What is tolerance?
The verb tolerate comes from the Latin tollere, which means to lift up, to carry, or support. The Southern Poverty Law Center has this to say, “The word "tolerance" is surely imperfect, yet the English language offers no single word that embraces the broad range of skills we need to live together peacefully.” The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used the Greek term "agape" to describe a universal love that "discovers the neighbor in every man it meets." In its Declaration on the Principles of Tolerance, UNESCO offers a definition of tolerance that most closely matches our goals: Tolerance is respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression, and our ways of being human.
Tolerance is harmony in difference.
Since its founding, Brookview School has been creating a family-friendly community dedicated to promoting individuality in the midst of diversity, and forging bonds of friendship, partnership, and understanding. Seeds of Tolerance is a groundbreaking project that includes diversity training and curriculum development, film screenings, exhibitions, local and national partnerships and innovative strategies for community outreach and dialogue.
Brookview is now working with more than forty community partners—churches, arts groups, social service institutions, corporations, and economic development organizations. We have also collaborated with several national organizations—Family Diversity Projects, Women’s Educational Media Respect for All Project, and the Family Pride Coalition.
Seeds of Tolerance has created the conditions for our students to view tolerance as a way of thinking and feeling — and most importantly, a way of acting.
This is important because Brookview students represent a cross-section of the world. We seek to build a foundation that gives Brookview “peace in our individuality, respect for those unlike us, the wisdom to discern humane values, and the courage to act upon them.” Our Seeds of Tolerance Project is a vital step in our institutional development. Our commitment to diversity has moved from an underpinning of our philosophy to defining who we are in the region. Our ultimate goal is creating a diversity arts center—a haven, a meeting place and a clearinghouse that contributes to the richness of both the local area, enhances our connections to the global community and perhaps becomes a model for educators around the country.