The Tolerance Class by Racheal

The Tolerance Class by Racheal - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

American high schools teach a number of courses, such as: English, math, French, astronomy, and even relationships. However, there isn’t a world religions course. America should add a world religions class to the high school curriculum because this class would teach about the world’s religions, explain current events, and create a cultural tolerance in the future leaders of the United Stated of America, which is drastically needed today.

On every standardized test students take, there is always a religion box to fill out. Yet, most in America only understand what Christianity is, and know the stereotypes of the Jewish, Buddhist, and Muslim religions. By adding a world religions class, students will learn the religion, who or what is the god(s), practices, and main ideas of the religion. This knowledge will help in destroying the stereotypes of religions and letting students decide the spiritual path if they chose to have one.

With wars and radical groups, it’s hard to keep up with who is the bad guy, especially if a person doesn’t know who the Taliban was or who ISIS is. A world religions class would clarify current events to students by explaining the religion and radical groups that were produced from the ideas of the religion. This explanation would make early U.S. History courses a tad bit easier and help to keep young people up to date on current events involving religion.

Not only will the world religions class help to keep religious issues straight, but it will also help to create a cultural tolerance in the young adults. With the world the way it is, tolerance for people with a different religion has gone down extremely. Tolerance is an aspect every person in the world needs. It simply means that a person may not like another person, but won’t yell about how the other person’s religion is wrong then shove his own religion down the other’s throat. This is a concept long forgotten by the older generation and our world leaders that needs to come back to light soon. The world religions class could teach tolerance and I have seen evidence that it is teachable and would be accepted by young adults. In my school, the staff implemented a block called Redzone. I had the French Redzone that had the goal of learning the differences of cultures, accepting that cultures are different and that it is okay, and then sharing what was learned. Everyone who had that Redzone class believed it was okay to be different and had no problem of tolerating others. That Redzone achieved its goal. A world religions class would do the same and more for students.

In order for students to become leaders, they must have knowledge of the world and its people. American High schools should add a world religion class to the curriculum in order to teach young adults more than stereotypes of religions, keep students up to date on current events, and create a more culturally tolerant generation. Besides, as Helen Keller said, “The highest result of education is tolerance.”