Educación para la tolerancia

Abstract

The author contends that racism arises from ideological representation wherein the idea of biological differences between human beings responds to historical, social, cultural and political conditions that have developed into specific practices. These practices seek to eliminate whomever are heterogeneous and different, perceived as symbols of a threatening “disorder" (i. e., the physically disabled, women, Jews, native Indians, black people, Hispanics, homosexuals, etc.). The exclusion of the dissimilar, which underlies all racist stands, can lx* an act of individuals but also of the State. Given the dialectics between the individual and the collectivity, the State is in a position to either entice racism or promote tolerance and solidarity. The latter should prevail in education, proposes the author. To oppose racism by fostering the concept of "tolerance" and recognizing the history and identity of minority groups. There are various conceptual and pedagogical proposals for education practices that face up to racism, in the pursuit of justice and equality: acknowledging those who are dissimilar, challenging oppressive behavior, understanding that racism promotes other types of discrimination.