Teaching Tolerance

Tolerance.org is a website dedicated to educating people, mainly students, about prejudice and how to eliminate it from our society. It was founded in 1991 and since then they have won many awards such as two Ocars and one Emmy. Tolerance.org provides teachers with different types of materials and lesson plans to use in the classroom. Some of the material can be downloaded and some can be sent through the mail. The site focuses on racial issues as well as gender issues and many other issues that we and our students face every day in the lesson plans. The materials are free and you can sign up to receive monthly e-newsletters.


TEACHERS

On the site teachers can view specific lesson plans and sign up for materials and ideas. There are kits teachers can order which come with several copies of books for the students and suggested prompts to review the lesson with. Online offers include a variety of activities and helpers to encourage knowledge diversity.


PARENTS
For parents the site offers information on how to teach children from ages 2-17 about prejudice. It even addresses dealing with ADHD stereotypes and sexual harassment. There are tips on how to help a preschooler understand differences and that differences are a great thing.


TEENS
Teens have an opportunity to share their stories with other teens who may have similar experiences with prejudice in some form or another. Tolerance.org provides students with Mix-it-up grants, which are used to help students encourage their peers to work together to eliminate prejudice.


KIDS
Planet Tolerance is the area on the site for kids. This area is totally geared toward children and their learning. Civil Rights and women's suffrage are addressed in the kids area but it is on a child's level. There are games for children to play and one explains where we get the names for some animals.


I think this website is an essential tool for all classrooms. Sometimes we forget that diversity is not always addressed in our curriculum. The products offered by this site can provide you with an interesting approach to diversity. Young children are more accepting to differences, and Tolerance.org's method of teaching them is entertaining.