International Day for Tolerance

Beginning in 1995, the United Nations has declared November 16th as the International Day for Tolerance. This day is to serve as an annual occasion for discussion of tolerance issues and related activities in education institutions and in the wider public. Service-learning is a teaching method that can effectively teach tolerance and diversity to k-12 students, college and university students, and other youth.

Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse has compiled a list of resources for teaching tolerance through service-learning. Consider using service-learning as a means to commemorate the International Day for Tolerance, or for teaching tolerance all throughout the year.

SLICE Resources:

S.T.A.R.T
Students Talking About Respect & Tolerance (START). High school students give presentations to elementary and junior high students on respect others and helping those that are being bullied.
http://servicelearning.org/slice/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=527

Multicultural Awareness Project
To raise awareness, promote tolerance, and to celebrate the many cultures that coexist in our community, juniors and senior English students at Humboldt Bay High School began to research their own cultures at the school library and on the Internet. Once research was completed, students returned to the classroom where they began organizing their notes in preparation for writing research papers. Additionally, students chose 5-10 facts from their research that translate well into art.
http://servicelearning.org/slice/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=150

Peace Project
High school students create a peace-themed bilingual project with elementary students to improve reading and promote cultural tolerance.
http://servicelearning.org/slice/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=108

NSLC Library Resources on Tolerance:

Effect of a Comprehensive Service Learning Program on College Students' Level of Modern Racism
The effect of a comprehensive 2 year service-learning program on students' level of modern racism was assessed. A nonequivalent control group experiment was conducted with students from a large, western state university. The results of the multivariate analysis generally supported the hypothesis that students who are involved in service-learning show larger reductions in modern racism than students involved in voluntarism or no service.
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=3167

Improving the Human Condition: Leadership for Justice-Oriented Service-Learning
In this article the authors describe and analyze collaborative leadership for a justice-oriented service-learning project. The Banneker History Project (BHP) reconstructed the history of the Benjamin Banneker School, which operated as a segregated school for African Americans from 1915 to 1951. It was a project in social justice education with community service as its base. The authors provide an insider perspective of group dynamics among core leaders for the BHP. Building relationships, working for social justice, and confronting racism are key themes for the group. The authors also offer suggestions for those who might do similar work.
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7316

Unspoken Purposes of Service-Learning: Teaching the Holocaust
A class on the history on the Holocaust at Bates college is discussed here, as well as the notion that the unspoken purpose of service-learning is to teach morals and values.
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=4712

Additional online resources for teaching tolerance:

Teaching Tolerance
http://www.tolerance.org

Service-Learning and Prejudice Reduction
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=735

Museum of Tolerance – Teachers’ Guide
http://teachers.museumoftolerance.com/

Lessons in Tolerance
http://www.ccsf.edu/Resources/Tolerance/

UNESCO – Promoting Tolerance
http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=6551&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

UN International Day for Tolerance
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/tolerance/

International Network: Education for Democracy, Human Rights, and Tolerance
www.tolerance-net.org/