|
Welcome to Skills For Youth! The
skill described this month is:
Increasing
Tolerance for Diversity
It includes:
Note:
Links on this page with the Portable Document Format icon 
require Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 to view and print them. You can download
this free software at: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html
The
student skill for this month addresses increasing tolerance for diversity,
specifically for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning individuals
(GLBTQ). Webster’s dictionary defines tolerance as "a sympathy
or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with
one’s own." Increasing tolerance in youth for GLBTQ individuals
is important for the creation of a nurturing and safe environment for
all the youth in our schools.
In order
to build this tolerance, youth need to do three things:
#1 Identify the facts
and myths about GLBTQ individuals.
The first
step in providing facts about GLBTQ individuals is to define terms related
to these individuals. See this month's Topic
in Brief for a list of definitions. You might write these words on
the blackboard or newsprint, ask the youth to define them, and then correct
any misinformation.
A second
step might be to have youth complete a myth/fact activity. To do this,
ask youth to complete the Myth/Fact Worksheet
following the
directions below.
- Have youth work in pairs or triads to answer each question on the
Myth/Fact Worksheet. Instruct them to discuss each item and try to come
to agreement on the correct answer. For lower skilled groups, you might
want to read each question aloud and have teens mark the answers. Or
write the statements on index cards and have pairs or groups put the
cards in a "true," "false" or "not sure" pile.
- Once groups have finished the Myth/Fact Worksheet, review the answer
to each question. Be sure to make the points suggested on the Myth/Fact
Answer Sheet.
- Next, ask youth to imagine how these myths might have a negative impact
on GLBTQ individuals. Some examples might be that myths can lead to
unfair judgments which result in name calling, insults, or even discrimination.
- In order to imagine how these negative experiences might feel, ask
the youth to think of a time when they felt different from their friends
or school mates. For example, they might have felt too thin, or too
fat, or have been a different religion from everyone else. Encourage
them to talk about how that difference made them feel (e.g. sad, hurt,
angry, alone, etc). Explain that GLBTQ individuals have these feelings.
#2 Identify how myths
get played out in our world, including the negative impact they have on
GLBTQ individuals.
After we
have learned to separate myth from fact, the second step in this process
is to become aware of how often our myths and beliefs about GLBTQ individuals
get played out in a negative way in the world around us. In order to increase
youths' awareness, give them the homework assignment described below.
Homework:
Ask youth to notice, in the next few days, how myths about GLBTQ individuals
get played out in the world. State that they may hear name calling, derogatory
comments about someone, or a news release about discrimination against
a GLBTQ individual. Tell them that they don’t need to do anything
except notice what the incident is and remember it for discussion later
in the week.
After several
days, ask youth to report what they have observed. Process their sharing
by asking: a) how the person receiving the insult, act of discrimination,
etc., might have felt, and b) what might have motivated the person(s)
who acted in the negative, biased way. Emphasize that being discriminated
against is always hurtful.
#3 Make a commitment
to challenge these myths and negative behaviors within ourselves and others.
Once youth
learn the myths and facts about GLBTQ individuals and observe how myths
and prejudice get played out in our world, they are ready to use this
knowledge and awareness to increase their own tolerance for diversity.
There are two different aspects to practicing tolerance. The first is
to challenge our own attitudes and beliefs, and the other is to challenge
the myths, jokes, slurs and discrimination in our environment.
Challenging
our own beliefs:
To help youth challenge their own beliefs about GLBTQ individuals, implement
the Learning Activity: "Toward
Understanding."
Challenging
biased practices in our world:
To help youth challenge these unfair practices in our world, implement
the following activity:
- Present the following situations to the class and ask youth to help
you write responses that would challenge these biased practices. A useful
model for developing responses might be: "When you ____________, I___________,
because __________." See the examples included after each situation.
Situation #1
You are out with a bunch of friends, and someone tells a joke about
"queers." Possible response: Hey dude, when you make fun
of people, I don’t want to hang with you because it isn’t
cool.
Situation #2
You overhear a classmate calling someone a "lesbo." Possible
response: When I hear you put down (classmate name) like that, it
makes me mad because my cousin is gay.
Situation #3
A friend says that all "homos" are child molesters. Possible response:
When I hear statements like that, it makes me mad because I learned
in class that most child molesters are not gay.
Once youth have identified some possible responses to these situations,
have them pair up with someone and practice their own responses to
each situation. Conclude by having youth share what they learned from
the practice.
Tips
- It's important that educators don’t make students wrong for having
biases. The point of this skill is to provide them with the knowledge
and awareness to reduce their biases. Making them wrong won’t change
their thoughts and beliefs; it will only make them defensive.
- Expect discomfort, laughter and joking around. Homosexuality is an
uncomfortable topic in our culture. The educator can model acceptance
of this discomfort while making a clear statement that name calling,
put downs and discrimination are not acceptable. Increasing tolerance
is a slow process; be patient with the youth.
- It's important that school districts have a zero tolerance policy
for biased incidents, hate crimes and sexual harassment. See the June
2000 Educator Skill for more information
about district polices.
- For additional information about GLBTQ issues, see this month's Topic
in Brief on this web site.
top
Home
| Index |
Topic in Brief | Evidence-Based Programs
Skills for Educators | Skills
for Youth | Current Research
Library | Statistics
| Theories & Approaches |
Links
Professional Credits | Learning Activity
| Forum
| Archives
|
|
