L.A. Lala land. Tinseltown. The city of lost angels. The boulevard of broken dreams. On the surface, an unlikely setting for the most profound educational program on the planet.

The city spreads out like a massive blanket of flickering lights along the edge of the Pacific. Visitors are greeted by a huge spider-shaped fluorescent spaceship perched atop a cyclical skyscraper. Simply comprehending the architecture of L.A.X., Los Angeles International Airport, requires a paradigmatic shift in one's thinking.

Across town in Beverly Hills, the world famous Simon Wiesenthal Center offers specific programs to further refine this skill. The Center's multifaceted mission is to generate change by confronting racism, hatred and terrorism, promoting human rights and dignity, and teaching the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations. With a constituency of over 400,000 households in the United States, it is an accredited NGO at international organizations including the United Nations, UNESCO, and the Council of Europe. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Simon Wiesenthal Center maintains offices in Toronto, New York, Palm Beach, Paris, Buenos Aires and Jerusalem.

I visited the L.A. Center as a guest of the Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC). Two of my colleagues from Prince of Wales Collegiate, Brian Vardy and Gary Noel, and Dr. David Dibbon, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education at M.U.N., were also our province's first participants in their Tools for Tolerance Program. Our training group included a total of forty teachers, administrators, superintendents and professors from southern Ontario and Nova Scotia as well. Together we shared about 800 years of professional experience.

The Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center works to improve Canadian society by supporting projects which promote tolerance, justice and human rights. Since 1996, Tools for Tolerance has trained over 100,000 people in both the private and public sectors in the United States. Canadian educators and law enforcement personnel have been offered the opportunity to attend tailor-made workshops in the U.S. since May 2006. Over 800 professionals have participated in less than two years. Due to the tremendous response, FSWC now offers workshops for other interested groups of Canadian professionals and has opened a new Resource and Leadership Training Centre in downtown Toronto.

Tools for Tolerance is a leading provider of transformational learning and leadership development. Set in state-of-the-art training facilities, programs connect personal, local and global issues, challenging participants to redefine professional roles in an increasingly complex and changing world. The programs are designed to be experiential and learner-centered, combining expert speakers, innovative learning technologies, interactive workshops and cutting - edge curricula.

In the opening session, Liebe Geft, an elegant lady from Zimbabwe and Director of the Museum of Tolerance, spoke eloquently about the unparalleled challenge of teaching tolerance in an age of extremism. She said that the Museum, which opened in 1993 after the L.A.riots, is not an oasis of calm, but a crucible for change, a place where we confront ourselves in order to create a better world, and thus an enduring memorial to the Holocaust. She also cautioned, “If anyone wants to know what the future holds, just ask a teacher".

There has been a renewed interest in FSWC’s programs since last year’s release of the film "Freedom Writers", the true story of a young teacher named Erin Gruwell and the impact a visit to the Museum had on her underachieving teenage students from Long Beach. One can only imagine how many other lives could be changed for the better through programs which integrate educational outreach, community involvement and social action.

The Museum is, in a word, provocative. At the entrance to the permanent exhibit, visitors are asked to enter one of two doors. The first one is marked "Prejudiced", the second "Not Prejudiced". Those who choose the second door discover that it is locked. We are all prejudiced.

Utilizing the high-tech power of words and images, the permanent exhibit challenged us to confront the lessons of history, explore the dynamics of power, and take personal responsibility for the future. Expert guides took us on virtual tours through the streets of wartime Berlin, the killing fields of Europe, and the sites of recent terrorist bombings in Asia and Africa. Participants had fascinating high-tech interactions with artists, athletes and musicians. Comedian Billy Crystal cracked rapid-fire one-liners about growing up in New York. Poet Maya Angelou magically appeared before us in her grandmother's general store and shared personal memories of her childhood. Former Yankee Manager Joe Torre opened his heart about his abusive father while we sat in his living room with him, his brother and sister. The legendary Carlos Santana performed a soulful ballad and spoke about the everyday life of Mexican Americans in the ‘60’s while we lounged around his bedroom surrounded by a variety of guitars. Perhaps most moving of all were the wide array of historical artifacts on display. We were struck by the sweet handwriting of Anne Frank in her original diary and the touching letters written by her sister Margot so many years ago.

