Teaching Tolerance: Resources to Promote Safe & Welcoming Schools & Communities

As we gathered for school meetings today, several teachers admired a set of posters I received FREE from Teaching Tolerance. Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, offers teachers numerous free and immediately useful resources, including Teaching Tolerance Magazine, downloadable anti-bias, anti-bullying, civil rights, and other peace and equity lessons with deep and varied connections to curriculum. In my middle school classes, we use these resources as well as the Mix It Up Day surveys and program ideas.

Many years ago I used a video and support materials about globally known humanitarian Gerda Weissmann Klein, with third graders, for example. The posters I received today complement Facing History's Choosing to Participate exhibition, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution. Links to this project's resources for teachers and families are below. This project aims to help inspire us to "consider the consequences of our everyday choices--to discover how 'little things are big....'" in promoting respect and civic engagement.

Periodic emails from Teaching Tolerance offer timely suggestions for building welcoming school communities and empowering youth to act. Often I open a link and use it in a lesson the very day it arrives. My school’s mission urges teachers to challenge, nurture, and inspire students to live lives of purpose, faith, and integrity.  As we embark on a new year, resources from Teaching Tolerance may be helpful tools in our endeavors.

Best wishes for a wonderful year,

Sue

• Link to Teaching Tolerance: http://www.tolerance.org/  
• Link to Smithsonian Institution site, Choosing to Participate: http://www.sites.si.edu/choosingtoparticipate/  
• Link to Teaching Tolerance resource, Responding to Hate and Bias at School: http://www.tolerance.org/hate-and-bias
• Link to other helpful peace, human rights, multicultural, and anti-bullying resources: http://www.teachforpeace.org/