Teaching Tolerance

History on Trial: Culture Wars and the Teaching of the Past In "History on Trial", authors Gary B. Nash, Charlotte Crabtree, and Ross E. Dunn examine the debate over National History Standards, chronicling a media war spearheaded by conservatives such Pat Buchanan and Rush Limbaugh that sought to defame the project and culminated in a Senate resolution that set an ominous precedent: the manipulation of Federal funds to promote an official interpretation of our history. The book argues that contention over the past is as old as the past itself, that the democratizing of the history profession has led to more balanced presentation of American history, and that continuous re-examination of the past is the greatest service historians can render in a democracy.

Our nation was conceived with the idea of Tolerance. Our government is based on the principles discussed in John Locke's “A Letter Concerning Toleration”. Locke's basic argument is that the government only has the responsibility to make sure that all citizens have their basic rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In essence the government must step in if another citizen is preventing someone else these things. The government, according to Locke, does not have the responsibility or right to govern men's minds.

Locke was responding to religious intolerance of the English Government but his point is well taken. It is up to each man to decide for himself what he believes. Further, he is free to act upon how he feels so long as it doesn't impede the rights of others.

It is apparent when studying our nations history that tolerance is not what this nation stands for. We may have tolerance for the religious views a person holds but move on to race or sexuality and an entirely different thing occurs. A homosexual will be targeted and attacked for his/her lifestyle yet the President can fool around on his wife and he's still President. The point is American's are far less tolerant than they would like to believe.

Teaching tolerance is kind of a tricky thing. Students will be asked to examine their belief systems and acknowledge that everyone is guilty of intolerance. The feelings and reactions students have to finding that they too are guilty of racism and prejudice against others based on color, ideas, religion and such. Most students will adamantly protest that they have these feelings. Some will have great difficulty coming to terms with it. Others will acknowledge their intolerant views, be proud of them and basically reject the whole concept of tolerance.

Just the first day of tolerance education can turn into a disaster if the teacher is not fully prepared and in control. Before attempting the teaching of controversial subjects teachers need to make sure that they have good classroom management. It is very easy for things to get very heated, very quickly unless the teacher is the control.

The most important rule in any sort of discussion is “Treat each other the way you want to be treated” followed by “One speaker at a time”. I suggest having students write about how they want others to treat them. Make suggestions like listening to what was said, responding in a respectful manner to a person's view, or giving each view equal weight. I like to write the names of student's that raise their hand to share on the board. When it is their turn they must first explain what the last speaker said. This keeps everything organized and insures that student's are really listening to and being tolerant of the viewpoints that differ from their own.

Another thing to consider is that students will insert their foot in mouth and say things that offend others. It is your responsibility to jump in before others do. Have the student rethink what they want to say and find a way to express the same thing without using offending stereotypes or obvious intolerance. Remember, you are teaching them to be tolerant so everyone must tolerate misconceptions and ways of thinking contrary to their own. William Penn once said, “I may not agree with you but I will defend unto death your right to say it.” Students must learn to accept the views of others without wanting to get violent or belligerent.

When you have students do an activity or writing followed by a discussion of their responses you may find that students get extremely upset. If the feel in the room gets to electric, it is wise to wrap things up. Summarize viewpoints shared and have students do a 10 minute free write explaining what their reaction was and why. These exercises are not really a good idea to end the school day until students become accustomed to the exchange of ideas contrary to their own. It is only through frank discussion that this nation will ever provide “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” promised in our Constitution.

Teaching tolerance is a very rewarding experience that you, the teacher, will learn a great deal from. I like to begin all discussions with some sort of story from my life that illustrates racism and prejudice. I explain that it isn't that people want to be intolerant, but rather it is ideas and values imbedded in the person's psyche. I further explain that in order for the world to be a better place for their children to live in, people must honestly evaluate their behavior and take steps to change it.

This really can be done. I actively integrate tolerance into all subjects I teach. Just make sure you don't try to change the world in one class period. The teaching of tolerance shouldn't really be a separate subject but rather a style and value system in your teaching. One last note, if you are quite intolerant or racist, don not t try to teach this unless you are doing so from the vantage of learning tolerance with your students. Children know if you believe what you are saying and it is better not to say anything than to try to lie to them.