Across the street at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Dr. Randall Lindsey, a world-renowned expert on educational reform and author of "The Culturally Proficient School", presented us with "An Implementation Guide for School Leaders". His workshop was quite intense, highly interactive, and deeply personal. His session was probably the most thought-provoking any of us had ever experienced.

Dr. Lindsey was passionate about "providing the climate in which learning thrives" and urged us to "identify not just what you're against, but what you're for". He was meticulous in delivering detailed “Strategies for Serving Our Students and Community". The purposes of the workshop were clearly defined:

1. to describe the impact and influence of race, culture, sexual orientation, socio-economics and class on educational practice, and

2. to present the Cultural Proficiency tools as leadership values and behaviors.

People are served in varying degrees by the dominant culture. Conflict is normal, and diversity natural. Rights and privileges do not evaporate once they are shared; they just become more pervasive. Power always exists; the question is how is it used? The majority tend to be oblivious to their privileges and generally take their entitlements for granted. Historically, none of the major equity events, from school desegregation to "No Child Left Behind", came from the field of education. All came from outside. In fact, property-owning, white males were the only North American citizens originally provided with any basic rights. Dr. Lindsey argued that we are still designing systems not suitable to students' needs, quoting Michael Fullan's assertion that "The Moral Imperative of School Leadership...is to address the cognitive and social needs of all children, with an emphasis on including those who may not have been well served in the past".

Dr. Lindsey explained that Cultural Proficiency is a process, not a place, and requires an inside-out approach. It is about being aware of how we work with others and how we react to those who are different from us. It involves looking at ourselves, our reactions, policies and practices as well as the values and behaviors of the leader that enable effective cross cultural interactions among students, teachers, administrators and the community. Above all, it is a framework for our practices, not additional work.

The Cultural Proficiency Continuum is a tool to diagnose language for describing both healthy and non-productive policies, practices and behaviors. It is illustrative, not prescriptive. There are six points along the continuum that indicate unique ways of perceiving and responding to differences:

1. Cultural Destructiveness, which is eliminationalist, as in the case of genocides, the Japanese internment during the second World War, and First Nations children being forced to attend residential schools. Learning is resisted, those who are culturally different are denigrated, and rigid, limiting curricular paths provide negative consequences that impede student progress.

2. Cultural Incapacity is based on the assumption that other cultures are wrong and should not be honored. The superiority of the dominant culture is promoted and the values and beliefs of others suppressed. Assimilation is regarded as integral to success. Curriculum, instruction and resources reflect dominant group values, learning styles, perspectives and language.

3. Cultural Blindness involves pretending that differences among cultures do not exist and refusing to recognize them. For example, an achievement gap is identified and standardized curriculum and assessments are adopted which ignore learning and communication styles that could enhance learning for particular students.

4. Cultural Pre-competence recognizes that a lack of knowledge, experience and understanding of other cultures limits one's ability to effectively interact with them. There is a desire and a capacity to learn. Teachers supplement lessons with limited information about cultural contributions or events without integrating them into the curriculum. They also provide less challenging lessons for under-performing students.

5. Cultural Competence employs the essential elements of Cultural Proficiency. It involves interacting with other cultural groups, recognizing and valuing their differences, and being motivated to learn more about them. The curriculum contains culturally relevant content and differentiated instructional approaches are adopted to meet the needs of all students. There are regular opportunities for students to contribute in a variety of ways. They have options that are challenging and incorporate higher order thinking skills that personalize connections and evoke multiple perspectives.

6. Cultural Proficiency combines equity and advocacy. It involves interacting respectfully with a variety of cultural groups, honoring their differences, and celebrating human diversity. Multiple perspectives and culturally relevant approaches are integrated into curriculum and instruction. Advocacy for important social issues are modeled and developed. There are opportunities to bridge gaps in cross-cultural knowledge, understanding and communication. All students are provided opportunities to develop academically, to learn how to learn, and to advocate for social justice.

