Promoting Tolerance in Kids

Many techniques can be used to promote tolerance in children.

By Brandon Bryn, NCPC Staff

The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 12 percent of students aged 12 – 18 have experienced hate-related language at school, and more than one-third of students have seen hate-related graffiti at school.  More troubling, the FBI’s latest statistics on hate crimes committed in the U.S. indicate a rise of hate crime incidents from 2005 to 2006. 

The differences between us are what make us each unique and special, and tolerating those differences is the principle upon which this great nation was founded.  But it’s in the way we perceive and react to those differences that problems can arise.  Intolerance of the differences between oneself and others allows for more specific problems like hate crimes, vandalism, assault, or bullying to take root and fester.  So it makes sense to discourage attitudes of intolerance in society and promote acceptance and diplomacy in order to reduce crime and victimization.  Yet there is no science to gauge intolerance in people and very little research exists on human prejudice. 

Still, it is widely accepted that the most basic attitudes and beliefs are developed early on in life, and generally, that children are more susceptible to influence than adults.  Children carefully watch and imitate the actions of their parents or others they care about, soaking up behavior like a sponge.  Therefore, it’s easier to persuade a child of a new attitude or ideal than it is to sway the opinion of adults who have developed their beliefs over a lifetime. To this end, it is important that we reach our youth early on in if we are to instill the morals of tolerance and acceptance, along with other positive values such as diplomacy and conflict resolution, so they may embrace those attitudes for the rest of their lives. 

Luckily, many initiatives are attempting to do just that with new and often specialized classroom curriculums and activities.  Dual-language immersion classes are being offered more and more to students at the elementary school level.  At Kemp Mill Elementary School in a Maryland suburb of Washington, DC, for example, some first-graders have two teachers in one classroom: one who speaks only in English and another who speaks only in Spanish.  The goal of the class is to have non-English-speaking students interact with their English-speaking counterparts so that each learns the others’ language, and so far it seems to be working well.  Currently, there are 329 such programs across the country.

Another strategy is “Mix It Up,” a no-cost activity advocated by a group called Teaching Tolerance.  On “Mix It Up” days, students are encouraged to leave their cliques and eat with different student groups so that they leave their comfort zones.  A school needs only designate a “Mix It Up” day, and promote the event internally.  Usually, incentives and rewards encourage students to participate. Teaching Tolerance offers more information and helpful resources on its website, www.tolerance.org. 

Bullying prevention is another important piece of the puzzle.  Bullying is now recognized as a very harmful behavior, and it is often experienced by those who are perceived as different.  School administrators, parents, and children should do everything they can to discourage bullying and foster an atmosphere of tolerance in America’s schools.  To help with that, there are many free resources at the U.S. Department Of Health and Human Services’ website, www.stopbullyingnow.org, and NCPC’s websites, www.ncpc.org and www.mcgruff.org. 

Another great resource is the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Center offers grants of up to $2500 for teachers working to reduce prejudice among youth in their classrooms.  Explore their website to find free resources aimed at reducing hate in schools, communities, the workplace, and even at home.  The Center also promotes a program called Speak Up! that encourages people to take action and respond to the bigotry and prejudice they experience on a daily basis.

Also, psychologists at Harvard, the University of Virginia, and the University of Washington have developed Project Implicit, which uses a series of “implicit association tests,” to help gauge hidden biases within your own subconscious.  Identifying and dealing with your own personal biases might allow you to better serve as a role model for others.

Too often, the differences between us stimulate misunderstanding, confrontation, and even crime.  Hate crimes and bullying, in particular, stem from one’s ignorance and intolerance of things foreign.   Not only do they affect the victim directly, but they also have the potential to spread fear and tension across entire communities.  As a nation, we should continue to promote tolerance of all races, ethnicities, cultures, genders, and religions, and we must reach youth with this message at a young age if we hope to be effective.  We can prevent crimes committed out of intolerance by combating the issue of intolerance itself.  So as we continue to fight the war on terror across the globe, let us also keep in mind the important war against intolerance at home.