It's no secret that our country has been plauged by prejudice since it's founding. In the over two centuries since this country was settled by the Pilgrims, it has seen prejudice against race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and a long list of others. However, it is popular belief (and often an excuse) that people are prejudice against other people because "that's how they were brought up". They were taught that people who don't believe in the same god as they do are heathens, or that people who are not heterosexual are an abomination, or that people of a different race are less than human. People believe what they are taught to believe, or in otherwords, tolerance is linked to a person's education.
My question is, if people were to expand their literary options outside of their current interests, or beyond those things they can identify with the best, is it possible that this newfound knowledge could make people more tolerable of those who are different? It is my belief that without books, our knowledge of things outside our basic knowledge would be very limited. Therefore, it would be much more difficult to understand other people's point of views. Combine that with the lack of proper education, and tolerance could potentially be a much bigger issue than it is currently.
1. There are many books that have a message of tolerance.
While researching websites on educators and tolerance, I came across one site that had a long list of books that teach a message of tolerance. These books are geared towards elementary school children up to young adults, and the list was released on the heels of the tragedy of 911. One book, titled A Coat of Many Colors, teaches a lesson about accepting people whether they are incredibly wealthy or dirt poor. Another, titled Necessary Roughness, tells a story of an asian family in an all white community. All these books were written with the intention of teaching children to accept people who are different from them, because they may not be as "different" as you think.
2. Educators play a huge role in teaching tolerance.
I came across in my research a press release put out by the United Nations, stessing the importance of tolerance. It was released after Secretary-General Kofi Annan recieved the Stephen P. Duggan award, which is an award for international understanding given by the Institute for International Education. The press release was Secretary General Annan's acceptance speech, in which he stated, "None of us is born intolerant of those who differ from us. Intolerance is taught and can be untaught." He calls for educators to stress the importance of tolerance, as he believes that many nations are unable to develop when they are constantly at conflict with each other. He said, "It not only builds mutual understanding among cultures at the individual level; it also helps societies achieve progress. Whether in contributing to the training of teachers, scientists and engineers, advancing the role of women in development, or administering the Fulbright Programme, you have understood that in our world, the engine for progress is fuelled by knowledge."
According to Steven Wolk, author of the article Reading For a Better World: Teaching For Social Responsiblity With Young Adult Literature, "classroom inquiry nurtures social responsiblity, and living a socially responsible life means to live a life of inquiry". Therefore, as is agreed upon in the above mentioned press release, the subject of tolerance not only can be picked up from education and educators, but is also, largely, discovered through books.
3. Many people who are intolerant, are that way because they do not understand those who are different from them.
In my research, I chose two people (who will remain anonymous) who I am close to to interview regarding my inquirey question. While these are two people are very kind, they have a very black-and-white view on people who are different from them. When asked their opinion on people who are not heterosexual, they had this to say.
"It is absolutely unforgivable. It is against nature and against God himself. God created man and woman to be together, and that is the way it should be. There is no excuse for being attracted to the same sex. It is not how we were designed."
I then asked if they, personally, had any experience dealing with homosexual individuals, or had any further knowledge of them.
"Absolutely not. We do not associate with people like that, because they go against everything we believe in."
From this, I could safely conclude that they had developed a strong prejudice against homosexual individuals, but only based their "opinion" on the Bible. They have never, and will never, attempt to gain any more knowledge or understand of homosexual people, and will continue to hold prejudice against them for the rest of their lives.
George Levine believed that one could create a feeling of empathy towards anything or anybody by taking the time to study them closely and develop and intimate relationship with the person or thing in question. Levine, himself, took the time to get to know a little bird, who he came to know and understand a great deal more after having spent so much time in intimate company with the creature. "It was an emotional effect," he says in "The Heartbeat of a Squirell", "but it was also rather like reading a book intensively, carefully..."
In conclusion, I've found that tolerance, in truth, has a great deal to do with what we know. According to Steven Wolk, author of the article Reading For a Better World: Teaching For Social Responsiblity With Young Adult Literature, "classroom inquiry nurtures social responsiblity, and living a socially responsible life means to live a life of inquiry". The subject of tolerance not only can be picked up from education and educators, but is also, largely, discovered through books. Without books, our knowledge of things outside our basic knowledge would be very limited. Therefore, it would be much more difficult to understand other people's point of views. Combine that with the lack of proper education, and tolerance would be a much bigger issue than it is currently.
I am very interested to see how people feel about this. Do you feel that if people were to expand their literary options outside of their current interests, or beyond those things they can identify with the best, is it possible that this newfound knowledge could make people more tolerable of those who are different?
Works Cited:
Education World. "Use Literature to Teach Tolerance". Educationworld.com. 29 August 2002.