Cultural Proficiency helps us move from tolerance for diversity to transformation for equity, from a focus on "them" and their inadequacies to "us" and our practices, and from viewing demographics as a challenge, to viewing demographics as a means of informing policy and practice. Specific leverage points are utilized to overcome the barriers of systemic privilege, oppression and resistance to change. They include Assessment and Accountability, Curriculum and Instruction, Parent and Community Outreach, and Professional Development. System-wide accountability for continuous improvement and responsiveness to the community provokes significant changes to policies, procedures and practices. Leaders examine how well student/community needs are being met and adapted so multiple voices are heard and integrated into policy and practice. They tend to recruit, hire and promote people who think and act differently from those already in the system. They foster change in the system by sponsoring professional development that is driven by the desire to transform the self first. Only then can one identify and remove existing barriers to equity in order to develop the organization's Cultural Proficiency.

Dr. Lindsey taught us a great deal about the moral imperative of education. We learned many strategies for making a positive difference in the lives of students, for teaching individuals how to function effectively in a diverse society and for doing what has to be done in order to make democracy possible.

Our motivation to utilize these strategies was further enhanced by a heart-wrenching presentation with a speaker from GLIDE. The acronym stands for Gays and Lesbians Initiating Dialogue for Equality. Their mission is to eliminate homophobia in their community by providing the general public with factual information and diverse personal experiences about homosexuality. They hope to accomplish this through live, interactive presentations with educational, business, social, political and religious organizations representing every ethnic and cultural group in southern California. Our presenter enlightened us on many stereotypical myths about homosexuality, cited scientific studies which conclude that there is a biological component in sexual orientation, and pointed out that lesbians and gay men do not want special consideration, they simply want equal rights. His stories about the daily verbal harassment of homosexuals, random acts of violence perpetrated against them, the frequency of hate crimes committed against them and their disproportionate rate of suicide were both instructive and shocking. The presenter's courage, commitment and compassion were a tribute to the human spirit. By the end of his session we were much more educated. Most importantly, we were more empathetic.

During a visit to Beverly Hills High School, we strolled into an English class in which students were engaged in a lively debate about the themes of Antigone. Brian Vardy looked at them sternly and demanded in a loud voice "The individual or the state?" About thirty young arms stretched out as the students shouted enthusiastically "The individual!" Dr. Lindsey and the gentleman from GLIDE would have been proud.

Even when offsite, every moment was filtered through a different conceptual prism. The emotional impact of "Tools for Tolerance" became an entity unto itself. It informed all of our senses. We could feel its' presence as we drove along the Pacific Highway to Sunset Boulevard, taking in the Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Belair, and U.C.L.A. campus, finally arriving through appalling traffic at the famous Hollywood sign, where we took a walk through the seamier side of L.A., looking down on the turgid smog enveloping the downtown area where few residents would dare to tread. It was in the salt sea air as we walked in the sand alongside the Santa Monica Pier with the waves breaking listlessly on the shore. We could see it the faces of the homeless teenagers and aging hippies, relics from the 60's and assorted freaks on Venice Beach. We could hear it in the anguished cry of a young girl on her bicycle who came screaming down the boardwalk, screeching repeatedly and venomously at the top of her lungs "Beautiful Hollywood people - Mother*****!" until she shrunk into the horizon. We read about it in local newspapers with editorials about the outbreak of “affluenza” among Californian youth. It was with us when we sat in the Malibu Inn watching the surfers in the distance, just beyond the exotic high-fenced, high-tech security chateaus rimming the beach and huge mansions hanging precariously on the edge of steep cliffs. The gated communities and private beaches, the luxury chalets designed to face the ocean but blocked from public view; everything became symbolic. Perhaps most striking was the image of the elegant Queen Mary, the embodiment of the luxury and gentility of a bygone era, anchored at Long Beach. The Russian Attack Submarine b-427, code-named "Scorpion", is docked ominously alongside.

