TOLERANCE

          Tolerance can be defined as 'willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own' (a definition by Merriam-Webster) or as 'a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, beliefs, practices, racial or ethnic origins, etc., differ from one's own' (a definition on Thesaurus.com). Or to put it in a simple way, tolerance is the ability to accept diversity and to live and let other people live. Follow these links to find out more about: the etymology of the word'tolerance' and related terms, and tolerance synonyms and antonyms.

          If you are tolerant, then you are supposed to endure practices that you are not related to or that you do not approve of, and also to demonstrate an objective and fair behavior towards those whose ways of thinking or behaving differ from yours. If you are tolerant, you respect and learn from others, you are willing to value differences, reject stereotypes, bridge cultural gaps and create new bonds with other people. Many researchers have pointed out that the level of tolerance that you have can actually be attributed to the level of happiness and contentment in your life. Nevertheless, some paradoxical questions still emerge, such as – 'are tolerant people happier, or are happier people more tolerant?'

          At the same time, tolerance does not mean accepting all kinds of behavior, especially those which show disrespect for others, i.e. lying, stealing, bullying, being mean, hostile or aggressive towards others,  etc. Behaviors that disrespect or hurt others should not be tolerated. To tolerate actually means to treat others the way you would like to be treated.

          If we want to live a full and healthy life in today's world, which is considered to be a rich blend of different cultures, ethnicities, nationalities, races and religions, then we have to learn to appreciate others and be tolerant to the differences that coexist. Being open to see new things and learn about other people without having negative prejudices about them is a form of tolerance.

          The International Day for Tolerance is on November 16th, established by the UN General Assembly in 1996 and you can read more about it following this link.

"On the International Day of Tolerance, let us recognize the mounting threat posed by those who strive to divide, and let us pledge to forge a path defined by dialogue, social cohesion and mutual understanding."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

          You can also watch a video with portraits from Cambodia, the Netherlands, Spain, France, the United States, and Australia to celebrate the International Day for Tolerance: 'On selected international days the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC), in partnership with the Good Planet Foundation, share clips from the ‘7 billion Others’ project to communicate the fears, dreams, ordeals, and hopes of citizens from all over world.'

For more about promoting tolerance by UNESCO's Member States and how can intolerance be countered follow this link, and you can also read  The Declaration of Principles on Tolerance.

The part that might be of particular interest for us is Article 4 – Education, which I will quote in its full length here:

Article 4 - Education

4.1 Education is the most effective means of preventing intolerance. The first step in tolerance education is to teach people what their shared rights and freedoms are, so that they may be respected, and to promote the will to protect those of others.

4.2 Education for tolerance should be considered an urgent imperative; that is why it is necessary to promote systematic and rational tolerance teaching methods that will address the cultural, social, economic, political and religious sources of intolerance - major roots of violence and exclusion. Education policies and programmes should contribute to development of understanding, solidarity and tolerance among individuals as well as among ethnic, social, cultural, religious and linguistic groups and nations.

4.3 Education for tolerance should aim at countering influences that lead to fear and exclusion of others, and should help young people to develop capacities for independent judgement, critical thinking and ethical reasoning.

4.4 We pledge to support and implement programmes of social science research and education for tolerance, human rights and non-violence. This means devoting special attention to improving teacher training, curricula, the content of textbooks and lessons, and other educational materials including new educational technologies, with a view to educating caring and responsible citizens open to other cultures, able to appreciate the value of freedom, respectful of human dignity and differences, and able to prevent conflicts or resolve them by non-violent means.

For more about educating for tolerance, you can follow this link. 

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized the importance of education in the fight against intolerance by saying: 

'We must instill in [children] a respect for diversity before intolerance has a chance to take root, and a sense of vigilance in case it threatens to do so'.

Educators all over the world should teach tolerance and respect for the other and different, while at the same time making attempts to identify and fight against intolerance. There is also a guide for educators – Tolerance: the threshold of peace, published by UNESCO in 1994.

          Speaking about tolerance generally, you should also remember that December 18th is marked as the International Migrants Day, which you can read more about using this link, where you can find this quotation: 'Migration draws increasing attention in the world nowadays. Mixed with elements of unforeseeability, emergency, and complexity, the challenges and difficulties of international migration require enhanced cooperation and collective action among countries and regions. The United Nations is actively playing a catalyst role in this area, with the aim of creating more dialogues and interactions within countries and regions, as well as propelling experience exchange and collaboration opportunities. To mark this year’s International Migrants Day, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is calling on the international community to come together and remember the refugees and migrants who have lost their lives or have disappeared while trying to reach safe harbour after arduous journeys across seas and deserts.'

          For our class discussion on the blog, think about tolerance and our lives, and how does tolerance weave itself throughout our society? Think about how tolerance is used in many different areas of life from a personal to a national perspective. Take a moment to think about your own lifestyle: your behaviors, actions, thoughts, and the environment you live in. Do you think you are a tolerant person? Explain. Do you have any examples of tolerance 'in practice', i.e. of tolerant or maybe intolerant behaviors in your family, among your friends, in your neighborhood or local community, at the faculty/university, in our country, or elsewhere? Share your stories and opinions with your classmates here. As a future teacher, how would you teach your students to be tolerant and respectful of others? What obstacles might you encounter? How would you help them differentiate between tolerable and intolerable behaviors?

You are welcomed to share your attitudes, ideas and thoughts with us.