<http://educationworld.com/a_lesson/02/lp277-04.shtml>
Levine, George. "The Heartbeat of the Squirrel" Googledocs.
<https://docs.google.com/a/eou.edu/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.3&thid=124d9c4d07025b61&mt=application%2Fpdf&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fa%2Feou.edu%2F%3Fui%3D2%26ik%3D7773230ea8%26view%3Datt%26th%3D124d9c4d07025b61%26attid%3D0.3%26disp%3Dattd%26zw&sig=AHIEtbSrw-vUf6ZUuDko7im8HspMBjGwOg>
United Nations. "INTOLERANCE IS TAUGHT AND CAN BE UNTAUGHT’, SECRETARY-
GENERAL SAYS IN MESSAGE TO INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION".
UN.org. 28 November 2001.
<http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/sgsm8046.doc.htm>
Wolk, Steven. Reading For A Better World: Teaching For Social Responsibility With Young Adult
Literature. Googledocs. May 2008
<https://docs.google.com/a/eou.edu/gview?a=v&pid=gmail&attid=0.4&thid=124d9c4d07025b61&mt=application%2Fpdf&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fa%2Feou.edu%2F%3Fui%3D2%26ik%3D7773230ea8%26view%3Datt%26th%3D124d9c4d07025b61%26attid%3D0.4%26disp%3Dattd%26zw&sig=AHIEtbTuach8QgeyqPVM7jIwbxTJCgsfWw>
Great topic, and one with no easy answers! In my Psychology course this term one of our learning modules was on Learning. During the chapter racism and prejudice was discussed and studies have determined that children learn to be prejudiced, that it isn't an inherited trait. They are surrounded by language (spoken & unspoken), events and feelings that shape their opinions. With that knowledge, it may in fact be possible for others to become more tolerant if exposed to literature that expands their understanding. However, I think it's hard for an adult to "unlearn" behaviors, so the best audience for hope is children. Unfortunately, children are subjected to their parents views and opinions and by the time such options are made available, it may be too late. What a viscous cycle!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that any amount of "education" or exposure to different experiences can open the minds of some people. Kind of the "you can lead a horse to water.." thing.
True Tonya, there are many variables when it comes to learning and teaching tolerance. You certainly "can't make them drink", but the effort is still of the upmost importance.
ReplyDeleteOften children do closely observe their parents, but they don't always adopt their parents way of thinking. For example, the people that I interviewed for my inquiry have two children. Their younger child has certainly learned to behave as her parents, but their older child has seen their parents prejudice in action and adopted an entirely different way of handling people and situations that are different from what he knows. It can be a gamble when it comes to children and the influence their parents have upon them.
This is an interesting inquiry, Janesse. I agree with you that prejudice is a learned thing. However, as children get older they naturally begin to notice differences and are not always kind. I guess that is the beginning of the end to their innocence, unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in the South where prejudice still abounds. The prejudice I noticed, however, was not just whites against blacks. It works both ways. And it was not just a racial prejudice, rather prejudice concerning religion, social status, personal preferences, etc. I vowed that my children would not even think to judge people by their differences and thankfully they do not. They seem to love people from all walks of life...as it should be.
As far as reading influencing those who are predisposed to prejudice, I don't know if that alone would convince intolerant individuals to feel or think differently. However, frequent exposure to one another (like in a classroom setting) seems to effectively encourage better tolerance among those who come from different walks of life. That is what I notice with my little 3rd graders anyway. After some time together in class (with my encouragement) we become "united" -no matter what our differences may be. I think that you and Tonya are correct in that tolerance begins with positive influences from childhood.
I love this quote you used: "classroom inquiry nurtures social responsiblity, and living a socially responsible life means to live a life of inquiry". I couldn't agree more. Your topic is one near and dear to my heart, and I'm proof that expanding literary options beyond current interests can add to tolerance of others who are different from me. Knowing what I now do, I'd argue that differences seem to be what we humans most have in common, and young children need to know that. I've read about different cultures, past and present and far and wide, that I never even knew existed. This has offset my extremely limited firsthand exposure to the world, and in fact I couldn't possibly have visited all those places (especially the past eras!) in these few short years.
ReplyDeleteYou've nailed it, I think, with your number 3. For me, understanding has led to tolerance, and appreciation and absolute respect. Understanding the history of races and cultures beyond our own helps put their present in perspective, and it helps remove that "other" status that is so damaging. And regarding the teaching of children - they are the most impressionable with the most time to make a positive impact on the world. We shouldn't forget that children are also teachers of adults, sometimes in huge and important ways.
Lisa: You're so right, children can often be very unkind to other children who are different. This was one of the reasons why the reading list of tolerance related literature for educators that was put out by educationworld.com caught my attention. Again, its like Tonya said in that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink, but I feel that the more you expose a child to racial, religious, and sexual tolerance the greater chance they have at understanding and accepting people who are different.
