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Tolerance:the threshold of peace

A teaching / learning guidefor education for peace,human rights and democracy

(Preliminary version)

Tolerance: the threshold of peaceA teaching / learning guide for education for

peace, human rights and democracy (Preliminary version)

U N E S C OED-94/WS/8

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this guide do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

This is a preliminary version of a longer, more comprehensive guidewhich will be published during the United Nations Year for Tolerance,

1995. It was compiled from available materials. UNESCO hopes to receiveadditional descriptions of programmes and sample teaching materials forinclusion in the comprehensive edition of the publication.

Cover design by Guylene, aged 10; reproduced with permission from Livret de la Paix, Paris, Action Catholique des Enfants, n.d., p. 26.

Printed in 1994 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 7 Place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07-SPTypeset and printed by UNESCO

© UNESCO 1994 Printed in France

Preface

This partial and preliminary resource documenthas been produced by UNESCO) as a contributionto the United Nations Year for Tolerance, 1995,and to the launching of the proposed UnitedNations decade for human rights education. It iscast within UNESCO's draft Integrated Frame-work of Action on Education for Peace, HumanRights and Democracy which brings togetherwithin a comprehensive lifelong approach thosethree main elements as essential to a culture ofpeace. It recognises, as does theDirector-General's appeal, that education for tole-rance within such an approach requires the activeinvolvement of entire communities.

To facilitate this involvement, all of the ma-terial in this guide is presented to be of use andinterest to various sectors of society. While itcentres mainly on the rationale for and approachesto education for tolerance in primary and second-ary school, it addresses the social climate in wwhich the schools educate and it acknowledgesthat many throughout the world, though not inschools, must also be educated for tolerance. It isintended as a study manual for all who can help toeducate for tolerance. It can be used by classroomteachers, teacher educators, community leaders,parents, and youth and social workers.

This preliminary version does not pretend tobe a complete curriculum or teaching guide butis rather intended to be a catalyst and facilitatorof the development of further materials designedfor particular social and cultural contexts.UNESCO would appreciate reports on these

efforts and copies of any curricular materials thatresult.

The lessons and projects included here wereselected from among those available at the time ofthe compilation of this version. UNESCO is stillreceiving contributions - and will continue to doso through January 1995 - for inclusion in the re-vised and expanded version to be published laterin 1995. It is hoped that many educators will beco-me involved in this effort to develop a 'pedagogyof tolerance'; thus UNESCO has called for contri-butions from all world regions. While all arerepresented here, there is still need for more varie-ty in cultural representation and subject matter.

While the narrative text reflects the suggestionsand contributions of all the UNESCO sectors, itsformulation is the responsibility of the compiler,Prof. Betty A. Reardon of Teachers College,Columbia University of New York (UnitedStates). UNESCO would like to express its grati-tude to Prof. Reardon

This version is a preliminary edition whichmay be freely copied by all who wish to use it. Inreturn, UNESCO asks that users complete andsend to the Education Sector (Section on Edu-cation for Humanistic, Cultural and InternationalEducation) the review and assessment form that isinserted at the end of this document.

Contents

Foreword 7

Introduction 9

1. Why educate for tolerance? 11An epidemic of intolerance changes communities and challenges schools 11Tolerance is integral to human rights and peace 12 Who can help to educate for tolerance? 12For study and discussion: envisioning a world of tolerance 13

2. Towards a Culture of Peace: diagnosing intolerance and describing tolerance 15 Intolerance and the cycle of violence 15 Symptoms of intolerance: general concepts for teaching about specific cases 15For study and discussion: mapping the intolerable 16Nurturing signs of hope: the conditions of tolerance 16For study and discussion: assessing our own communities and countries l 7Human rights: the limits of tolerance - restraint and responsibility 18Social manifestations of intolerance that violate human rights 18For study and discussion: using human rights to diagnose intolerance 19

3. Problems and possibilities of educating for tolerance 21Vagaries and varieties of definitions 21Sensitive and complex social climates require moral education 22For study and discussion: preparing for moral reflection 23 Community building: education actions for tolerance 23For study and discussion: considering actions to educate for tolerance 26

4. Tolerance in the school: a laboratory for the practice of tolerance 27The school: socializing agent and community centre 27Principles for the practice of tolerance in schools 27Values and intercultural education 27A framework for teaching tolerance: social goals and obstacles 29

For study and discussion: addressing the problems 29General learning goals: values, knowledge and skills 29Towards positive participation in a world of diversity: a process for teaching tolerance 30For study and discussion: starting a process of learning tolerance 30

5. Tolerance in the classroom in every subject, at every level and in every country 31Infusion: tolerance in all disciplines 31Sample lessons for every level - kindergarten through secondary 34Concluding discussion: planning our own efforts 43

I appeal to the world's Heads of State andGovernment, to Ministers and officials respon-sible for education at all levels, to the mayors ofall cities, towns and villages, to all teachers, toreligious communities, to journalists and to allparents:• to educate our children and young people

with a sense of openness and comprehensiontoward other people, their diverse culturesand histories and their fundamental sharedhumanity;

• to teach them the importance of refusing vio-lence and adopting peaceful means for resol-ving disagreements and conflicts;

• to forge in the next generations feelings ofaltruism, openness and respect toward others,solidarity and sharing based on a sense ofsecurity in one's own identity and a capacityto recognise the many dimensions of beinghuman in different cultural and socialcontexts.

As we approach 199S, a year to becommemorated as the United Nations Year forTolerance on the initiative of UNESCO'sGeneral Conference, a fitting celebration andchallenge of the United Nations' fiftieth anniver-sary, it is crucial for all of us to give new mea-ning to the word 'tolerance' and understand thatour ability to value each and every person is theethical basis for peace, security and interculturaldialogue.

A peaceful future depends on our everydayacts and gestures. Let us educate for tolerance inour schools and communities, in our homes andworkplaces and, most of all, in our hearts andminds.

Federico Mayor,Director-General of UNESCO(From his address at the dedication of theBeit-Hashoah Museum of Tolerance, LosAngeles, 8 February 1993)

Foreword

How to use this document

This document has been prepared to serve as anintroductory resource material, to provide someunderstanding of what is involved in and requiredof education for tolerance. It provides a statementof the problems of intolerance, a rationale for tea-ching toward the goal of tolerance, and conceptsand descriptions for identifying both the problemsand the goals. These concepts are presented asindividual and group behaviours and social condi-tions in order to provide educators with the meansto recognize the problems in their own contextsand to formulate goals appropriate to their owncommunities and classrooms. To aid in the pursuitof these goals, a learning process that places tole-rance within the framework of education forpeace, human rights and democracy is describedand general learning goals are stated. Examples ofvarious programmes of education for tolerancefrom all world regions are described and themeans to carry out the programmes in classroomsare exemplified in teaching units from variouscountries.

Each chapter of the guide comprises materialthat can be used for study and discussion on issuesof tolerance and peace. Organizations, groups andformal classes of secondary level and above canexplore together the issues raised and problemsidentified..

It is hoped that special emphasis will be placedon discussion of possibilities for appropriate andconstructive responses. Questions suggesting

approaches to exploration and responses are posedthroughout. These questions and the text materialin Chapters 1-4 are especially appropriate for theuse by adult and community groups and in teachereducation. These Chapters and designated lessonsin Chapter 5 can also be used at the advancedsecondary-level.

Chapter 5 contains sample teaching units,general guidelines and. suggestions on where andhow to educate for tolerance in elementary andsecondary schools.

We wish the users of this teaching/learningresource every success in their endeavours to edu-cate for tolerance as the threshold to further andwider Earnings for the achievement of peace, thefulfilment of human rights and the realisation ofdemocracy.

Introduction

Societies educate to serve socially constructivepurposes. Often those purposes relate to particulargoals or problems. As development education pre-pares citizens to participate in the processes ofsocial, cultural and economic development, andenvironmental education provides instructionabout the threats to the natural environment andencourages behaviours to overcome them, thisguide is devised in that same perspective of educa-tion for socially constructive purposes. The largersociety it is to serve is our emerging global com-munity, addressed in its diversity. The social pro-cess it seeks to facilitate is peace-building throughthe observance of human rights and the practice ofdemocracy. The-problem it seeks to confront isintolerance, a severe and major threat to humanrights, democracy and peace.

An epidemic of intolerance changes communitiesand challenges schools

World society, having emerged from the decadesof the Cold War, enjoyed for a short time the hopesthat the end of this struggle was the beginning ofan era in which the destructive consequences ofthat conflict and the deep divisions imposed byglobal economic inequities might be addressed.These hopes were sorely tested, however, by theeruption of regional conflicts and the hostilitiesamong peoples which fragmented nations anddrastically changed the political arrangement ofthe world as it had been for nearly half a century.

All over the globe, intergroup tensions, religioushostilities and ethnic conflicts erupted. Manyl o n g-standing conflicts previously overlookedcame to world attention.

Deep hatreds, some of which had previouslyhealed over in reconciliations that permitted dis-tinct ethnic groups to live together in peace andco-operation, surfaced in behaviours and werevoiced in the media and conferences; communitiesexploded into warfare. The process of settling thedisputes, reconciling the hostilities and recon-structing the societies will be one of the most dif-ficult human society has ever undertaken. It maybe the greatest challenge ever faced by those whoseek to educate for peace. Educators cannot shrinkfrom facing the realities of history, nor can theyavoid the responsibility of taking up the challengeposed by the reconciliation process to those whoplan and carry out the social learning process.

These conflicts, along with problems of pover-ty that have accelerated migration rates, haveswelled the numbers of refugees seeking asylumand migrants seeking work in countries and com-munities that had once been primarily mono-cultural. Multi-culturalism emerged, often unan-ticipated, as a social condition that affected manycommunities and had a major impact on theirschools. Classrooms have become microcosms ofthe cultural diversity of global society and cross-cultural understanding has become a primaryrequirement of a healthy learning climate inschools around the world. For many schools, these

1. Why educate for tolerance?

new circumstances posed difficult challenges.Some have made of the challenges an opportunityto educate for a harmonious multi-culturalism thatis envisioned as the positive pluralism of a cultureof peace.

Cross-cultural understanding must be learned.Reconciliation must be learned. And each, in itsturn, requires that tolerance be learned and practi-sed. Such is the appeal of UNESCO's Direc-tor-General.

Tolerance is integral to human rights and peace

As UNESCO's Director-General indicates, toler-ance is integral and essential to the realisation ofhuman rights and the achievement of peace. In itsmost simple and fundamental form, tolerance isaccording others the rights to have their personsand identities respected. The modern political andsocial values out of which the present internation-al standards of human rights have evolved werefirst articulated in a call for tolerance as funda-mental to the maintenance of social order. TheWestern political philosophers articulated thenecessity of tolerance to a society that could nolonger tolerate the intolerance and strife of thereligious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenthcenturies. The recognition of tolerance as a funda-mental component of peace among nations was asignificant part of the historical climate that leadto the emergence of the first modern rights decla-rations that culminated three centuries later in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights. In theUniversal Declaration, the United Nations deli-neated the characteristics of the peaceful worldorder they envisioned in the form of rights, thefundamental claims all human persons should beable to make upon society.

