According to the United Nations, tolerance is the capacity to accept differences, respect one another and stand up for what one knows is right. With incidents of school violence, harassment and physical violence is on the rise, as well as the ever-changing demographics of our nation and the world, learning to practice tolerance has never been so important. In schools and communities across America and around the world, hate crimes and other forms of intolerance, including verbal violence, are growing in number and are even seen as inevitable or acceptable to some.

While people may not accept the choices of others, ultimately they still must learn to respect the person and, without active opposition accept the way in which they live their lives. Many differences between people are not matters of choice and should not be used as a basis for deciding the value or worth of an individual or group of people. Equally, the intolerant response or harassment of people who differ from us cannot be minimized or justified as simply a “developmental stage” that everyone goes through. While teasing one another in school with derogatory names and excluding others from social activities because of their appearance or interests is sometimes considered “typical” child and adolescent behavior, such behavior is a t the root of the violence problems today.