Tolerance; Character Education 5

Tolerance

Voltaire: All men are equal; it is not birth but virtue alone that makes the difference. 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.  I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed:  we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

Every person is special and unique in their own right.  Tolerance is accepting that every person is different, and giving each person room to do their own thing.  Tolerance is understanding and respecting that people have different cultures and are different nationalities.  And, because we come from different cultures, we have a variety of different skin, hair and eye color.  Treating all people with respect and understanding our differences makes the world far more interesting.  Our world is filled with people who have different talents, gifts and skills that we bestow on each other. 

How Would You Feel

Imagine you are in school in California and a new student arrived from the South.  The teacher introduces the new student to the class and asks him to tell the class a little bit about himself.  When the boy begins to speak, the children laughed because of the boy’s Southern accent.  Put yourself in this boys place.  How would you feel if the same thing happened, to you?  What if you moved to the South and started a new school and your teacher asks you to tell something about yourself to the class.  What if the children laughed at you when you talked, because you do not talk like they do.  How would you feel?

Activity: The Salad

America is called a melting pot referring to how many different cultures we have living in America.  Show an example of a melting pot by making a tossed salad in front of your children.  First just add the lettuce; by itself the lettuce is boring.  Now one at a time, add the different vegetables and then toss the salad together.  By adding the vegetables to the lettuce you have ingredients that have their own identity, while making the salad better as a whole with different colors and shapes.  Try to use vegetables with a variety of color.  Remind students that it doesn’t matter if they like the taste of the vegetables, in order to understand the concept.

More Activities

1. Compliment day.  Have children practice giving compliments.  Make a list of compliments to choose from in case children need help.  Make sure every child receives a compliment.

2. In character education, tolerance means acceptance.  Discuss the difference in tolerating and accepting.  (Accepting means not to pre-judge on appearance or customs that are strange to us).  There are situations no one should tolerate such as lying, stealing, or abuse.  In this case find a trusted adult to talk to.

3. Brainstorm a list of foods that originated from other countries.

4. We may look different from each other, but otherwise people all over the world are alike.  Brainstorm all of the ways people are alike.  (Food, shelter, clothing, need to feel loved, need air to stay alive, grow old...).

5. Stereotypes; Representations that are not accurate, or, an oversimplified standardized image of a person or group.  Make a list of stereotypes such as, all Italians can sing, all girls are not good at math.

Story Suggestions:

Paul and Sebastian, by Rene Escudi and Ulises Wensell; Younger

Paul’s and Sebastian’s mothers won’t let them play together because they live in different types of homes; one lives in an apartment and the other in a trailer.  One day the boys get lost.  The boy’s moms learn a lesson in what is important.

Daughter of Sunshine, by Carol Kline; Older   Chicken Soup for the Soul

Daughter of Sunshine is a true story about a boy falling into the gorilla area at a zoo.  A gorilla, Binti Jua, shows compassion to the boy, helps place him where keepers can reach him, and did not care that the boy was of a different species.  We all can learn from Binti Jua.

(Story can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/pa/busterboo/sunshine.html)