It has become apparent that much of thei n t e rgroup strife enflamed by intolerancederives from peoples' insistence on their rightsto determine their own political, social and eco-nomic affairs. As the Universal Declarationpoints out, violence can be the consequence ofthe repression of democratic aspirations, just asit can be the result of intolerance. A major func-tion of democracy is to facilitate political chan-ge and mediate political dif f e r e n c e s

without violence. Thus, the element of democracybecomes essentially interlocked with peace, hu-man rights and tolerance.

The achievement of these four values in theworld society would constitute the basis of a cul-ture of peace'. Any culture is fundamentally theresult of learning. Education is that learning whichis planned and guided by cultural values. A cultu-re of peace thus requires an education planned andguided by the values of peace, human rights,democracy and, at its very core, tolerance. Giventhe present epidemic of intolerance, education fora culture of peace, especially during the UnitedNations Year for Tolerance, should focus on thatessential value.

Who can help to educate for tolerance?

Every element of the community can contribute toeducating for tolerance and every element can par-ticipate in observing the United Nations Year forTolerance.

Town councils could set up a week of events tocelebrate the diverse groups in the community andwhat they have brought to communal life. Thisobservation might take place 16 November, theday when UNESCO's Constitution was adopted,to observe the United Nations Year for Toleranceand launch the proposed United Nations decadefor human rights education, and at the same timeto celebrate UNESCO's fiftieth anniversary.Various citizens' organisations and cultural groupscould take responsibility for particular aspects ofthe observation.

Churches, temples, mosques, synagogues andreligious organisations could organize pro-grammes on religious tolerance, hold interreli-gious dialogues and set up guidelines for teachinginterreligious respect in the community schools.

School authorities could introduce this guide toparents and teachers' organisations, asking forsuggestions about how the guidelines and direc-tions could be adapted to the local situation.

Parents and members of local organizationswho have special experiences or knowledge ofintolerant - what it is like and how to respond to it- or who work for human rights could volunteer

12 Tolerance: the threshold of peace

to share these experiences in school assembliesand classrooms.

Community and social workers could developaction programmes to assess and confront prob-lems of intolerance that affect their localities andclients.

Churches and schools could provide the venuesfor programmes to review and look for solutionsto local issues and problems of intolerance in thecommunity. Assistance to and solidarity with vic-tims of intolerance on the part of parents and com-munity are likely to be the most powerful instruc-tion in education for tolerance that the youngcould receive.

Teacher educators, both pre-service and in-service, particularly those offering courses in thephilosophical or social foundations of education,could use this guide as a supplementary text intheir classes to introduce students and practisingteachers to the concept of tolerance as an essentialsocial value and an important learning goal forsocial education.

Classroom teachers and non-formal educatorscould use this guide as a handbook for teachingmethods, goals and guidelines. They could alsodevelop their own methods and materials to beshared with other educators in the revised andextended guide.

For study and discussion: envisioning a world of tolerance

Classroom teachers, school faculty groups, minis-ters, study groups or organisational co-ordinatorsseeking to initiate a learning programme on toler-ance are welcome to reproduce any part of thisguide to use as the basis for study and discussion.The following questions and those in other chap-ters are to help guide discussion in such study andare appropriate for adults and upper secondaryschool students:What kind of society might we have if we were to

achieve a culture of peace? How might such aculture manifest itself in our family lives, communities, national politics and internationalrelations?

What relationship do you perceive between toler-ance and peace? Could human rights be real-ized without a social commitment to tolerance?

Is there, in your opinion, a significant relation-ship between human rights and democracy?

What are your own personal and communal con-cerns about the issue of tolerance? How dothese concerns relate to tolerance on a globalscale? Can you make connections betweenyour own concerns and the achievement ofworld peace?

Why educate for tolerance? 13

Tolerance is not an end but a means; it is the mini-mal essential quality of social relations thateschew violence and coercion. Without tolerance,peace is not possible. With tolerance, a panoply ofpositive human and social possibilities can be pur-sued, including the evolution of a culture of peace.

Intolerance and the cycle of violence

Intolerance derives from the belief that one's owngroup, belief system or way of life is superior tothose of others. It can produce a range of conse-quences from simple lack of civility or ignoringothers, through elaborate social systems such asApartheid, or the intentional destruction of apeople in the perpetration of genocide. All suchactions originate in the denial of the fundamentalworth of the human person. Thus the overridinggoal of education for tolerance is an appreciationand respect for the human dignity and integrity ofall persons. This is the core value of all humanrights theory and international human rights stan-dards; it is the main motivation behind efforts toachieve peace and the inspiration for democraticforms of government; it is the antithesis of intoler-ance.

Intolerance is a symptom that carries the poten-tial of a life-threatening social illness, violence.Violence is a pathology that requires the mobilisa-tion of all possible efforts to protect the health andw e l l-being of society. While 'preventive

medicine' in the form of comprehensive lifelongeducation for peace, human rights and democracyis the most effective remedy, efforts also need tobe made to respond effectively to the earliestsymptoms. Policy-makers, educators, indeed allcitizens, need to be able to recognize the symp-toms or indicators of intolerance and take appro-priate action.

Symptoms of intolerance: general concepts for teaching about specific cases

Whatever the agent, be it a community organiza-tion, a school system or an individual teacher whoundertakes to educate for tolerance, that agent willneed to assess and. take into consideration thedegree and type of intolerance that may be presentin the environment in question. Indicators or'symptoms' of intolerance can serve as tools forassessment and as a basis for teaching about into-lerance. The symptoms defined below are listedsomewhat in order of severity, but they do notrepresent a progression. One or more, or even all,may exist at the same time. Each, as it becomesapparent, serves as a warning that other symptomsmay be present or are likely to follow.

If these symptoms exist in a community, theyprobably exist in the schools. Teachers should beon the alert for them in their classrooms. Whenchildren exhibit these symptoms in attitudes andbehaviours in the classroom or schoolyard, teach-ers should take note, but be prudent in their

2. Towards a Culture of Peace: diagnosing intolerance and describing tolerance

initial reactions. Children, especially youngerones, may be replicating attitudes from theirhomes and/or the community at large. Seldomare they the originators of prejudices anddehumanizing attitudes and behaviours. Whenthe behaviour is a blatant violation of rights, itmay be dealt with directly, but even then it isimportant to refrain from preaching and morali-sing, trying instead to explain and call for reflec-tion on the consequences of the symptom.

In teaching how to recognise intolerance, it isuseful to start with general descriptions andcases other than the actual ones that occur in thecommunity where the teaching takes place.Then, through discussion and exploration, theteacher can lead into the elements of intolerancethat directly relate to the students' own lives.The best of such teaching facilitates the studentsthemselves discovering and 'naming' these ins-tances of intolerance. Students should always behelped to understand the general concepts defi-ned in the following indicators as well as thespecific examples and be provided with infor-mation on other examples of the same concept.It is important that students comprehend intole-rance as a problem of many societies, a globalproblem, and that they realize that by addressingpresent symptoms in their schools and commu-nities, they can contribute to reducing the seve-rity of a worldwide problem, thereby gainingknowledge of use to themselves and their socie-ties over many years.

Some symptoms of intolerance andtheir behavioural indicators

L a n g u a g e: Denigrations and pejorative orexclusive language that devalues, demeansand dehumanises cultural, racial, national orsexual groups. Denial of language rights.

S t e reotyping: Describing all members of agroup as characterized by the same attributes- usually negative.

Teasing: Calling attention to particular humanbehaviours, attributes and characteristics soas to ridicule or insult.

Prejudice: Judgement on the basis of negativegeneralisations and stereotypes rather than on

the actual facts of a case or specific beha-viours of an individual or group.

S c a p e g o a t i n g: Blaming traumatic events orsocial problems on a particular group.

Discrimination: Exclusion from social benefitsand activities on primarily prejudicialgrounds.

Ostracism: Behaving as if the other were notpresent or did not exist. Refusal to speak toor acknowledge the other, or their culture(includes ethnocide).

Harassment: Deliberate behaviours to intimida-te and degrade others, often intended as ameans of forcing them out of the community,organization or group.

Desecration and effacement: Forms of deface-ment of religious or cultural symbols orstructures intended to devalue and ridiculethe beliefs and identities of those to whomthese structures and symbols are meaningful.

Bullying: Use of superior physical capacity orgreater numbers to humiliate others or depri-ve them of property or status.

Expulsion: Officially or forcefully expelling ordenying right of entrance or presence in aplace, social group, profession or any placewhere group activity occurs, including thoseupon which survival depends, such as placesof employment or shelter, etc.

Exclusion : Denying possibilities to meet funda-mental needs and/or participate fully in thesociety, as in particular communal activities.

Segregation: Enforced separation of people ofdifferent races, religions or genders, usuallyto the disadvantage of one group (includesApartheid).

Repression: Forceful prevention of enjoymentof human rights.

D e s t ru c t i o n: Confinement, physical abuse,removal from area of livelihood, armedattacks and killings (includes genocide).

As any educator can readily recognise, some ofthese symptoms occur in all groups and arenaswhere intolerance can erupt. Forms of thesebehaviours occur in schools from the earliestgrades through the final years even in universi-ties, as well as businesses, other institutions and


society at large. In introducing these concepts ina learning process, educators might begin withnewspaper stories they have selected or that thelearners or group members select. Try to descri-be various specific incidents so it is clear whatactually constitutes the behaviours that indicateintolerance. As indicated, the learning mightstart with more remote cases and ultimatelycome to 'storytelling' and reporting of the lear-ners' own experiences and the instances of into-lerance found in their own groups, classes andcommunities. Once the intolerance is recogni-sed, responses should be addressed. It is best,however, to have some indicators of tolerance sothat the responses can be directed not only at eli-minating intolerance, but most especially atencouraging the development of tolerance. Suchindicators are provided in the following section.

For study and d discussion: mapping the into -lerable

Begin your study by reviewing the world situa-tion of intolerance. If your class or studygroup meets regularly in the same place, posta large world map and indicate on it (usecolours or markers to show the same kinds ofintolerance in various parts of the world) thefollowing data:• Actual wars and armed conflicts between

ethnic and/or language groups.• Such conflicts between religious groups

who may be of the same ethnicity or'race'.

• Racial conflicts and/or repressions andsegregation.

• Conflicts between a minority or minori-ties and the majority, be it a politicalparty, ethnic group or religion.

• Incidents or conditions of violenceagainst women or gender oppression.

• Incidents of the systematic exploitationand/or abuse of children.

Make a bulletin board of photographs and maga-zine and newspaper accounts of cases andincidents of intolerance.

Select one intergroup conflict or outstandingexample of intolerance for each of these areas(1) Africa, (2) Asia, (3) the Pacific, (4) South and

Central America and the Caribbean, and (5)North America and Europe; gather as muchinformation on the cases you have selected aspossible. Share the task of reading and report-ing on the information among the class orgroup members.

Provide all members with copies of theUniversal

Declaration of Human Rights.Discuss the following themes in relation to each

case.• Who are the groups involved?• What is the evidence of intolerance? Here

reflect on both the general symptoms orindicators of intolerance and the specificevents and conditions showing that thesymptom exists. Include dates, numbers ofpersons involved, specific harm done andhuman rights that have been violated.

• What are the issues? How would each ofthe groups involved describe what is atstake, and what their purposes and goalsare? Would you or the parties argue thatharm other than or in addition to humanrights violations has occurred? Describethe harm.

• What are the causes of the events and inci-dents; are they recent or long-standing?What might each party identify as'intolerable' in the other?

