Turning the lens on tolerance
Apr. 19—MAPLE — Students at Northwestern Elementary School wrote on tolerance this month for their character education writing. Here are submissions from two fourth grade students, Rorie Haag and Bae Coleman.
Tolerance
Tolerance is the willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from my own. Thankfully, I never have been treated unfairly, so in this essay you will read about a time when I saw a kid in my class being treated unfairly, how I think they felt, and something they could've learned from this experience.
To start, I will talk about a time a classmate was treated unfairly. My classmate was getting treated unfairly for a sport he liked that other people didn't care for. I don't really care what he likes, or doesn't like. I like him just the same.
Second, I will talk about how I think my classmate felt when he was treated unfairly. Thinking about how someone feels is empathy. Empathy is putting myself into someone else's shoes. If I was in my classmate's shoes I would be sad, but also angry at them for treating me this way. Maybe I don't like a sport they like. I wasn't being mean about it to them. They pretty much just want to get a reaction out of me.
Third, you will read about a way my classmate could learn from this experience. Number one: He could learn how he feels about this and use tolerance to accept that he is he and he is awesome. Number two: He would be able to know not to treat anyone unfairly.
To sum it all up, tolerance is the willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from my own. In this essay, you read about a time a kid in my class was treated unfairly, how I think they felt, and something he could learn from the experience. When was a time you were treated unfairly?
By Rorie Haag
Tolerance
What is tolerance? Tolerance is accepting different opinions, differences, and beliefs from our own. It doesn't always mean we have to agree, just understand or accept their thoughts. When we are tolerant of someone, we can make them feel good, and not sad because they are different. It can also make us feel better. The next paragraphs will be about tolerance. We should try our best to be tolerant when we can and when other people aren't.
First, I will tell about a time I was treated differently, and why tolerance would've helped in that situation. I have been treated differently because I was short. I really do not like being called "short," but occasionally some people do. It hurts my feelings, and makes me feel sad. Some people are similar to me and don't like being called "short." In this situation, tolerance would've helped me feel okay. I probably wouldn't have even noticed that I was a little short! I learned I should be tolerant of people who are different than me and how it feels to be treated differently and unfairly.
It is important to show others we respect them even if they are different from us. A way I can do that is by showing tolerance. Or, I could listen to them, even if they have different thoughts and not say rude comments. I could also try to understand their thinking. We should not make fun of or treat people differently if they aren't the same as us. If everybody was the same, it wouldn't be a fun world to live in!
We should accept people for who they are. But why is this important? This idea is important because it will make people feel much better about themselves if we accept them for who they are. It will also make us feel a whole lot better if we accept them for who they are. If we didn't, they might feel left out or uncomfortable, and it will make us feel bad, too. We should always accept people for who they are.
Different ideas or opinions can also help us understand things better. Sometimes, different points of view can change the way we see things. Like a book. It's like we are putting ourselves into the character's shoes and thinking, "What if that was me?" This is a reason we should not treat people unfairly if they are different from us, or have different thoughts from our own.
In conclusion, we learned that we should respect people for who they are. Also, we learned that we should show tolerance and kindness to people who are different from us. Lastly, we learned why it is important to be tolerant. Tolerance can make people feel included and comfortable, including whoever shows it. What are some ways to show tolerance?
By Bae Coleman
Rorie Haag and Bae Coleman are fourth grade students at Northwestern Elementary School
This story is part of the Telegram's efforts to showcase the work of young people in the community. For more information on those efforts, contact reporter Maria Lockwood at
