerance. That s when I would say it s better for them to get taught tolerance in school than for sure if they are not going to be taught it at home. I know that if their parents don t care if they tolerant others than us as a teacher have to care. They need to learn to tolerate everyone because if they don t than what makes them think that people are going to tolerate them. At a young age children are becoming aware of the different racial and gender issues but at the same time they are learning how to stereotype. That s why I know that teaching tolerance at a young is good for them. There are people who would say that you re wrong they don t understand that kind of things at a young age. They would also say that s not what they need to be learning when they are in the kindergarten throughout their whole life. Than they would say that all they need to be learning is shape, colors, numbers and how to read and write. I would say that I agree that they need to learn shapes, colors, number, how to read and write but at the same time they need to learn tolerance. Tolerance is something that you will use the rest of your life just like shapes, colors, numbers, how to read and write. When they learn how to tolerate others they will go far in life. There is always going to be someone who does not agree with my view no matter how much I try to explain my view. They will just say that I am wrong and their right but that s why it s a called my view not everyone will always sure the same views as you so that s why it s a good thing to learn to tolerate others views. There are so many different ways of teaching tolerance. Some of the different ways that you could go about teaching are by making them sit with different types of people at lunch so that they get to know one another be for they can judge you. Another way you could teach them tolerance is every week they should have a new seat that they will sit at for that week. You could also have a special project that you have them do with another person that is

Is School the Best Place to Teach Tolerance?

different from them. That way they will have to learn to tolerate that person if they like them or not. The United States has a national campaign to celebrated diversity and tolerance. That s when students eat lunch at different types of tables that they normally don t which helps them to mix it up and meet new people. That way it helps students to question and think of not staying in their social boundaries. This day is called Mix it up at Lunch Day. I think that this a great way of teaching tolerance to students because you might not like everyone but you need to learn how to put up with then no matter if you like them or not. Not everyone would say that they should have a Mix it up at Lunch Day because all you are doing to them is making them have to do something that they don t want to do. We all have to do things that we don t want to but it s not like we are saying they have to be friends with that person. All we are asking is that they give other person who is not like them a chance, who knows that person could end up your friend maybe even your best friend. Just because they might not want to do it does not mean that they shouldn t have to give it a try. All your life there is going to be things you don t want to do but you know you have to. Students should be taught tolerance at home but it does not mean that they are or the parents are teaching them to only tolerate certain types of people. Even knowing that it s not right they still do. At home children watch everything that their parents do. Whatever you teach them when they are young is what they know as right that s why as a teacher you have to make sure you teach about it all not just what you think they should only know. I know that my parents are not so good with tolerance of race or next door neighbors but it doesn t make it right. Many think that being tolerant for all opposing views and beliefs is un-American or against are freedom of speech. They believe we should have all rights to speak against things that disagree how are nation was brought up on and the things that offend us as a people. For an example if someone comes into the United States and say doesn t stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance for our nation they might view that as being intolerant and not want to stand for it. Someone who might be a Satanist and speak out in school about those views should everyone just be accepting of it or should we be able to speak out against because it is really bad for others to know about. I think we should be willing to hear everyone s views but those that are just blatantly evil and bad for the hearer should not be tolerated, like the views of Adolph Hitler most would agree we should not tolerate anyone teaching his radical views of the stronger human race dominates the weaker. As we have seen tolerance is very important for the self esteem and maturity of a person to learn to grow with all types of people. As we have seen without tolerance taught in the schools there would be many chaotic, ignorant, rebellious and disrespectful students in school. We must learn that tolerance helps a person grow and learn that all people are created

Is School the Best Place to Teach Tolerance?

equal. They all deserve love and equality, the dream that Martin Luther King Jr. echoed years ago is finally coming true, we need to continue to teach it. But, most of all it is something that all should know that tolerance of people does not necessarily mean a tolerance of evil or sin. We must judge the difference, God created us to treat one other equally in love and truth.

Is School the Best Place to Teach Tolerance? References

Teaching tolerance in the classroom by angela ford and erin young. (2009, March 11). Retrieved from http://nyteachers.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/teaching-tolerance-in-the-classroom-byangela-ford-and-erin-young/ Glandy, S. (2007, October 03). Tolerance should be taught in the classroom. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/392186/tolerance_should_be_taught_in_the_classr oom.html?cat=4 Fast, H. (n.d.). How to Teach tolerance. Retrieved from http://www.trussel.com/hf/toleranc.htm