101 Tools for Tolerance

Please take advantage of all that the teaching tolerance website has to offer. Here is just a short snap shot of one of the great resources that is available to help us connect issues we are passionate about to our schools

Tools for Tolerance: Ideas For Your School:

41. Donate tolerance-related books, films, magazines and other materials to school libraries. Organize a book drive.

42. Buy art supplies for a local school. Sponsor a mural about the cultural composition and heritage of your community.

43. Volunteer to be an advisor for a student club. Support a wide range of extracurricular activities to help students "find their place" at school.

44. Coach a girls' sports team. Encourage schools to provide equal resources for boys' and girls' athletics.

45. Sponsor a conflict resolution team.

46. Ask school counselors what resources they have for supporting gay and lesbian youth. Offer additional materials if necessary.

47. Assess your school's compliance with the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Organize a class project to improve compliance.

48. Donate a tape recorder to a school that is conducting oral history projects. Suggest a focus on local struggles for civil rights.

49. Start a pen pal program. Get students in touch with people in different parts of the community, country or world.

50. Applaud the other team. Promote good sportsmanship and ban taunting.

51. Encourage schools to go beyond the "heroes and holidays" model to develop a rich, ongoing multicultural curriculum. Give Teaching Tolerance materials to educators in your community.

52. Provide confidential methods for students to report harassment or bullying.

53. Encourage school administrators to adopt Internet-use polices that address online hate, harassment and pornography.

53. Discourage the use of divisive school emblems.

55. Ensure that schools comply with the McKinney Act, the federal law mandating educational services for homeless children.

56. Create a bilingual (or multilingual) calendar highlighting school and community activities.

57. Invite bilingual students to give morning greetings and announcements on the PA system in their home languages.

58. Make sure that school cafeterias offer options for students and staff with dietary restrictions.

59. Celebrate "Someone Special Day" instead of Mother's Day or Father's Day. Keep adoptive and foster students in mind when planning family-oriented programs.

60. Ask schools not to schedule tests or school meetings on the major holidays of any religious group. Develop a school calendar that respects religious diversity.