• What hopes do you see for resolution ofthe conflict? Development of toleranceamong and between the conflicting par-ties? What needs to be achieved for a trueresolution and reconciliation of the partiesto the intolerance? Who can achieve it?

Make a list of conditions and problems in theworld other than intergroup intolerance thatyou consider intolerable. Can these condi-tions be seen as violations of human rights?Do you think human rights standards shouldbe extended beyond the claims they nowuphold to create a truly tolerant worlds o c i e t y ?

Nurturing signs of hope:the conditions of tolerance

Since conditions of tolerance do not readily seizeour attention, we need to have some notions of

Towards a Culture of Peace: diagnosing intolerance and describing tolerance 17

how to recognise and encourage the practice oftolerance. Here, too, there are some indicatorsthat can be used as both tools of assessment andthe basis of designating goals for learning toler-ance. If the indicated conditions of tolerance arenot present in your class, school or community,educators and community leaders could initiatesteps to integrate education towards theirachievement into public policy guidelines andeducational programmes.

Some hopeful signs of toleranceand their social indicators

Language: Absence of racial, ethnic, and gen-der epithets. Media and texts use gender-neu-tral language and refrain from prejudicialadjectives and verbs in descriptions of eventsand persons. Minority languages areemployed in education and media.

Public order: Characterized by equality amongpersons, i.e., equal access to social benefits,public activities, and educational and econo-mic opportunities for all groups, men andwomen, racial, ethnic, religious, young andold, social classes, etc.

Social relations: Based on mutual respect forthe human dignity of all in society.

Political processes: Essentially democraticwith equal opportunity for participation ofminorities, men and women.

Majority-minority relations and indigenouspeople: The society or the particular group(school, business, etc.) intentionally providesspace for exchanges among and betweenmajority and minority groups; assures thatthe cultural integrity and languages of mino-rities are preserved and their use encouraged;human dignity and all rights of personsbelonging to minorities and indigenouspeople are respected.

Communal events, historical observ a t i o n s ,etc.: Such public events involve all who areconcerned in both planning and participa-tion. Sensitivity to the historic consequencesto all concerned is demonstrated in observinghistorical events, national holidays, etc.Cultural events and manifestations: All cul-tures of the society have opportunities to

celebrate their traditions and are representedin all national and community culturalevents.

Religious practices: All are free to observe thepractices of their religious faiths so long asthe rights and integrity of others are respec-ted. No one is required to participate invo-luntarily in religious observances.

Intergroup co-operation: Common concerns ofthe entire community are addressed by allgroups. Solutions to public problems andcontroversies are co-operatively sought byall groups as are the common social goals.Thus, inter-ethnic and inter-religious dia-logues on common problems and group rela-tions are part of the community discourse.

For study and discussion: assessingour own communities and countries

Most communities today are likely to manifestboth symptoms of the problems and signs ofhope. Discuss in your class or citizens' group thefollowing topics and questions to see whereyour community and nation stand with regard totolerance. Give examples of signs of tolerance you have

observed in your school, organisation and/orcommunity? What benefits result from thesesigns? What could be done to increase thenumber and strengthen all of these signs oftolerance? Can you and your class, organisa-tion or community undertake any of theseactions?

What specific symptoms of intolerance haveyou yourself observed or experienced?Describe the events and circumstances? Whatwere the responses of the general public,those who suffered the acts of intolerance andthose who committed them? Do you thinkthese responses were 'healing' of the illness ofintolerance or did they deepen its negativeeffects? What alternative responses can youthink of-? How could the indicators of tole-rance be used to guide these responses? Whatresults might be expected from these alterna-tives?

Does your school, organisation, community ornation have standards and guidelines to


strengthen tolerance? If so, do any of themtry to encourage the behaviours and practiceslisted among the signs of tolerance here? Arethere other more effective guidelines orbehaviours? Are they applied and assessed?What other steps could be taken to reduceintolerance and build tolerance in yourschools and communities?

Human rights: the limits of tolerance restraint and responsibility

Tolerance is perceived as an abstraction. It isusually described as an attitude or a socialcondition. Neither definition, however, can beapplied in the absence of the other. Tolerance, asa social condition, depends upon tolerance as anattitude widely held within the society. If tole-rance is a condition sought or valued by a socie-ty, the attitude will be equally valued and regar-ded as a socially desirable attribute. Thus, aswith all socially desirable attributes, the societywill educate its people to value and exercise theattitude.

Even with the help of social indicators, toler-ance is abstract, and hard to measure and obser-ve. Intolerance is simple to see, especially whenit results in the violation of human rights. Wecan easily assess the consequence of intolerancein embittered human relations, severely destruc-tive social discrimination of all forms and itseruption into violent, frequently lethal conflict.But such is not the case with tolerance, for tole-rance in its fundamental forms requires not onlythe observable conditions described in the pre-vious section and explicit action to assure them;it also requires refraining from and restrainingthe humanly destructive consequence of intole-rance manifest in both personal behaviours andpublic policies. Tolerance is the very core ofsocial responsibility in a pluralist society. It isthe concepts and standards of human rights thatspecify the forms and goals of social responsibi-lity which designate what conditions are intole-rable and what behaviours are to be restrained.

Tolerance can be viewed in both negative andpositive terms. One aspect of tolerance is its being

the antidote to intolerance. Negative, aggressiveor exclusionary responses must be restrainedwithin persons and societies. Indeed, the valueof tolerance holds persons and societies respon-sible for such restraint. Human rights standardsand laws articulate some of these specificrestraints in indicating what governments cannotdo to citizens and what citizens must refrainfrom doing to other citizens. Such restraint is theminimal level of respect for others below whichpersons and societies fall into intolerance andthe violation of human rights.

Positive tolerance calls for responsible actionto create the conditions of tolerance that areintegral to the realization of human rights andpeace. In education, it calls for the cultivation ofattitudes of openness, positive interest in diffe-rences and respect for diversity, sowing theseeds of the capacities for recognising injustice,taking steps to overcome it, resolving diffe-rences constructively and moving from situa-tions of conflict into reconciliation and socialreconstruction.

Social manifestations of intolerance that violate human rights

The manner in which intolerance can be asses-sed as violations of human rights can be seen insome of the major forms of intolerance that havebeen addressed by human rights movements, byinternational standards and by education fortolerance.

Some severe sorts of intolerance

Sexism: Policies and behaviours that excludewomen from full participation in society andfrom enjoyment of all human rights; rational-ized by the assumption that men are human-ly superior to women.

Racism: Denial of human rights on the basis ofrace, rationalized by the assertion that someracial groups are superior to others.

Ethnocentrism: Exclusion on the basis of cultu-re or language; rationalised by the notion ofdifferent levels of value and 'advancement' -among cultures.

Towards a Culture of Peace: diagnosing intolerance and describing tolerance 19

A n t i-s e m i t i s m: Attitudes and behaviours ofprejudice, discrimination and persecutionsperpetrated against Jews.

Nationalism: Belief that one nation is superiorand has rights over others.

Fascism: Belief that the state should not toleratedissent or diversity and has the authority tocontrol the lives of citizens.

Xenophobia: Fear and dislike of foreigners andthose of other cultures; belief that 'outsiders'will harm the society.

Imperialism: Subjugation of one people orpeoples by another, for control of the subju-gated people's wealth and resources.

Exploitation: Use of people's time and labourwithout fair recompense; imprudent andwasteful use of resources and the naturalenvironment.

Religious repression: Enforcement of a particu-lar faith or its values and practices and thefavouring of members of that faith overothers, rationalized by the notion that thefaith in question is the only authentic inter-pretation of religious or spiritual truth.

For study and discussion:using human rights to diagnose intolerance

The entire group or class should read and studythe Universal Declaration of Human Rights,then discuss together the following topics andquestions:What conflicts among ethnic and religious

groups could be avoided or resolved throughobserving human rights? Which rights in par-ticular?

Which of the rights in the Declaration call forrestraint of certain behaviours and condi-tions, and which for active responsibility?

Review the social conditions of intolerance thatviolate human rights and suggest responsesthat call for restraint and responsibility. Whatmust be stopped? What must be done?

Add to your map of the intolerable indicators ofwhere in the world there is evidence of thesocial manifestations and beliefs that supportintolerance. Describe the evidence and itshuman consequences.

What movements exist to overcome thesemanifestations of intolerance? Are suchmovements uniformly tolerated in all caseswhere the intolerance prevails? What areappropriate ways to respond to these mani-festations?


Tolerance is a complex and controversial sub-ject. Educators committed to its realization willhave to confront many problems, including notonly the conditions of intolerance previouslydescribed, but also the varying and contrastingconcepts and perceptions of tolerance that canobscure its meaning and the social conditionswhich make tolerance appear to be an almostimpossible goal.

However, many citizens and educators, aswe shall see, have a positive vision ofthe possi-bilities for a tolerant society and are takingactions to achieve them.

Vagaries and varieties of definitions

Tolerance is hard to describe, perhaps because itis defined somewhat differently from languageto language, even in the offficial languages ofthe United Nations, as can be seen from the listreproduced here.

To l e rencia: Capacidad de aceptar ideas uopiniones distintas de la propias(Diccionario planeta de la lengua espanolausual).

Tolerance: Attitude qui consiste à admettre chezautrui une manière de penser ou d'agir differ-ente de celle qu'on adopte soi-même (PetitRobert dictionary).

Tolerance: Willingness to tolerate, for bearance.Tolerate: Endure, permit (practice, action, behavi-

our), allow (person, religious sect, opinion) toexist without interference or molestation

[ . . . ] allowing of difference in religiousopinions without discrimination ( C o n c i s eOxford English Dictionary).

[Kuan rong]: Allow, admit, to be generoustowards others.

[Tasamul']: pardon, indulgence, lenience, clem-ency, mercy, mercifulness, forebearance [ . ..]accepting others and forgiving.

[tolerantnost, terpimost]: ability to tolerate (toendure, bear, stand; put up with) somethingor somebody, that is, to admit, accept thebeing, existence of something/somebody, toreconcile oneself to something/somebody, tobe condescending, lenient to something/somebody.

Each of these definitions reveals differences inemphasis, culture and historic experience. Theyare evidence of the very diversity that pluralismvalues. Each also encompasses the fundamentalessence of tolerance, to respect the rights ofothers, 'the different', to be who they are, torefrain from harm because harm of the othermeans harm to all and to the self. In tolerancethere is the intuition of the unity and interdepen-dence of humanity, a unity and interdependencethe ecological age has taught us to see as encom-passing all humankind and the planetary system.

So, despite these nuances of meaning, there isenough commonality among the languages quo-ted for the concept of tolerance to provide acommon base for practice. Specifically, there isa common recognition that tolerance is a neces-sity both of civil society and for the very survi-val of humanity.

