"Teaching Tolerance in America" by Dudley Erskine Devlin

Mr. Devlin said it best in his article, "Teaching Tolerance in America," stating, "Helping students appreciate and welcome differences in culture, racial heritage, and personal identity…are especially hard to teach." He mentions the problems that cliques, gender discrimination, and social classes create in the average American high school. The article points out that although America is "the land of the free," and so on, high schools are not implicating and enforcing rules and codes to protect the freedom Americans should possess from discrimination.

Among the most noticeable difference between cliques, are racial differences amongst students. These groups mirror the cliques that society has already quietly implemented for years. The author calls out to students and educators to make it so that these groups disappear entirely. However, it is not entirely fair that the young adults and children of America should be faced with the daunting task of bringing Americans of different ethnicities closer together (even if there is success in doing so.) These kinds of issues should be brought to a head and solved by mature adults in America, the very people that taught their kids who they should "eat lunch with," and so on (if not by explanation, by example). Children who cannot tie their own shoes should not be thrown into the fire of racial issues and even tension, though they are more successful at breaking barriers than common adults who are stuck in their ways.

Next, Mr. Devlin mentions the gender issues in classrooms, such as males harassing girls for being "fat," and so on. I can believe that it happens, but the author makes it sound like guys are the only offenders. I have seen some pretty vicious "chicks" talk about other girls, worse than any man could, in my opinion. Although I will agree with the author when he says that the issues exist, I do not think they are up there on the intolerance scale with cliques and social classes.

The last problem mentioned in the article revolved around social classes. We all have them, "geeks, jocks, skaters," it's nothing surprising. However, these groups could potentially be the ones responsible for tearing Americans apart the most (and it starts at an early age). The main problem associated with social classes is bullying. Bullying is an issue that I believe is misunderstood in schools across America. You don't have to be the kid who jams someone's head into a locker to be a bully. It can involve mental harassment as well. I strongly support the "no bully" programs at schools, because they are the quick and even "cool" way to stop harassment before it starts.

The suggestions given by the author to solve these school offenses by groups across America range from implementing uniforms to having tolerance classes offered at school. Frankly, I don't agree with almost any of Mr. Devlin's suggestions on how to build up tolerance. I won't speak much on the uniform issue, but uniforms hinder individuality, and by implementing them, schools would make racial cliques more important, by exonerating the only clear difference that is left unchanged (skin color). I also firmly believe that such tolerance classes would not be taken seriously, and that it would take one, extra special teacher to keep the class from arguing the whole period. Although I do not agree with the authors methods to solving the problem involving a lack of tolerance in schools in America, I do acknowledge that it is a large problem that society is forced to deal with. I think a more appropriate way to find what works best for the students would be to ask them their thoughts and feelings on the matter, much like what the opera company that came here a few years ago did. Students will best connect with what intrigues them, and will only respond passionately to issues that they can relate to. It is important to act swiftly on the matter of tolerance, but it is more important to do it right.