the tolerant classroom

The answer to the question of whether or not one’s classroom should be a tolerant one is very simple. Yes! Diversity is a key to education. If students do not learn to appreciate diversity in school, it is unlikely that they will ever learn to appreciate it in life. Diversity is essential in the global society we live in. You can try to teach an appreciation for diversity, but kids must actually experience an environment that is tolerant and open-minded before they really learn to value diversity.
I want for my classroom to be a place where students feel comfortable and relaxed. At the same time, I want them to understand that it is a place where they need to get their work done. To establish this atmosphere, I will make several things clear during the first days of school. First, I will lay out groundwork for rules that the students must follow. There will not be an excessive amount of rules, I do not want the students to feel like they are in a prison, but they need to know what is expected of them. One of the main rules which I will have, and which I will try to enforce perhaps the most diligently, is that students must be respectful of one another. If students respect each other and learn to listen to what other people have to say, then they will begin to learn to appreciate tolerance and diversity. It will also help to create a more relaxed atmosphere if students feel like they can speak their minds and say whatever it is that they believe without worrying about ridicule. This easily leads into another objective which I will want to convey to the students early: it is ok to disagree with me. Undoubtedly there will be times throughout the year when students will disagree with ideas I have. As long as these opinions are expressed in a respectful and well thought out manner, then I will encourage the students to disagree with me. While disagreeing, they will be learning higher thinking skills while again also learning to be tolerant of dissenting views and diversity. To help to ensure that students feel comfortable with each other and with me, I will attempt to get to know each student as best as I can to make sure that we all get along as best as possible. At the same time, I will not try and be the “cool” teacher who lets students walk all over him. I will conduct myself with a professional attitude and will make sure that when it is time to do work, we will indeed do just that. But, it is important that students have a bit of fun at school.
Tolerance is imperative in education. Not only does it help to facilitate learning, but it is a necessary trait that all students should have before they enter the ‘real’ globalized world.