3. Problems and possibilities of educating for tolerance

While the concept of tolerance is controversial,the practice of tolerance is not. In the Preambleto the Charter of the United Nations, the statedgoal is indeed "to practise tolerance" for themaintenance of peace, justice, respect for humanrights and the promotion of social progress.Tolerance can exist in its most active for only ina setting in which human dignity and civil liber-ties are respected.' (Proclamation of the UnitedNations Year for Tolerance and Declaration onTolerance, Paris, UNESCO, 1993. (doc.27C/25))

Sensitive and complex social climates require moral education

Most current programmes of education for toler-ance have been inspired by problems of rapidlychanging societies. Communities are faced withproblems of relations among groups who havehad little or no previous contact. These relationsare initiated in a context of cultural ignorance(each knowing little or nothing of the other),economic stress with community resourcesstretched beyond their limits and increasing pro-blems of unemployment, lack of housing andother amenities. In too many cases, these situa-tions have been exacerbated by racial, religiousand ethnic prejudices, by past hostilities bet-ween some groups and by a reawakening of anexclusionary sentiment of chauvinism. Residualand renewed religious intolerance has intensi-fied and religious discrimination, segregationand conflict undermine national unity and posesevere problems of human relations especiallychallenging to schools.

Media violence is a very significant element ofthe social climate. Among young children whohave little or no knowledge of how to deal con-structively with conflicts and differences, thenegative impact of the images of violence por-trayed in the 'entertainment' media has been notedwith deep concern. Children are often frightenedby these images and even more often use them asmodels of behaviour in conflictual situations. Ofspecial concern is the violence evident in the car-toons designed for and directed at young chil-dren. Educators seeking to develop tolerance andrespect for others have to begin with

the youngest children, offering lessons to helpthem become more morally aware and critical ofthese images and the behaviours they portray.One such French effort to do so is described inL'education à la paix (Maryse Michaud, ed.,Paris, Centre national de documentation péda-gogique, 1994).

Violence has also been a consequence of therise of ideologies of hatred that seduce theyoung into political movements against immi-grants and the culturally different. Those whoseekto educate for tolerance will need sensitivi-ty to the cultural, economic, and ideologicalcomplexities of the community and a much clo-ser acquaintance with the fears, perceptions andattitudes of the young. Many youths see a futurenot only of joblessness but of purposelessness, alife with little reward and no meaning. Thesituation faced by young people is among theelements of the intolerable that threaten all thevalue goals advocated here. Education for tole-rance needs to address the issue of assuring theyoung that their teachers, if not their societies asa whole, are committed to achieving a tolerablefuture for coming generations.

The primary arena for persuading the youngof possibilities for a more positive future is thatof moral education, an education in which theyare helped to see that many of the problems ofintolerance and deprivation they face can beresolved through the application of ethical stan-dards to social relations and public policy. Thesituations we confront in the world today are theresult of choices, many of them made on thebasis of power and pragmatism abstracted frommorality. The degree of human suffering tolera-ted in the world is evidence of our failure toinsist on the fulfilment of the moral standardsnations have agreed to in the covenants and trea-ties intended to bring a tolerable level of civilityto world society. Historic and present experien-ce tells us that change towards humane condi-tions can occur when these standards are invo-ked and pursued in appropriate ways.

No matter what the subject, however, the ethi-cal dimension should always be included; eff e c t son the fundamental value concepts of peace,human rights and democracy, and the core


value of human dignity should be assessed in themaking of every choice. Ethical choice makingcan best be learned through the practice of choi-ce making. All learners, most especially childrenand adolescents, should receive an educationthat provides them with opportunities formaking moral choices about personal and socialissues.

We know that the internalisation of moralstandards is strengthened by action and applica-tion of the standards to actual situations. Educa-tion for tolerance should include occasions onwhich the young can take action toward the rea-lisation of the values they claim to uphold.These occasions should be authentic, in the con-text of a problem that is of direct concern tothem (that concern can often be a global issuewhen the students see its relevance to their ownlives and values) and they should have theopportunity to reflect on the consequences ofthese actions.

Confronting the consequences of their ownnegative values, the intolerance they condone orpractise can also be effective. One case of sucha lesson was organising a visit to Auschwitz forsome young 'skin-heads'. Learning for moralresponsibility is most productive in a cycle ofinformation gathering, moral and practicalreflection, decision making, action and evaluati-ve reflection. The cycle should be ongoing andcontinuous in whatever ways are possible andappropriate at all levels and in all spheres ofeducation. Indeed, this cycle of study, moralreflection, social action, and further reflectionand study is the core of the lifelong learning pro-cess necessary to achieve and maintain toleran-ce and democracy.

For study and discussion: preparing for moral reflection

While all groups and classes can consider thefollowing questions, the first two most concernschools, and the third the community and tea-cher education.Does your school or community face problems

of chauvinism and alienation among theyouth? What efforts are being made to helpthe young gain capacities for facing their pro-blems?

What situations and problems would be most

appropriate to learning experiences for moralchoice making in your group or class? Whatstandards and criteria would you establish forthe morality and efficacy of your choices andactions?

Are the teachers or your schools given pre- andinservice education in discussion techniquesand moral education? How can the communi-ty and the other school personnel help tea-chers in developing these capacities?

Community building: education actions for tolerance

Everywhere in the world, even in societieswhere conflict has broken out into violence,there are those who want to make peace anddevelop tolerance. What follows are brief des-criptions of only a few of the efforts of suchpeople - those on hand when this draft was com-piled - offered as examples of actions othersmight also take.

Interreligious understanding

A number of groups throughout the world haveaddressed the need for education in the variousreligions of any nation to increase understandingand overcome the intolerance born of ignorance.Among a number of such efforts is an extensiveprogramme to teach about Islam in the UnitedKingdom, undertaken by the non-governmentalorganisation, Amana.

Common schooling and encounters of groups in conflict

In deeply divided societies, the desire for chan-ge nearly always comes from the 'grass roots'.Such is the case with much of 'Education forMutual Understanding' in Northern Ireland andsimilar efforts in Israel, South Africa and othercountries. Firstly, we will consider the school whose wholephilosophy and structure is directed to the cre-ation of tolerance. In different parts of the world,these schools are variously known as 'co-educa

Problems and possibilities of educating for tolerance 23

tional', 'inter-denominational', 'mixed race','integrated', and 'comprehensive'. In some cases,they follow particular educational philosophiesbased on peace and tolerance, such as Waldorfor Steiner Schools. Whatever the name, theirgoals are the same - to teach children from dif-ferent communities together on a basis of equa-lity by having the governors, teaching staff, stu-dent body and curriculum reflect each commu-nity with equal weight.

Sometimes it has not been possible to createschools in this way. Then, 'contact schemes' pro-vide an important opportunity for children todiscover and explore new relationships underthe guidance of experienced counsellors whounderstand the aspirations and fears of all thoseinvolved in the processes of reconciliationthrough education for tolerance. Shared holi-days, summer camps and specialized retreats arebut some of the venues at which positive socialchange can be carefully nurtured.

The element common to these approaches toeducation for tolerance is the need for formaleducation and associated teaching materials,such as those described in Chapter 5. These canbe used in conjunction with a mixed school or inpreparation for a contact event.

In the real world, with all its complexities, acombination of these approaches will manifestitself with various degrees of success and failu-re. In too many cases, these minority efforts arestill frustrated by extreme sectarianism and thesocial climates previously described. However,as reported below, communities do try.

An experience of reconciliation

The Novalis Institute which trains South Africanteachers in the methods of the Waldorf schoolsoffers this experience of preparing teachers tocontribute to the healing and reconstruction ofthe racist past of their country. Its report states:

'The apartheid system in South Africa hasbeen most successful in keeping the realities ofdifferent communities in the country apart. TheNovalis Institute has been most successful inbringing these realities together and facilitatingthe development of a new reality and conscious

ness [ . . . ] The shift in consciousness andperceptions of individuals and groups who wereprivileged to participate in the process facilita-ted by the Novalis Institute has in my opinionbeen the most important and valuable outcomethat could possibly have been achieved.'It has prepared the way and laid the foundationsfor a new and integrated [community].'

Civic education for a multicultural democracy

In Israel, a Department for Democracy andCoexistence has been established. It publicisesguidelines and assists in the development ofeducational programmes and projects throu-ghout the country, emphasizing in-service trai-ning for teachers. The programmes for childrenrely heavily on the arts and on practice of theskills of participation in a democratic society,especially discussion and debate of controver-sial issues. Towards this latter end, it encouragesinstituting democratic practices in schools and,very important to the development of tolerance,'stresses the importance of verbal civility [ . . . ].It acknowledges the need for the nurturing of thecultural identity of both Arab-Israeli studentsand Jewish Israelien students toward promotinga multi-cultural society.' (information booklet ofthe Department).

Action for our common future:multicultural education

The Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Namibiahas produced a mixed media package in sixindigenous languages. The package definestolerance as 'collective action and concern forour common future'. A second Namibian pro-ject comes from the Ministry of Education.The Cross Curricular Culture Project seeks toenrich the curriculum with the Namibian cul-ture, 'rich in diversity'. Ten pilot schools allover the country are working together withtheir surrounding communities to strengthencultural aspects, especially in vocational trai-ning and the arts. Many creative projects havebeen devised out of ideas proposed by stu-


dents. Among the learning objectives for tole-rance that are projected for teachers and studentsare: to see values in nature and care for it; tovalue the work that the elderly do and havedone, i.e., their own history; and to learn toknow and respect their surrounding communityand various styles of life other than Westernconsumerism.

Sharing space and purpose

A UNESCO Associated School in Slovenia hasdevised a model programme for Slovene andBosnia and Herzegovina children of the elemen-tary levels. The model comprises the basic ele-ments necessary to such endeavours - the sup-port of the community, the involvement of theparents, the preparation of the teachers and thedevelopment of materials. This model could beadapted by many communities, be they in condi-tions of violence, impending or post-conflictsituations, or if they are hosts to refugees of dif-ferent cultures.'The Programme will foster learning among all

participants, the community, parents, tea-chers and students intended to:

'Provide knowledge of human rights as outlinedin the international standards promulgated bythe United Nations.

'Strengthen or change opinions on and persua-sions about values of peace, tolerance inmutual relations, and rights of every humanbeing. 'Strengthen or change their attitudesand actual behaviours toward others so thatthere will be more tolerant co-operation andinclination toward mutual help.'

A survey on violence

In Colombia, a country that has known violen-ce of many kinds over the centuries and inrecent years suffered a virtual war between thegovernment and the drug traffickers, violencehas become the focus of a programme for theconstruction of a Culture of Peace. Carried outthrough the Associated Schools with the sup-port and co-operation of the Ministry ofEducation, this programme researched theconcepts of violence and peace held

by thousands of young people throughout thecountry; it reflected how these young people seetheir society and in what terms they envisionone that is more peaceful and tolerant. Such aproject would be a useful initial step for manycommunities intending to initiate programmesof education for tolerance.

Extra-curricular activities

Among the European countries where educatorsare responding to the challenges ofmulti-culturalism, France has been especiallyactive in the curricular area, encouragingencounters among adolescents of different cul-tures, providing opportunities for open discus-sions to help the youth understand differencesand see them in a complementary relationship.Some schools have established human rightsclubs.

Norway's programme, The ResonantCommunity, brings children of many ethnicgroups together in musical performances toovercome prejudice and racism. The Council ofEurope encourages similar activities; and inGermany, a major effort on Foreigners in OurTown has involved all ages in efforts to combatprejudice.

Celebrating the potential of youth

The celebration of human identity is found invirtually all cultures. Celebration, indeed, is amode for sharing those aspects of cultural iden-tity which mark human communities. Culturalfestivals of all sorts are a very eff e c t i v eApproach to intercultural understanding withinand across international borders. Excellentresults were achieved by the InternationalFestival of the Youth of Chad, a co-operativeeffort of the Ministry of Education and theNational Commission for UNESCO.

