I have been earning an M.Ed in special education, which I am just a few weeks away of finishing (yay!) and one of my professors turned me on to this website, www.tolerance.org. This is a great site and is one I now refer to pretty regularly. It is full of great resources including lesson plans, publications, children's books, etc. on diversity and respect. I highly suggest checking it out.
I was discussing the website with a colleague and we started talking about our feelings about the word "tolerance." Both of us preferred the word "acceptance" to tolerance. Not that tolerance is a bad word, but I think for both of us, we want students in our care to do more than tolerate each other. The message we want to send, and that I think this website hones in on, is acceptance. I don't want my students to just put-up with each other (which is what tolerate means to me). If we are teaching tolerance, what we are really teaching is acceptance - of self and others. Acceptance, to me, is more about welcoming, which I believe is something greater than tolerance.
As I write and reflect, I can honestly say there are times when I do tolerate people more than accept them. So, I suppose that is also a skill.
What do other teachers say or feel about diversity and tolerance in the classroom?
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