ReplyDeleteI think it's wonderful that you made the effort to create an environment for your third graders that made them feel as though they were all united, and helped them overlook their differences. The difference you've made will most definitely help mold them into more understanding individuals.
Margaret: Thanks so much for your encouragement. I, regretfully, was a person who struggled with intolerance, specifically towards those who were homosexual. This is because my parents brought me up to believe that it was wrong. It wasn't until a family member whom I held in very high regard told the family that he was gay, that I started to rethink the way I viewed homosexual people. I read up on the struggles of homosexual people, in the prejudice they face and their struggle for equal rights. I also spent a great deal of time with that family member. It opened my eyes to how close-minded and unfair I had been and changed the way I look at things.
It's great that you take the time to educate yourself on different cultures! The best way to understand why certain people do what they do is to know their background and some of the cultural influences on their actions. Keep educating yourself, as a solid knowledge is always your greatest weapon when arguing for tolerance.
November 23, 2009 2:04 PM
I agree that behaviors are learned such as prejudice! I also believe that if people would read and research more they would have better understanding of things withing the world around them, but some people just do not care to know anymore then they already do. I have an uncle who is very smart and as a kid I always asked him questions because it always amazed me that he knew so much about little things (like how does a fly stay on the ceiling) little did I know that when he wanted to know something he read up on it to find out why things are they are.
ReplyDeleteChristina: You raise a very valid point. Intellectual inquiry cannot always be enough to convince a person. You must also have an open mind, and that is something that some people just don't have. It's sad that there are some incredibly intelligent people in our world who could make a huge difference in uniting people if only they would take the time to be less close-minded and a more accepting.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about tolerance. eduacation is the only defence against intolerance. I see so much intolerance in our country today. something as seemingly inocent as a smoking ban in privitely owned businesses under the guise of protecting innocents from the dangers of second hand smoke. no bother that this may have contributed to the closing of some of those small busineses. No bother this tread upon the personal rights of those business owners and their customers. as long as we are protected. i wonder when they are going to start protecting us from the Big Mac by out lawing the sale and consumption based on the cost of obescity to the health and safety of society? How about mandatory elbow pads for bicyclists, or mandatory knee pads for toddler who are just begining to learn to walk. Intoloerance comes in many form and is often hidden under a veil of public safety.
ReplyDeleteOn one hand, I think that education about tolerance is a great way to combat it. Learning to accept others obviously has positive consequences. However, if a child is brought up in a racist or prejudice home and their parents have a greater influence on them than the education about tolerance they are receiving, I don't think they will be able to be tolerant until they are older and can fully understand what they were "taught" to believe. Even then, it may be difficult for some to change their way of thinking. However, if one were to expand their readings and learn more about tolerance through their novels and stories, I think it would help tremendously. Overall I think it just depends on the individual and if they're more willing to believe what their parents believe, or what their teachers and books have to say. Great question, by the way!
ReplyDelete(I'm gonna censor some of my language here for the sake of people's feelings, but just know that the inappropriate words are being used as quotes from people, not my personal opinions or views.)
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point here. And I actually think that this way of thinking could greatly help to solve some of the intolerance in our society. I grew up in Illinois, mostly in a small farm town. Being someone who does theatre, I was of course referred to as a "f*g" or a "homo." Our town was also exclusively white. So things like "n*gger or porch monkey" were commonly thrown around in my high school. I moved to Hollywood after high school to pursue acting. I believe at least half of my high school would have been beaten up or killed if they had dared to talk the way they did in Hollywood. I now live in La Grande, Oregon and while it is sometimes a little better (due to the college and the exposure to people of different races and sexual orientation) I notice a definite increase of the negative talk from Hollywood. The way they were raised may play some part of it, but I think another big part is that they just weren't around very many people who weren't straight and white. This is NOT an excuse, merely a proposition of an explanation. So since it isn't likely that there will be a surge of ethnic shifting back home in Illinois, or anything like that, how can those people become familiar with people of color or homosexuals? Books. TV. Movies. Give people a chance to witness the struggles these people go through, or hell, just the fact that they are PEOPLE TOO. I think it could go a long way in curing intolerance.
I think prejudice stems from fear and a lack of understanding. With respect to your two interviews of the two individuals who have no tolerance of homosexuality, I wonder how many gay and lesbians they know but they don't know they are? There are still a lot of homosexuals who remain in the metephorical closet. There is a well known theory that homophobia may actaully stem from fear or confusion about ones own sexual preferance. There have been a lot of very religious folks who preach against homosexuality who are themselves homosexuals.
ReplyDeletePrejudice in any form is taught, and lack of tolerance is from a lack of education and appreciation of who we are.
