Acceptance In School
(Formerly Tolerance)
vs. prejudice
Demonstrating respect for others who do not share my perspective
To practice Acceptance, I will: 
- expect the same of myself as others
- see things from the perspective of others
- listen before forming an opinion
- learn to value differences
- help myself, and others, grow
From Tolerance to Acceptance
by Jill Tomey
This year we changed the quality of Tolerance to Acceptance. To prepare to write this month’s essay, I was looking at the ones I’ve written over the years on Tolerance when I found one I wrote in 2017 about using the Dr. Suess story of the Sneetches to introduce the quality. At the bottom of the article, I had a link to an external site for a lesson plan on the book. I followed the link and the lesson plan was gone. In its place was a discussion about the racism of the author and the racism in the Dr. Suess books. What?? I’ve been a fan of Dr. Suess since I received a copy of Go, Dog, Go as a present on my 5th birthday. To read that he and his works were racist came as a shock. They even bashed The Sneetches. I say again – What??
According to the article (first link below), Dr. Seuss was apparently quite racist in his writings and cartoons before he began writing children’s books. The article went on to identify racist overtones/images in his children’s books as well. I began researching the topic to see if there was concurrence and discovered that in 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises stopped publishing 6 of his books because “These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” (second link below).
It was a gut punch to uncover my ignorance and a lesson in being more aware.
In digesting this new awareness, I compared Tolerance to Acceptance. It’s not just a word change but an evolution. Tolerance can carry underlying judgments. Acceptance appreciates and celebrates diversity. Tolerance is passive; Acceptance is active. That means I can’t be complacent. I need to increase my sensitivity to prejudice that is subtle and easy to overlook. If I want to live in an inclusive society, I have to be willing to identify racism even in iconic literature.
This month, how will your Acceptance evolve?
It’s time to talk about Dr. Seuss>>
6 Dr. Seuss books will stop being published because of racist imagery>>
The Links below will take you to Resources you can use in the classroom or in homeschool
to teach the Character Quality of Acceptance.
Our other Pillars have resources that can be used in an educational setting or for education professionals.
Visit Acceptance in Business>>
Teambuilding
Power Up with Character
Interview Questions
Adult Business Books
Visit Acceptance in the Community>>
Quotes
Character All Month Calendar
Related Qualities
Character Holiday Activities
Family Activity (with a printable for sending home to parents)
Visit Acceptance in Faith>>
Christian Family Activity
Bible Verses
Christian Poster
Prayer and Reflections
Archived Resources