How Is Tolerance Taught?
Like all attitudes, tolerance is often taught in subtle ways. Even before they can speak, children closely watch – and imitate – their parents. Children of all ages develop their own values, in great part, by mirroring the values and attitudes of those they care about. Many parents live and work in diverse communities and have friends who are different from themselves in some (or in many) ways. Parents’ attitudes about respecting others are often so much a part of them that they rarely even think about it. They teach those attitudes simply by being themselves and living their values. Parents who demonstrate (or model) tolerance in their everyday lives send a powerful message. As a result, their children learn to appreciate differences, too. Of course, celebrating differences of others doesn’t mean giving up your own heritage. Your family may have its own long-standing cultural and religious traditions that are something to be proud of. Families can find ways to celebrate differences of