Personally, I've never been able to grasp the concept of prejudice; just boggles my mind.
Hi, Brianne. I enjoyed reading your ideas and the conversation they started! I understand intolerance because I've been there but also because I have an academic understanding on which to hang my experiences. Here are some of my experiences;
ReplyDelete*I grew up in Southern California where there is significant racism against Latino/as. My experience with this group was primarily as gardeners, and I was afraid of the whistles and comments the Latinos would make when I was walking home from school.
*When I first started college, I volunteered at a homeless shelter where I met a woman with a PhD who didn't have a place to live. That taught me that no matter how hard we work, we may not be protected from life's difficulties.
*I don't think I understood what being "gay" meant until I was in college. When one of my roommates worked through admitting he was gay, I went through his turmoil with him and have great empathy for the difficulties the LGBT community faces.
*My mother was one of two women to graduate from the University of Washington's School of Architecture one year in the 1950s. When she had kids, she decided to become a stay-at-home mom. I didn't hear about feminism until graduate school, and at that time, it made me mad, as I thought I had never experienced discrimination.
Now, I see myself as a recovering racist. I continue to learn ways in which I need to think and act to support equity.
I also see myself as a feminist who understands that power isn't just about male vs. female but about all the various privileges we have or lack in terms of gender, race, class, sexuality, age, ability, etc. Because we experience privilege in one category and not in another, we may feel threatened when called privileged in that one category. Because discrimination puts people in victim positions, it may be difficult for those discriminated against to admit their experiences with discrimination. Truly, privilege is much more complex than many feminists would have us believe.
I am also deeply upset by homophobia from the Christian community, as I believe the New Testament message of love is more important than Old Testament hatred. I see Christian homophobia as deeply hypocritical and also as a tool employed by the powerful in the Christian community to build a Christian "team spirit" by projecting sin onto an already victimized group. Those who believe that Christ died for their sins should also believe that all are sinful and therefore all deserving of love. I also think that those who can enter into mature and loving relationships should be respected for their love rather than ostracized because they selected the "wrong" person to love.
I guess the bottom line for me is that prejudice requires people see other people as not human. If we saw people as human, it would be more difficult to fear them and to malign, mistreat, and murder them. One way to show people as human is through books, particularly through literature where we get to experience the thoughts and actions of others. Another way is through education about structures of power and privilege and how they erase humanity. Nancy
Seth, Nancy, and Janet-
ReplyDeleteI was really moved by all three of your comments. There are so many things that I can (with a great deal of effort) ignore and move on from, but people being treated as less than human is something that really gets my blood boiling. Whenever I hear the word f*g, I show the rare side of myself that, while I know it is not very flattering, is ready to fight to the death (in a verbal sense of course).
I know that an unruly temper doesn't help me win many fights, so I'm constantly trying to arm myself with facts, because I know that nothing hurts more than being proven wrong without any chance for a rebuttal. Sometimes I wish I could more like you, Nancy. Calm, collected, and informed in your argument, rather than a spitfire ready to breathe fire at the first sign of trouble. But that is why I chose this subject, because I know I will get there one day with the help of knowledge and inquiry.
I agree that intolerance stems from misunderstanding. I always tell myself that people fear what they do not understand, and I feel that it is fear which causes us to avoid that subject. However, when faced with the subject of our fears, we put on our fighting pants to combat it until it finally goes away and we don't have to worry about being afraid anymore.
Wow, I can tell I got into this converstation a little late. Sorry about that. I have to agree with people treating others as if they were a lower society makes my blood boil. The difference is that I am a fighter and will act as such if too much provoked, I am not proud of this but it is how my heart is. I have 2 close friends that are gay (men) and both are made fun of a lot because of it. The best that I can feel is that I know they feel safe when they are with me. I have come to understand most that those that are making fun of others or calling names really think badly of themselves. Good topic, sorry it took me so long to write.
ReplyDeleteWe all practice intolerance in some way. We have our little prejudices and this is part of being human. We should all endevour to better ourselves through education but that alone does not stop the insipid growth of intolerance. Self analysis and introspective thinking is the only way to really educate yourself about prejudice and intloerance where it begins. The biggies like racisim and homophobia are easily recognised in individules or groups,and these recieve the attention, but the real danger lies in the hidden intolerance. So before we malign those who suffer from the obvious perhaps we should look at ourselves to see how we might be contributing to a world of intolerance. I did and I did not like what I saw.
ReplyDeleteHi, Brianne. I think I come across better in writing than in person on tough topics because it takes me a couple hours to decide what to say, and of course, by then it's too late. So, I admire your and Carmen's ability to fight right away. I also agree with Rob that we need to look inside ourselves. Trying to stay humble is an important part of the learning process. Enjoy the holidays, all! Nancy
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