Upon reflection, the intense training seems like an emotional blur, a rapid transformation somewhat akin to the view from the window of a jet zooming out of L.A.X. When theory and practice merge, one comes to understand the significance of Lisa Delpit’s observation that "We do not really see through our eyes or hear through our ears, but through our beliefs".

This article was written by Keith Samuelson who teaches at Prince of Wales Collegiate in St. John’s. It was printed in Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association “THE bulletin” May 2008.
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The New York Tolerance Centre, it might look like just a building but inside of it, there is so much history. It is a building that makes you think, makes you realize what goes on around us. The New York Tolerance Centre was built with great intentions. It was built with great care, thought, and compassion. As we walked into the centre, we could see it was not a regular building. The first thing we noticed was all the words and sayings on the walls which had great meaning behind them. At the New York Tolerance Centre, we started off our day by watching videos that involved discrimination, being tolerant or not, being prejudiced, bigot, stereotyping people, oppression, antisemitism, racism, hate crime, homophobia, and much more. These videos brought thoughts of horrid to our minds. After, we had a Holocaust survivor come to speak to us. That experience was life-changing, to meet someone who went through such great pain and survived it. Edi Weinstein was the guest speaker. He talked to us about the horrible things he went through and what he saw. He was shot on his right side and survived it because his brother poured iodine on the wound and wrapped it really tight. Edi did not see his brother again after his brother went to get water for him. Edi was captured by the Nazis when he was 18 and he escaped 5 times from the camp. He described his survival as “a will to live” or “the guy up there”, meaning God. Edi Weinstein is now a very successful man who came to America with nothing. He has children and grandchildren who will keep his story going and live for him.

After one of the survivors from the Holocaust spoke to us we were split into groups. Our group was taken to the Point of View Diner. There we watched a short video one how our point of view on things could have an effect in our society depending on how we react to it. This links to freedom of speech. We are granted freedom of speech and we have the choice to use that opportunity in a positive or negative way. Freedom of speech should be dealt with delicately because while we are stating our opinion we might also be hurting someone else in some way. We learned that freedom of speech is a skill. Later on, we watched a short video on the power of words. Through watching the video we learned that when words are put together they are very powerful and have a huge effect on the people around us. Now it’s the individuals decisions to use them in a positive way or a negative way. Through words many people have made remarkable changes to our world. For example, Martin Luther King gave black people freedom through his speeches. Next thing we did was look at pictures that had to do with stereotyping, racism, and discrimination towards certain groups of people like homosexuals, Jews, black people, and much more. These pictures just showed hate which causes violence further on. This experience truly touched our hearts for the best. We learned several things such as not judging people by their looks or how they are stereotyped but actually by getting to know them. We should use words that make the world a better place rather then misuse them for selfish reasons. Lastly we should only spread love not hate because it would do wonders to our lives and society. I am glad I had this opportunity to learn about our world.

Furthermore this journey has helped the students who attended figure out ways to take action. By not repeating history but rather changing it for the better. We will continue to do just as those who brought freedom and peace to our world and look down upon those who spread nothing but hate.

R. Haddass and D. Zeqo
Toronto District School Board, Future Aces Tools For Tolerance New York workshop
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The Future Aces trip to New York was absolutely incredible. It was an amazing experience, one that we will never forget. On our trip we visited the New York Tolerance Centre to learn about racism and discrimination. Their message was to educate people of all races not to discriminate against others, but to accept them. In the Tolerance Centre we watched videos on genocides and the effects on people from the Holocaust. These stories made us feel an emotional reach to those who suffered and those who are still suffering. These tragedies should never be repeated and we all need to make the effort to make a difference, and a change.

We were overwhelmed with sympathy, horror, and guilt. Sympathy for those who lost everything during the Holocaust. Horror for the genocides that have occurred. And guilt because we could have done something to stop it.