This festival, held in November 1993,brought together youth for the various ethnicand tribal groups to launch a cultural-revaloriza-tion campaign through which the youth of allthese groups were able to share cultural tradi-tions as contributions to their shared collectivecommunity.

Problems and possibilities of educating for tolerance 25

The core values articulated by the variousdelegations made evident the possibility of amutually enhancing relationship among cul-tures: active solidarity as the mode of acceptingothers, dialogue as a means to breakdown thebarriers of hatred that separate one people fromanother and respect of the other as a basis ofmutual understanding and peace.

This festival acknowledged the importanceof youth as the major population group of Africaand the world, and as a source of human poten-tial for leadership and responsibility.

Human rights and multicultural education

In 1991, the Sainte-Marie de Hann School inSenegal, a UNESCO Associated School, wasawarded the UNESCO Prize for PeaceEducation. The school comprises 4,000 pupilsof both genders of forty-eight different nationa-lities, from kindergarten to secondary level.Among its activities are building within theschool a House of Cultures with traveling exhi-bitions, meetings with artists to promote the dis-covery of diverse cultures among young peopleand creating a 'rainbow' foundation whichwould encourage and stimulate the various ini-tiatives for international understanding inSenegal.

Acknowledging biculturalism

In some countries where indigenous cultureshave not been honoured and the people'sconcerns and contributions have not been reflec-ted in the curriculum, ministries of education arenow making efforts to rectify this injustice. Anexample of such an effort is the inclusion ofMaori language and culture in the New ZealandSyllabus for Junior Classes to Form 2 whichemphasizes biculturalism. It reflects an appre-ciation of the importance of language or culturalintegrity and a sense of human dignity.According to the Syllabus, 'Respect for otherpeople, provision of equity for all, and acknow-ledgement of differences are marks of a matureand tolerant society [ . . .] a society, in which allpeople are respected for what they are, requiresan understanding of other cultures.'

Similar efforts are being made with indige-nous languages in other countries. Brazil, forexample, is conducting a literacy programme inTicun. Study of the cultures and problems ofindigenous people in many nations has becomea major effort of education for tolerance in allareas. Notably, Canadian and American educa-tors are developing materials and programmesto teach about the many cultures of the FirstAmericans. Costa Rica's Associated Schoolshave conducted an intensive programme on thecultures of the countries' various indigenouspeople.

These are but a few of the many possibleactions that are and can be taken to educate fortolerance.

For study and discussion: considering actions to educate for tolerance

Does the present arrangement of schooling inyour community allow for and/or encourageintergroup contact and learning?

In what ways might such forms of schooling andyouth activities enhance the development oftolerance among the young and within thecommunity?

Through what kinds of endeavours might theclimate for an education for tolerance be im-proved in your community and/or school?

What lessons in tolerance might be learned inplanning for one or all of the afore-describedapproaches from the initial conceptualisationand planning through the assessment andevaluation?


The framework, goals and teaching approachespresented in this guide demonstrate that educa-tion for tolerance is based on sound pedagogicalprinciples, is a vehicle for the achievement ofthe general purposes of education and is a socialnecessity. Communities can thus support andmobilize for introducing tolerance educationinto schools because it is responsible, appropria-te and necessary education.

The school: socialising agent and community centre

School or 'schooling' in the sense of intentionalinstruction which socializes children and youth,whether it takes place within or outside a school,is the most direct means for teaching socialvalues. Thus, it is this institution in whateverform it takes that must assume much of the res-ponsibility for education toward social goals.As community leaders, parents, school authori-ties, teacher educators and teachers direct theirattention to the planning and implementation ofa programme of education for tolerance, theschool becomes the focus of the education ofentire communities. So it is that this guidefocuses on the school but addresses the widercommunity as well. For the school has been, andin some parts of the world still is, a communitycentre. Not only do communal activities takeplace in the schools, but it can be in the envisio-ning, planning and preparing for the future ofthe young that communities

can come together in the formulation and pursuitof their communal goals.Schools then can be arenas of community buil-ding as well as instructors for tolerance. Theymust be places in which tolerance is practised aswell as taught.

Principles for the practice of tolerance inschools

If schools are to be such places, they will needprinciples and guidelines for tolerance.The following is a list of the 'ingredients' ofanti-racist education as it is being developed bythe Anne Frank Foundation (the Netherlands). Itprovides an excellent list of principles foreducation for tolerance:1. School responsibility [to educate for tolerance]. 2. Positive approach to ethnicity.3. Learning to think inclusively.4. Integrating intercultural education.5. Focusing on similarities.6. Combating racism on a broad front.7. Creating a positive school atmosphere.

Values and intercultural education

Because education for tolerance is educa-tion for value formation, long a concern forUNESCO, the following guidelines from ASense of Belonging: Guidelines for Va l u e sfor the Humanistic and InternationalDimensions of Education ( C I D R E E /

4. Tolerance in the school: a laboratoryfor the practice of tolerance

UNESCO, 1993) are useful in clarifying the roleof the school in values formation for tolerance.Recognize the interactions that take place be-

tween cultures.Recognize the values of different cultures in a

way which does not hide relations of domi-nance but enhances the status of migrant'scultures.

Challenge socially-biased and ethnocentricassessment criteria.

Introduce the intercultural approach in all areasof the organization and life of the school.

Develop mutual solidarity and acceptance in theliving community of the school.

Recognize and value the symbolic role of thepresence of mother tongues in the school.

Promote a pluralistic approach to the acquisitionof knowledge.

Recognize the potential of the arts to develop anappreciation of different cultures.

Promote intercultural activity among pupils andrecognize that it depends on the quality of co-operation in teaching teams and betweenindigenous and foreign teachers.

Promote communications between the schools,the home, the social environment in whichthe children live and the whole community,both migrant and indigenous.

Recognize that intercultural education providesa perspective which concerns both the coun-tries of origin and the host countries, andwhich calls for solidarity between countrieswith differing levels of resources.

Develop teacher skills which allow these prin-ciples to become effective practice.

A framework for teaching tolerance:social goals and problems

Societies educate to develop values, achievegoals and solve problems. Education is plan-ned so as to provide the knowledge and capa-cities necessary for learners to exercisep r o-social values in their own behaviours andto take action to assure that the policies andarrangements of their societies manifest thesame values. The framework for teaching tole-rance is thus derived from values, goals andproblems or obstacles to the fulfilment

of the values and achievement of the goals.Like any living system, the well-being of

human society depends upon the healthy inte-gration of its various parts. Thus tolerance isessential to the healthy integration of the diver-se members of human society. However, asliving systems also have to be safeguardedagainst elements that undermine health andwell-being, there are conditions that society can-not tolerate.

Table 1 provides a summary of the socialgoals and obstacles that from the conceptual fra-mework for education for tolerance. Teachingand learning are thus directed toward the achie-vement of these particular goals of tolerance andovercoming the problems that are major obs-tacles to the universal realisation of humandignity.

For study and discussion: addressing the problems

Reflect on the relationship between toleranceand peace. What do you consider to be themost damaging forms of violence in theworld? Does your community suffer fromviolence? In what forms? Are non-violentalternatives available?

What do you believe to be the most serioushuman rights abuses in the world? Do youknow of any efforts to remedy them? Arethere human rights problems and issues inyour community? How are they beingaddressed?

What are the most serious impediments todemocracy? How might the world communi-ty address any one of these impediments?How could your own community participatein that process?

General learning goals: values, knowledge, and skills

The learning goals of education for toleranceare broad and comprehensive, encompassing arange of content and skills in the context of thevalue of human dignity and the values that havebeen described here as forthcoming from tole-rance.

The knowledge essential to the practice oftolerance is determined by the values sought.Much of the substantive content that would form

Tolerance on the school: a laboratory for the practice of tolerance 29

the fundamental knowledge base has been sug-gested in Chapter 2 where the forms, indicatorsand signs of intolerance and tolerance were out-lined. That material can serve as a base for pre-senting and acquiring data and information onthe goals and obstacles that affect peace, humanrights and democracy.

The skills development sought is directedtoward providing learners with capacities to dealconstructively with all types of human diffe-rences, political controversies and socialconflicts. In stating such general learning goals,it is helpful to include a kind of summary state-ment in broad terms of what those who are topractise tolerance should value, know and beable to do. Such a summary appears on the chartbelow, illustrating the relationships among thethree categories of learning goals.

Education for tolerance is most appropriatelyassessed on the basis of the learners' performan-ce of the skills required to exercise tolerance, sosome performance objectives are included.

Towards positive participation in a world of diversity: a process for teaching tolerance

Tolerance, as we have seen, is the thresholdvalue forreversing processes of intolerance andviolence. In seeking to educate for tolerance, itis helpful to see the process of education interms of realms of learning experience that com-prise a lifelong learning process toward a cultu-re of peace.

Planning educational experiences to helplearners enter these realms can be described interms of human qualities and capacities. Here,tolerance is seen both as a threshold value orcondition of peace building and as an expan-ding capacity to make and build peace. If tole-rance is to be an opening to a wider process ofeducation for peace, human rights and demo-c r a c y, the realms of tolerance must be conti-nually broadened. This broadening is alwaystempered by the core values of human dignityand integrity, with limits to tolerance emer-ging when these core values are violated.Thus, the following realms of learning com-prise a process of teaching for tolerance. T h e

suggestions and examples of instructionalprocedures described in Chapter 5 serve asvehicles for entering these realms of learning.

Tolerance: Acknowledgement of others' rightsto live and to be.

Acquaintance: Welcoming awareness of the pre-sence of others in one's social sphere.

Respect for differences: Acknowledgement ofthe positive aspects of diversity.

Understanding of uniqueness: Appreciation ofparticular forms of human diversity.

Complementary as the principle of relating todifference: Capacity to integrate differencesso as to enrich and strengthen society.

Mutuality as basis for co-operative endeavours:Capacity to envision and work toward com-mon goals that are mutually advantageous todiverse groups.

A culture of peace: Recognition of interdepen-dence and human universals, and undertakingto work toward positive arrangements ofdiversity in an interdependent world.

For study and discussion:starting a process of learning tolerance

How might the framework presented here beadapted to the particular conditions of yourcommunity and classes?

What opportunities are there in your school(s)for co-operative learning and training inconflict resolution? Have your teachers beentrained in these methods?

What issues and concerns in the area of humanrights education are most appropriate forstudy in your schools and communities?

How can your class or group assess readinessfor study and activity in the various realms oflearning that make up the process of learningtoward a culture of peace? In what ways canyou expand learning and practice beyond thethreshold value of tolerance?

Review the teaching units in Chapter 5 andselect those most appropriate as models fora process of learning tolerance in your ownschool(s).


The first half of this guide has provided therationale, framework and context for educationfor tolerance. This chapter deals with classroompractice, offering suggestions on where to inte-grate education for tolerance into school curri-cula and providing some examples of how parti-cular lessons could be presented. Many morepossibilities exist, and UNESCO hopes thatusers of this resource will send in their ideas andexperiences for use in the revised and expandededition of this resource.

