Talk goes beyond 'N-word'

I thought this was an interesting way to teach tolerance to students. See what you think.

JAMESVILLE -- Gathered in a room on the grounds of a scenic campsite off the Eastern Shore’s Chesapeake Bay, students laughed and joked as they eagerly yelled out words used to define a nerdy person.

While Jonathan Zur, a youth program manager with the National Conference for Community and Justice, scrawled on a large, white notepad, the Denbigh High School students threw out words like dork, pizza face and calculator.

The interaction centered on getting students to think about insults they could generate by using descriptive words.

Zur then asked students how they would respond if he replaced nerd with black, female and homosexual.

“I think the words or synonyms you would have given me were” - Zur flipped the notepad to reveal large letters that spelled out three slurs that no one thought were funny.

The group of nearly 40 students fell silent. (source)