There were workshops in which we discussed the various aspects of tolerance. They were: The Power of Words, the Hall of Memory, and the Point of View Diner. These workshops educated us on stereotyping, discrimination, prejudice, and of course racism. We saw how other people feel about the things happening in this world, and talked about how we can all help to stop it. We feel that after this visit we are ready and empowered to teach others all that we have learned.

Tolerance is a fair and objective attitude towards those whose opinions and practices differ from one’s own. The Museum of Tolerance suggests that tolerance is the belief in and commitment to respect for the dignity of every human being. We participated in this trip in hopes of learning about the different effects and aspects of Tolerance, and how to convey this message to others. Thanks to the New York Tolerance Centre we were able to do so.

F. Mehboob & M. Wong,
Toronto District School Board, Future Aces Tools for Tolerance New York workshop
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We have just returned from an amazing foray into the realms of human courage and compassion. As participants in the Tools for Tolerance experience in Los Angeles, we were privileged to journey with Canadian teachers and other stake holders in the field of education. The experience has left an indelible mark on our minds, hearts and souls.

The Tools for Tolerance program promotes human rights, social justice and social action. In fact during the two days of intense interactive involvement, we were given tools to help us move from dialogue to action.

The most important message that we brought away with us is that if we are to make a difference in the world, it has to start with us. We began our first session by working in groups and exploring our perception of tolerance as a journey from merely tolerating each other to a deeper acceptance of who we are as individuals. We also sought to find out more about each other as we recorded our countries of origin and the area of education in which we are involved. Our subsequent storytelling activity was particularly poignant. We were divided into groups of three and we were asked to describe personal situations where we felt alienated and marginalized as well as affirmed and transformed. This process helped us to create another level of communication as we came to the realization that differences and similarities are co-equal and equally valid. By speaking about our own stories, we were also able to empathize with the experiences of others and affirm each other as well.

Journeying through the Museum of Tolerance is a life-transforming process. Certainly the person who exits is not the same as the person who enters. The images of the terrible struggles and horrific crimes perpetrated on the Jewish populations in countless countries during the Second World War are mind-boggling and soul-searing. It is inconceivable and incomprehensible to contemplate the immensity of the atrocities inflicted by one human being upon another. Later, in Agnes Kunh’s personal testimony of her struggles in a concentration camp, we are able to re-live the terror experienced by this courageous woman. And the story of man’s inhumanity to man does not end, as we view current examples of genocide in places such as Rwanda and China.

Let me tell you about Dr. Terence Roberts who was a member of the Little Rock Nine. His presentation came after our second trip to the Museum of Tolerance where we were encouraged to delve into our own personal family history and come to the realization that our families have made us who we are. The image of the family jar filled with compassion and love and available to every precious and beloved member was particularly memorable. Dr. Roberts spoke about the support and love that he unconditionally received from his mom during a very difficult period in his life when he and eight other students tried to break through the prejudices of an all-white educational system. Dr. Roberts talked about the importance of being honoured, loved and embraced as a child. He was emphatic that all students need this. He spoke of the sacred trust given to us as teachers. We are in fact entrusted with the souls of our students and it is incumbent upon us to create an environment where each person is treated with dignity and respect. This echoes the sentiments of a great humanitarian- Jean Vanier- who spoke to us at the When Faith Meets Pedagogy conference in October.

The last part of the Tools for Tolerance experience helped us as educators to move from dialogue to action. Dr. Randall Lindsey outlined the tools involved in cultural proficiency. They include the Guiding Principles (core values), the Continuum (language), Essential Elements (standards for measuring growth) and the Barriers to change.