Infusion: tolerance in all disciplines

Tolerance, like all other aspects of education forpeace, human rights and democracy, can andshould be brought into the schools through twofundamental approaches - through explicit in-struction designed to achieve the intended learn-ing goals and through infusion of the themes,ethics and behaviours of tolerance throughoutthe schooling experience. Every subject areaand activity offers possibilities for communica-ting to students the concepts, values and prac-tices that tolerance contributes to the formationof communities. The school is itself both a com-munity and a learning laboratory for participa-tion in the larger communities at local, nationaland global levels.

Language education: vehicle for cross-cultural learning

The learning of languages is one of the mostfruitful avenues for education for tolerance andmutual understanding. Indeed, only in the mas-tery of its language can another culture beunderstood fully and truly. Study of languageinvolving study of the history and culture of apeople offers opportunities for lessons in someof the following topics:Cultural values and the experiences and events

which have influenced their formation.Social customs and institutions, viewed in com-

parative terms that illustrate the differentways in which human universals such asfamily structure, celebrations, occasions ofmourning and so forth are expressed.

Reading aloud, poetry, epics or the words ofnational hymns as a basis for reflection onhow a people has responded to its commonexperience.

Literature: a means to the study of values

Literature from other cultures, even intranslation, provides a basis for understan-ding the values and experience of others interms more lively and human than the studyof their histories abstracted from the socialexperiences of a people. Some of many usefulpractices to teach toward tolerance in

5. Tolerance in the classroomin every subject, at every leveland in every country

literature would include the following:In teaching about any national epic include at

least extracts and resumes of those of one ortwo other cultures to demonstrate how this artform is common.

Children's stories and nursery rhymes from vari-ous cultures could be included in the curricu-la of kindergarten and nursery schools.

Primary schools could study how various cul-tures celebrate and honour their heroes in sto-ries that recount the virtues and contributionsof these heroes.

Secondary schools could introduce courses inmulticultural literature to teach youth theworks of the great writers of various cultures,indicating which were contemporary withtheir own great writers.

The great works of various religions should alsobe the bases of courses designed to educatefor tolerance.

History: towards an inclusive view of the human experience

The teaching of history has often been a factorin developing attitudes of hostility, exclusionand prejudice towards others. Most national his-tories, having been presented to a people fromtheir own perspective, have given little or noattention to how events may have appeared toother groups. Often the experience of womenand minorities have not been recounted. In mosthistories, more attention has been given to warand conflict than to peace and co-operation.Thus, in educating for tolerance, special mea-sures must be taken to revise and supplementstandard histories. Among some of the possibili-ties for doing so are:Having students research the proposals for

peace that may have been made to preventthe wars recounted in their texts.

Having students themselves speculate on stepsthat might have been taken to avoid wars andother outbreaks of violence.

Classes could co-operatively write a 'history ofthe future' recounting how the plague ofintolerance was 'cured through education fortolerance' and how the coming of toleranceled to peace.

Students from minority groups could sharefamily stories of events recounted by theirgrandparents and parents as a way of contri-buting another dimension of the off i c i a lrecord.

Films from other countries showing historicalevents from different perspectives could beshown.

Students could research and 'imagine' eventsfrom the perspectives of those whose storiesare not told such as indigenous people,women and ethnic groups who have beendestroyed or assimilated out of their own cul-ture.

Role plays of great moments in history for in-sights into whether decisions were madefrom a basis of tolerance or intolerance.

Social studies and civics: learning the norms of tolerance

In those subjects that form the content basis ofeducation for citizenship, education for toleran-ce should be based on the international humanrights standards, the possibilities for their imple-mentation and the obstacles to their realisation.There are a very wide variety ofteaching prac-tices for these purposes. Among the most readi-ly adaptable are the following:Post a copy of the Universal Declaration of Hu-

man Rights and the Convention on the Rightsof the Child in every classroom. In primarylevel classrooms, one of the several simpli-fied versions of these documents could beused. Discuss one article of one or both docu-ments each day or week throughout theschool term.

Use concepts and standards of human rights asthe basis for formulating class rules.

Have the social studies and/or civics class pre-pare a special assembly for Human RightsDay, 10 December.

Study the draft United Nations Declaration onTolerance and the conditions which caused itto be drafted. Discuss the situations in theworld today which led to the United Nationsaddressing the issue anew. What could bedone to try to bring tolerance to the areas ofthe world torn by intolerance and intergroupstrife?

Study what the United Nations and UNESCO and


non-governmental organisations can do toprotect human rights. Discuss what the stu-dents themselves can do. Undertake humanrights learning actions such as letter writingand participating in organisational efforts onbehalf of human rights.

The sciences: questions of ethics and responsibilities

Education for tolerance in the sciences at thesecondary level provides an appropriate basisfor introducing and exploring issues related tothe responsibilities that go with knowledge. Asstudents learn the history of the twentieth centu-ry, they will discover that the sciences have beenused to serve the ends of intolerance as well asthe relief of suffering and injustice. As theyacquire scientific knowledge, they will be calledto make choices of how to use their knowledge.The suggestions here relate to raising questionsof ethics and responsibility.In courses in physics, some of the following

issues of choices could be raised:The ethical implications of the use of physics for

the development of weapons of mass destruc-tion, or constructing the means to carry outgenocides or tortures.

The content and significance of 'statements ofconscience' made by physicists.

In courses in the natural sciences, some of thefollowing topics could be addressed:

The ways in which natural systems adjust andaccommodate to change and the introductionof new or 'foreign' elements.

The principles of symbiosis and how some lifeforms develop modes of co-existence andmutual interdependence.

The Seville Statement on Violence (UNESCO,1992) challenging theories of human aggres-sion as the basis for the development of tole-rance as the social norm and the evolution ofa culture of peace.

Mathematics: the statistics of equity

Tolerance as a positive value calls for economicequity and distributive justice. The realization ofthese two tolerance-related values requireknowledge and understanding of quantities ofresources, how they are used, distributed andshared. Some of the following activities couldhelp learners to understand the value implica-tions of economic structures and patterns.Using literacy statistics, especially as they rela-

te to differences between men and womenand between the nations of the North andSouth to illustrate patterns of educationaladvantage and disadvantages.

Using comparative figures on arms and socialexpenditures to calculate the percentage ofthe world's wealth that is spent for purposesof violent conflict.

The arts: articulating human universals

The arts are probably the most promising of allsubject areas for educating for tolerance - theyare the medium through which universal humanaspirations are most vividly expressed. Teachingboth the appreciation and the performance of thearts can provide opportunities for the followingand many other approaches:In history of art courses, examples of works of

the same period from other cultures should beincluded. Painting, sculpture, etc. should bereviewed in terms of universal human themesand how they are expressed from culture toculture.

Folk arts could be studied as ways to learn of thevalues and aesthetic and design senses ofvarious cultures.

Works of art could be used to judge the state oftolerance in a society in terms of images of'others,' both minorities within countries andothers from distant; places. .

Popular arts and media could be reviewedfor instances of stereotypes, racism,sexism, denigration and defamation ofothers. Cartoons just before or duringwars and cultural clashes could be stu-died to learn how popular art has

Tolerance in the classroom in every subject, at every level and in every country 33

been used to fan the flames of intolerance.In practical arts classes, themes related to toler-

ance, human rights and peace could be assi-gned as subjects for drawings, paintings ormaking school posters.

Children could do drawings of The Garden ofHuman Diversity, showing different faces asa wonderful panoply of human beings.

The music of human rights movements and eth-nic groups could be played, sung and discus-sed to learn of the values and goals of ethnicand other groups who struggled for toleranceand human rights. Students could discusshow music and art provide inspiration andenergy to such endeavours.

Students could compose and perform their ownmusic for tolerance, human rights and peace.

Sample lessons for every level kindergarten through secondary

As we have indicated, many schools throughoutthe world, especially UNESCO A s s o c i a t e dSchools, are offering interesting and valuableinstruction for tolerance to students at all gradelevels. What follows here are but a fewexamples of the approaches now being used.

These lessons, while they may be replicated,are offered more as suggestions for adaptation toparticular needs and contexts. The most effecti-ve education for tolerance is that which is desi-gned for particular learners by their respectiveteachers. It is hoped that these units will be help-ful in the design of other materials.

These sample teaching materials are presen-ted here in a sequence from kinderg a r t e nthrough the final years of secondary school.Some of them are suitable only to the suggestedgrade and age levels, but most can be adapted toother levels and learning contexts.

Indigenous people: preserving human cul -tures (kindergarten to Grade 3)

Educators are now introducing study of indigenouscultures into programmes of education for human

rights, peace and mutual understanding. One ofthose universals is a story of the origins ofhumanity or of a given people found in all cul-tures. These stories help to form a people's iden-t i t y, as flocculates express their values andmores. Retelling the origin stories is a rite ofaffirmation. Listening to other people's originstories is an act of respect. Tolerance of thediversity of these stories is the assurance of thecultural integrity of the multiple members of thehuman family.

Melinda Salazar, an American educatorwhose own origins are an indigenous people ofSouth America, has used the folktales of indige-nous people as the basis of moral education inthe primary grades. Storytelling is one of themost effective instructional devices for youngchildren. Salazar reports on this approach as sheused it in a third grade class:

'Fifteen stories from selected indigenous cul-tures were introduced to pupils. The pupilsreviewed and selected stories of their choice.Pupils learned to tell these stories by observinga professional storyteller, engaging in peer coa-ching, practising daily and processing and eva-luating within the group. Pupils discoveredmore about the ways and traditions of the indi-genous people through classroom discussionand research. Pupils processed the ethical truthsinherent in these stories through identifying thequality or attribute conveyed in the story, rela-ting personal experiences, making connectionsin written literature and describing the lesson tobe learned. This integrated approach taught stu-dents new knowledge of the indigenous peopleof the world, new understandings of our history,and new meaning and value inherent in the sto-ries to their daily lives.'

Using arts and crafts to build community(kindergarten to Grade 4)

Tolerance of others takes many forms. A tits core is respect for the others' right to bethemselves and be accepted by their com-munities. Such acceptance is important fora feeling of self-worth and for one's humand i g n i t y. The need for respect and acceptan-ce is a human universal that applies to allages and all cultures. The cultivation of


these qualities is an important attribute of com-munity building and should be integrated intochildren's earliest education. The two exercisesbelow from Education for MutualUnderstanding (available in full version fromthe Foundation for International Studies,University of Malta, Valleta), use arts and craftsto teach capacities for community, co-operationand care. These activities can lay the foundationfor the acceptance of others and the genderequality so essential to peaceful, just and demo-cratic communities.

Togetherness: building a sense of solidarity

Activity 1Children singing and dancing together

Teachers can teach lively songs for the childrento sing and invent movements such as joininghands together and moving with same steps.Through these activities, children feel closer toeach other. One can always use a cassette if theteacher does not know how to sing or play aninstrument (Note: It is generally acknowledgedthat group singing is both an expression and acreator of solidarity.)

Activity 2Cross-gender crafts collaboration

To create more 'togetherness', there should be nodiscrimination between boys and girls. Whethersimple sewing or woodwork, all the childrenshould have equal opportunities. Have childrenwork together in mixed groups of boys and girls- some on wood-working, some on sewing. In afuture project, change tasks so sewers do wood-working and vice versa.

