At Newtown Friends School, teachers begin educating us about tolerance even before we learn to read. They start by slowly introducing “the golden rule” and its importance in our daily lives. They then move on to the bigger, more universal topic called tolerance. I believe that tolerance is one of the main building blocks of a person’s core, and it drives us to act kindly towards others.
Between the grades of first and sixth, there was a girl who I was “friends” with. At times, she was really nice and funny, but most of the time, she followed me and argued with me about the smallest things. She was was nice to you, but would say bad things about you behind your back to your other friends. She was constantly finding something to disagree with me about, and when she finally did, she was usually the one to begin the argument. Often times, she wrapped up the argument by telling on me, in tears, and I was usually the one who was being blamed for making her cry. I would come home in tears out of frustration, confusion, and disappointment in myself. This happened almost every day, for nearly 4 out of our 6 years as “friends”.
This story ties into my thoughts on tolerance because of the way I reacted towards her. I did not yell, hit, or confront her about how confusing her behavior was. Although I struggled for a long time, I was finally able to express my feelings. This is how our teachers taught us to tolerate others. The golden rule is to treat others the way you would like to be treated. And that is exactly what I did. Although my method didn’t work very well (she never got over her obsession), I didn’t overreact or become un-composed.
Last year, we focused on the Quaker testimony of Community. As a community at Newtown Friends School, I believe that we should be tolerant of our peers. Although it can be difficult at times, it is a small step towards accepting others throughout the country, and then the world. This, I believe.
Before I read this blog, when I thought of the word 'tolerence' I would think of being able to be calm to people even if I didn't necessarily like the situation I was in. When I read this blog, it basically agreed with what I thought, but it also made me understand the word more because the blog also used examples of things that I already knew such as "the golden rule" and one of the SPICES, community. Since the blog had these examples in it, it helped me more to understand the word tolerence.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post and I now I see why you are always so nice to people. I never thought about tolerence that way and now you have opened my mind to new ways to think about and handle things. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI love this! I love how you brought your life and put it in the story. It made me not want to stop reading! GOOD JOB!
ReplyDeleteThis is a terrific example of a belief statement. You told a story and showed how that event helped you form your beliefs. Well done, Marie-Louise!
ReplyDelete5/5 points.