Yes, we must be the change. We must learn to translate our good intentions into concrete steps that we will use in our classroom. The tools for tolerance that we have been given will help us to plan, model, monitor and celebrate the changes that we enact so that we will ultimately live the ideals of the charter of the United Nations- “to practice tolerance and live together in peace and with one another as good neighbours…”

R. Plescia,
Teacher,
Toronto Catholic District School Board
Leadership for Inclusive Schools Dec. 07
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Where did it all start?
To know, you must do your part
This is Your life........
For she was a wife
A mom a dad, no glove
From a place furnished with hope and love

Lest ye forget, take heed
Many documents for you to read
The healing din of their hearts you hear
Alas, the end of dread and fear

The enduring spirit of their heart and soul
As an individual, your core they mould
You get strength as their stories they tell
For the seventh generation, hope you do well

Starch your backbone and build you own quilt
Your life stories on it will be built
Use colors and shapes and a number of patch
Like a mosaic, things don't have to match

Where are you now and where have you been
Memories, legends, songs and even a sin
History captured in head and heart
This is your life,....so do Your part.

B.Faulknor,
Vice Principal,
Joseph Gibbons Public School,
Halton District School Board Leadership for Inclusive Schools May 13 ‘07
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“Then and Now”
Then

Ordinary people. Ordinary lives.
Some with husbands, children and wives
They used signs and symbols of hate
To exterminate and cleanse at a great rate.

Eliminate, liquidate, slaughter was the will
By guns, starvation, persecution they kill.
Not one, two, three, but six millions counted
Men, women, children, bodies mounted.

Like sheep to the slaughter taken by gas
Screams and cries were heard from the mass.
Resistance showed with the strength left
Others stood still as they wept.

Now
As educators we preach and teach
The lives of students we try to reach.
We use words as powerful tools
To group as smart, unteachable or fools.

Be constructive as words we use
For attitudes and values are often fused.
Be strong and brave as we perform tasks
As people we don many masks.

Start with kids and expand the mind
To eliminate prejudice, racism and the kind.
Shape the world and do your part
To evolve people with a good heart.

Ordinary people. Ordinary lives.

Vice Principal,
Joseph Gibbons Public School,
Halton District School Board
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GOD’S COUNTRY

Many thousand years ago
Oppressed Jews have reached a low
Nowhere to go but upwards and free
The state of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea

The trip begins from Toronto to Tel Aviv
Great Hotels and food, how could I leave?
Arriving at the Renaissance one mustn’t presume
To find a Gideon Bible in the drawer of your room

We met our guide, but little did we know
Demanded silence, friend or foe?
Politics, History and opinions on the run
We developed a rapport and a Beryl of fun

Sorry Beryl I almost hit the deck
I misunderstood; your daughter married a Czech?
We heard your clap and we responded to the sound
Even in Toronto, you were nowhere to be found

The Wiezman came but not from the Far East
Graduates of science at the very least
Teachers and students learn at the centre
Curriculum developed as a world wide mentor

Wars and bombing on your mind must prey
How do you live from day to day?
Scuds are bursting; you can feel it to the core
Time to make dinner? “Routines of war”

Holocaust ensues and relationships severed
Faces and names lost forever
Six million and more, we must put names to the numbers
Yad Vashem, Yad Vashem, Time to remember

I reached the wall, many cracks I could see
Tradition says, write a wish and it will be
No paper or pen but a prayer I must
Only a dollar in hand “In God we Trust”

The food was plentiful with dairy and meat
Buffet at its best all you can eat
Salads and pastry take thirds and fourths
Cheeses of Nazareth fresh from the north

Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem the old walled city
More time is needed, what a pity
The church of the Holy Sepulchre, Mosques, Temples and Shrines
Many Religions, with differences, a fine line

Crossed through the check point to the city of Bethlehem
The Church of the Nativity glowed like a gem
The birth place of Christ and the Shepherd’s field
Christians in awe with minds that yield


Lunched in the west bank with our Christian guide
Anwar spoke of control that moves like the tide
Leadership needed, let’s sign the deal
Israel forever, home with a seal

This trip to Israel has opened my eyes
A state of people with no disguise
They talk their differences and work things out
In the cafes with opinions and even in Sderot

A multicultural society would be good
A society of cultures is better understood
Diversity works when we strive for the kingdom
It fails with fear and a loss of freedom

Peter Barrans, February 2008
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