Communication for mutual understanding(Grades 4 to 7)

Communications skills in the mother tongue andother languages are integral to behaviours oftolerance. Learning to express oneself to and to

truly listen to and understand others is importantto the development of mutual understanding andc o-operation, and to the valuing of humandiversity. The value context for communicationsskills is also important as we see in these exer-cises (also from Ed ucation for Mutual Respect).The context of tolerance calls for authenticexchange that entails skills of listening andinterpreting meaning as well as those of articu-lating well one's own ideas and opinion. Manyforeign language lessons can be a gateway toappreciating different backgrounds and cultures.This can best be achieved through discussionsamong the pupils, providing them with all theopportunities possible to communicate in ano-ther language.

In these exercises, the two inseparable skillsof speaking and listening with understanding areessential. Only when these two elements are pre-sent can a true conversation take place.

Teaching the children to listen to each otherspeaking, thereby reducing monologue and thechance of one student dominating a discussionto the barest minimum, is in itself one step for-ward in achieving mutual respect.

Activity 3What I appreciate in others

Proced are: The children stick a piece of plainpaper to their backs. Then, each child, with apencil in hand, has to go around the class andwrite on the paper stuck to the back of othersthe qualities he appreciates or admires in theother.This activity, besides being a useful exercise foradjectives, helps children who feel lonely,because they are shy or have problems in social-izing, gain confidence in themselves as theyperceive that others notice their presence andappreciate them.

Activity 4Counteracting gender bias

The purpose of this exercise is to encourage stu-dents to reflect upon their own gender social


ization, to develop listening and discussionskills, and to explore how both boys and girlscan support each other in the struggle againstgender bias.

P ro c e d u re: In this activity, the teacherdivides the class into groups of five or six, all ofthe same sex. Each group has to answer a set ofquestions. Then, the answers of the whole classare pooled together and compared. The ques-tions could be of the following type: What do I really like about being a boy or a girl? What is it that I do not like about being a boy or

a girl?As a boy or a girl, what difficulties do I have

with people of my own gender group?As a girl or a boy, what is it that I would never

want to hear of experience again from people(children) of the opposite gender group?

What can I do as a girl or boy to help understandand support people of the other gender groupso as to reduce barriers between us?

Activity 5Eliminating racial discrimination

An education for mutual respect must pay closeattention to the danger presented by stereotypesbecause they are used to justify violence. Themore human beings are dehumanized, relegatedto a sub-human category or perceived as aliens,the easier it is for other human beings to treatthem with intolerance. The teacher himself maysometimes promote racism through the hiddencurriculum or through careless remarks.Teachers should reflect on their own attitudesand confront their own prejudices that mayunwittingly contribute to intolerance. Procedure: It is the educator's responsibility topoint out 'hidden' racism in textbooks and sto-ries, thereby training the children to becomemore critical of what they read. This can be doneby giving the children a passage of the type:

Mr. Winston is a British man. He has a friend called Alao. Alao is an African. Mr. Winston is a doctor.

His friend Alao is a farmer.Mr. Winston always cures Alao wheneverAlao is ill.

Then the revised version of that same text:Mr. Winston is a British man.He has a friend called Mr. Alao.Mr. Alao is a Nigerian.Mr. Winston is a medical doctor.Mr. Alao is a farmer.Mr. Winston always sends medicine to Mr.Alao to use against fever.Mr. Alao always sends food crops to Mr.Winston to eat.They are really good friends.And they are grateful to each other.

Pupils may then be asked to discuss what kindof attitudes the original story and its 'revisedversion' are passing on to the readers. Ask themto reverse the roles: Mr. Alao is a Nigerian doctor. Mr. Winston is a farmer in Zimbabwe.

Empathy for refugees: learning to careGrades 4 to 7)

Care is a primary value of the tolerant society.Caring can be taught best by those who care.Here again, the commitment of the teacher tohuman concerns will help create the learningatmosphere. Learning to care requires, amongother elements, the capacity for empathy andpractice in caring. The capacity for empathy isoften elicited in the opportunity to put oneself inthe position of others. Role playing is a usefulpedagogical device for this purpose. Among the'others' who have suffered from intolerance andare in special need of empathic reception arerefugees. The following role play intended todevelop such an empathic attitude is taken fromHuman Rights: Proposals for Education forPeace based on the Human Rights of the Child,prepared and published in Andalucia, Spain, bythe Chancery of Education and Science.

Role playing. Using this process, we expect thatall pupils should be able to place themselves in


the situations of others [ . . . ] The refugee chil-dren form a particularly vulnerable group, bothphysically and psychologically and most ofthem suffer profound trauma. The children areparticularly prone to diseases as a result of mal-nutrition or sudden climatic changes, food orsanitary conditions. On the other hand, theexhaustion resulting from endless traveling andescape, fright and terror caused by fleeing andcrossing through areas at war very often pro-duces physical and psychological scars. Refugeechildren fear the future for they have been sud-denly uprooted from their environment and theyhave neither a sense of security nor support fromtheir parents, who are themselves traumatised.

Objectives: Present situations based on thetheme of refugees to enable students torole-play.

Time: Five minutes for each role-play.P a rticipants: Groups of two or more students.Equipment: A file with various cards.Procedure: A group of students picks a card

from the file, reads it, and assigns a role andactivities to each member. Before the class,players must dramatize the situation andspontaneously put forward solutions. After seve-ral representations, each group will read its cardagain andpropose answers to the questions rela-ting tospecific situations presenting some pos-sible modi fications. The players have completefreedom in doing this. Case studies could inclu-de the following:A father, a mother and their children must flee

from their home and their country. Whatwould they take along with them?

On the plane during the trip on their way to thecountry of exile, Spain, the child asks hisparents about the country, the people, the habits he will encounter upon his arrival.

Two children, one Spaniard and one Lao, areplaying in the schoolyard; the little Spaniardwants to play war with his friend. Imaginereactions.

One childfromEl Salvador complains to hisfather that he is different from his otherschool companions.

One Sahraui tells a child from Almeria howmuch he loves his homeland.

One Spaniard and one Moroccan send their

applications for the same job. The chief ofpersonnel favours one applicant over theother.

(Adapted from Ve r. H. We r t h m u l l e r, F l e e i n gOne's Country, New York, UNICEF, 1985, p. 39(Pedagogical essay on the theme: Children dohave rights. Swiss Committee for UNICEF)).

Note: This unit could be complemented andextended by UNICEF's curriculum on the Rightsof the Child.

Imagination, empathy and trust: elements of tolerance (Grades 6 to 8)

Developing capacities of understanding, empa-thy, and compassion are important objectives ofeducation for tolerance. In order to achieve theseends, students have to be given experiences toinstruct them in sensitivity to the feelings of thevictims and the social consequences of intole-rance and prejudice. The following learningactivities were developed by two Russian edu-cators, Nina Ashkenazi and Galina Kovalykova,to provide such experiences in a Moscow midd-le school.

Activity 6 Imagine!

Imagination is a unique human power throughwhich people understand and become aware oftheir responsibilities to one another. This powerenables us to feel the pain and pleasure of otherlives. Poets and children possess this power. Thepower of imagination could bring people into aclose relation with all living things.

Objectives: Students will be able to use theirimaginations in order to create a supportiveatmosphere, positive relations, and mutualunderstanding.

Strategies: The teacher assigns the task ofcomposing a poem (let it be blank verse).

The topic is race, religions or ethnic conflicts.The teacher explains to the children that each ofthem should devise a poetic image associated


with the conflict. It may be hatred, a child's tear,vanished joy, a sound of the alarm, a trampledflower, a forlorn doll, etc. Once the childrengrasp the idea, they usually devise many beauti-ful poetic images.

Activity 7A web of prejudice

The web of prejudice entangles peoples, makesthem mute and defenseless, hurts and offendsthem.

Objectives: (1) Students will be able tounderstand how stereotypes and prejudice canaffect people and (2) Students will learn how tosupport a person who is insulted or humiliatedby others.

Strategies: The teacher chooses one person tobecome a representative of a minority group.Students start telling jokes and anecdotes aboutthe group based on negative stereotypes and pre-judice.

Each anecdote is accompanied by 'one move'of the teacher. The teacher puts a piece of ropeor a sticker over the 'minority', thus placing himinside the prejudice web, until the students im-prison him so he cannot move or open hismouth, caught in the web of prejudice.

After the activity, the teacher asks the 'mino-rity' how he feels being in this situation. Thenthe teacher asks the students: 'What do you feel?Would you like to play this role?' Then they dis-cuss the impact of stereotypes and prejudiceupon people and society.

In order to release the prisoner from the web,the teacher asks the students to say somethingpositive to give him some message of love andunderstanding.

From playing the game, the students not onlyunderstand the cruelty and injustice of prejudiceand share the pain, but they are also given achance to realize their power to reduce preju-dice, increase tolerance and create harmony.

Human rights: the ethical bases of tolerance(Grades 6 to 9)

The core concept of human rights as the funda-mental ethics of a culture of peace, while woventhroughout the curriculum at all levels and allsubject areas, should also be at each level a spe-cial focus of attention. Here is a lesson suitableto the early secondary level. It is taken from les-sons prepared by Bulgarian English languageteachers for use in UNESCO A s s o c i a t e dSchools (See Continuing Challenge to HumanRights and Peace, 1992, Rousse, Bulgaria, p.40. Available from UNESCO ASP). It could beadapted to other languages and other coursessuch as social studies. The teacher could beginwith the quote from Cicero pointing at that theconcepts of dignity and freedom as a universalhuman birthright are very ancient ones. Studentscould research similar quotations from otherancient or more recent cultures. The many formsof the 'Golden Rule' articulated with the sameessential meaning by various cultures and philo-sophers might also be researched.

Activity 8Human dignity: the central value

Organize a discussion session on the subject ofhuman dignity. Ask the student to prepare fortheir participation using the challenge: 'There isnothing more painful than the insult to humandignity, nothing more humiliating than servi-tude. Human dignity and freedom are our birth-right. Let us defend them or die with dignity'(Cicero 106-43 B.C.).

Make up a team to study the attitudes ofpeople in your immediate surroundings (class,family, friends, neighbourhood, etc.) to peopleof other ethnic groups.

Here are some suggested lines for a question-naire:• elegance: beauty, propriety, restraint• conduct: mien, voice, gesture, opinion, feeling,

virtue, habit, policy• authority: influence, superiority• good taste: goodness, purity, judgement


• prestige: importance, influence• honours: reward, title, nobility, heraldry• pride: affectation, moral sensibility, contempt,

insolence, prejudice• formality: ritual, etiquette, attention, celebra-

tion, uniform• ostentation: manifestation, publicity, publica-

tion, sociability, flattery

Analyse the findings and suggest activities toteach young people tolerance and respect of hu-man dignity.

Overcoming stereotypes(Grades 6 to 9)

Prejudice against minorities, immigrants and theculturally different is both expressed and rein-forced by stereotypes. Stereotyping is a greatobstacle to intercultural understanding and toharmonious pluralist societies. This obstacle,however, persists because it is seldom challen-ged and reflected upon. Thus, providing oppor-tunities to reflect upon and become aware ofhow stereotypes affect judgements and percep-tions is a significant responsibility of educationfor tolerance. The following exercise from thePhilippines could be adapted to many other mul-ticultural societies (from Toh Swee-Hin andVi rginia Cawagas, T h e o ry and Practice inValues Education, Quezon City, PhoenixPublishing House, 1990).

Stereotypes [are] a basis for discrimination,ethnocentrism and racism, with all the attendanteffects of intercultural mistrusts, domination,and conflict.

For the Philippines, cultural diversity is un-doubtedly one of the features which make thenation so humanly rich and interesting. Thereare over a hundred different cultural communi-ties speaking different languages and dialectsspread out over thousands of islands. [ . . . ]

This activity is designed to bring about grea-ter awareness and appreciation of the culturaltraditions and traits of all Filipino sisters andbrothers. Such understanding transcends stereo-types while still sensitive to the rich differences

among all tribes and communities. Hopefully,the exercise will encourage all learners to worknonviolently towards a society which respectscultural differences while seeking to build cultu-ral solidarity amidst diversity.

Procedure:

Form five or six groups with each group wor-king on one of [various cultural communi-ties]. The groups can draw lots for their assi-gnment but the identity of their communitymust not be revealed until the time of grouppresentation.

When the [cultural communities] are assigned,the groups will brainstorm on the culture oftheir allocated tribes based on their impres-sions, perceptions, readings or direct experi-ences. The discussion can dwell on the cus-toms, beliefs, habits, traits, sources of liveli-hood, art forms and other cultural char-acteristics.

After brainstorming, the groups shall preparetheir report in the format of a pantomime. Innot more than three minutes} the cultural tri-bal community shall be portrayed through apantomimic interpretation. Sounds and propsmay be used but there will be no dialogue -the presentation shall be silent except forbackground music which should be prefer-ably drawn from the traditions of those tribes.

After each portrayal, the other groups shall beasked to identify the tribal/cultural com-munity portrayed.

Discussion:

The following questions can guide the discus-sion after the group presentation:

What customs, beliefs or traits were portrayed? Were these portrayed traits positive or negative? Were the portrayals accurate? Why or why not? Did the groups show understanding, sensitivity

and respect for the tribes during their por-trayal?

Was there evidence of stereotyping in the por-


trayals? Were there traits attributed to parti-cular groups which could (a) be found also inother groups and (b) are not necessarilyapplicable to all members of a group?

Is it fair to cast people or communities into ster-eotypes?

Discuss some possible consequences of culturalstereotyping. Encourage students to give con-crete illustrations of such consequences.

How can cultural stereotypes be transcended?

Intolerance as exploitationGrades 10 to 12)

Among the manifestations of intolerance defi-ned earlier in this guide were exploitation andsexism. Exploitation is often combined withother forms of intolerance such as sexism,racism and colonialism. People who are vulne-rable because of socially enforced disadvantage,poverty, age and gender are most often amongthe exploited. The voices of the exploited areseldom heard in the standard media or the curri-culum, but these victims of intolerance do notremain voiceless. Here is but one example ofone woman (here called Muchacha or girl, butshe could be of any age) giving voice to herexperience of exploitation. The poem wasreprinted from Women in Brazil, Human RightsN e w s l e t t e r, No. 6, Winter 1993 (UniversityCollege of Ripon and York St. John, York, YO37EX, U.K., Fax 0909 6125-12).

Muchacha

I am the washing machine which the Senor won't buy as long as I was cheaper and save the Senora time and her hands rough skin;

I am the vacuum cleaner which the Senora doesn't need the car wash the nursery school

the laundry the sick ward the shopping trolley

I am the Senora's emancipation am the button which fulfils all wishes - just press me; I am cheaper [ . . . ]

Activities and discussion

1. Discuss the following questions:• Where do you think Muchacha comes

from?• Do you know anything about sources of

domestic help in various parts of theworld?

• Why do you think she does this domesticwork?

• Under what conditions do such peoplelive?

2. Role play a conversation between theMuchacha and: (a) the Senora (the 'lady ofthe house'); (b) the Senor (the 'Master of thehouse'); (c) the children of the house, then(d) between the Senor and the Senora aboutthe Muchacha.• What levels of tolerance and/or respect do

you believe to exist in these relationships?• How might the personal dignity and the

right to leisure of the muchacha be enhan-ced?

Difference - the image of the other(Grades 10 to 12)

In the building of tolerance, the most difficultaspect often is transcending the negative imagesof others; or in conflict situations, 'the other'.Replacing stereotypes with images and know-ledge of the other that come closer to both reali-ty and the others' self-image is very important tothe reconciliation process in all hllnlan relations,but especially so in post-conflict situations. Forthat reason, the following set of exercises from a


project to buildtolerance and mutual under stan-ding in post-civil war Lebanon is an especiallyuseful example for it was designed to serve in anactual attempt to overcome intolerance. The fol-lowing excerpts are from the Manual forEducation for human Rights, Peace andDemocracy, the product of a project in Lebanonjointly sponsored by UNESCO and theInternational Peace Research Association as partof their collaboration on the Culture of PeaceProgramme.

Exercise No. 1: What is difference? What is discrimination?

Objectives:Help the participants to understand the meaning

of difference, the meaning of discrimination,and the difference between them;

Help the participants in bringing these twoconcepts closer to the Lebanese reality, bytaking living examples from daily life;

The teacher writes the word 'difference' on theboard, asks students to say what this wordmeans to them simply and briefly.

Exercise:The teacher notes the answers on the board

without making any comment or analysis.The teacher then classifies the answers accord-

ing to their similarity or disparity so as todetermine the different definitions of theword 'difference'.

After that, the teacher defines further the mean-ing of 'difference' by giving examples and ex-plaining the difference between this word orconcept and the concept of 'discrimination.'

(Difference being just a disparity either naturalor social between two matters or two things;discrimination is that difference in addition tosome sort of social inequality between thetwo parties due to the characterisation of oneas inferior and the other as superior.)

(Difference is a source of enrichment while dis-crimination is a source of injustice or violen-ce against one of the parties concerned and isbasically created by a group of people bene-fiting from such a differentiation or discrimi-nation. )

Identity, the core of human rights(Grades 11 and 12)

Issues of identity are extremely important toexploring the routes to tolerance. The culturalintolerance of colonialism supported the econo-mic exploitation of countries which the coloni-sers later came to call 'developing' or 'thirdworld', avoiding the acknowledgement ofthecultural integrity and internal capacities of thesepeoples. This denial has been a part of the pro-cess of intolerance that maintains structural vio-lence. It must be confronted in any programmethat seeks to educate for a tolerant world society.

As identity is such an important issue to earlyadolescents, they are able to appreciate theimportance of respect for identity as essential toa sense of self-worth and acknowledgement ofhuman dignity. Africa which has suffered cultu-ral intolerance and economic exploitation offersus the following material as the basis to exploreidentity and tolerance. This material is fromInternational Understanding through ForeignLanguages (Prof. Dr. Clausenbauer (ed.),German Commission for UNESCO, p. 189).

Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, President of the Republicof Zambia: 'We have held, and we still hold, thatAfrica's gift to world culture must be in the fieldof Human relations [ . . . ] The experts have allkinds of standards by which they judge the de-gree of civilization of a people. In the Africantraditional society the test is this: How does thesociety treat its old people and, indeed, all itsmembers, who are not useful and productive inthe narrowest sense? Judged by this standard,the so-called advanced societies have a lot tolearn which the so-called backward societiescould teach them.'

Julius K. Nyerere, former President of theUnited Republic of Tanzania: 'Growth mustcome out of our own roots, not through the graf-ting on to those roots of something which isalien to our society. We shall draw sustenancefront universal human ideas and from the practi-cal experiences of other


peoples; but we start from a full acceptance ofour African-ness and a belief that in our ownpast there is very much which is useful for ourfuture.'

For discussion:1. What is your reaction to President Kuanda's

statement about how to judge the degree ofcivilisation? How does your commun-ity/society assess 'civilisation'? How do youthink the degree of civilisation should be as-sessed? What role should tolerance play?

2. What is your interpretation of PresidentNyerere's statement? How would you expressthe relation between 'universal human ideas'and the values of a particular culture? Howcould we respect the cultural integrity of dif-ferent peoples while striving toward a worldculture of peace? How can tolerance serve asa mediating agent between the two levels ofhuman culture? What role can human rightsplay?

Crimes of intolerance(Grades 11 and 12)

As indicated earlier in the guide, authentic toler-ance requires the observance of limits. Toooften, these limits have been stretched too farand the intolerable becomes the unconscionable,the shame of society. Intolerance has, in fact;contributed to crimes of such dimensions as tohave been designated as crimes against humani-ty, genocide, apartheid and torture as well asrape and severe abuse of women and children.Maturing learners need to understand the conse-quence of intolerance in terms of actual humanexperience and suffering. Feature films are anexcellent instructional device for this purpose.To fully explore and understand the experiences,more maturity and some knowledge of the his-torical cases is required. So this approach isrecommended for upper secondary level. Thefollowing syllabus was adapted from one devi-sed by Yasuyo Fukunaga, a teacher of English inJapan. The approach, however, has also beenused in social studies and as a supplement in

literature classes. Films on similar themes existin various languages, many of them on videoeasily adaptable to classroom use in schools thathave monitors and VCR players.The cases and events depicted show somehuman consequences of intolerance which canbe assessed as violations of human rights. Thus,the relevant international standards are includedamong the readings. It is suggested that thiscourse begins with a reading of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights, the violations ofwhich are indicators of the intolerable.

1. The Killing FieldsTopics.- Politicide, genocide and refugeesRead: International Convention on Genocide,International Convention on the Rights ofRefugees

2. Sophie's Choice Topics: Genocide, theHolocaust and concentration camps Read:Nuremberg Principles

3. Mississippi Burning Topic: Racism and theUnited States civil rights movement Read:International Convention on RacialDiscrimination

4. The Color PurpleTopic: Sexism and child abuseRead: International Convention on All Formsof Discrimination Against Women

5. The Mission Topic: Indigenous people, geno-cide and colonialism Read: DraftConvention on the Rights of IndigenousPeoples

6. Cry Freedom Topic: Apartheid Read:International Convention on the Suppressionand Punishment of Apartheid, AfricanFreedom Charter


7. Schindler's ListTopic: Ethical issues, genocideRead: Universal Declaration of HumanRights

Concluding discussion: planning our own efforts

Although limited in scope, this document pro-vides a basis for taking some steps toward edu-cation for tolerance. Begin your own effortswith a consideration of these questions.What goals and objectives should be set for our

efforts to educate for tolerance?What elements and examples can we adapt

from this resource?What additional resources do we need?What resources do we already have in our com-

munity or school?What materials and approaches can be develo-

ped to contribute to our own and UNESCO'sefforts to promote education for tolerance?

How will we assess the achievements of ourprogramme?


Suggestions for the extended version of

Tolerance: the Threshold of Peace

A Teaching/Learning Guide for Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In what context or situation did you use the resource?

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What sections did you use?

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What recommendations would you make for the revision and extension of those sections?

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If you used the entire guide, please comment on each chapter and its usefulness to your pur-

poses (Please include additional pages with this form to do so)

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What additional resources organisations could you recommend? (Please give complete name,

address, fax and telephone.)

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What additional curricular resources would you suggest should be included?

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Have you, your school, your organisation or your community developed methods or mate-

rials for teaching for tolerance? (If so, please attach copies.)

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Further comments and suggestions:

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Please return this questionnaire completed to:

UNESCO Section for Humanistic, Cultural and International Education 7, place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris 07-SPFRANCE

Fax:(33.1)40659405

the threshold of peace - UNESCO · Tolerance: the threshold of peace A teaching / learning guide...

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