Humane Edge January 2008

In This Issue:

• 8 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT HUMANE EDUCATION (AND IHE) IN 2008
  
• RESOURCES REMIX: NEW MAGAZINES/VIDEOS SECTION ON OUR WEBSITE
  
• WHAT'S IN A NAME? ACTIVITIES ABOUT THE POWER OF WORDS
  
• MEDIA MASHUP: USE NEWS & ADS TO EMPOWER YOUR STUDENTS
• FEATURED RESOURCE: THE TRUTH ABOUT PR LIES
  
• BE THE CHANGE: AN INTERVIEW WITH IHE'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
• FEATURED STUDENT: PHOEBE PLANK

8 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT HUMANE EDUCATION (AND IHE) IN 2008

Each and every day presents an opportunity to support and promote humane education (and IHE). There are a lot of things that you can do; here are 8 for 2008:

1. Talk about it.
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful means of sharing information and influencing others. Talk about the power of humane education (and what IHE can offer) to teachers, administrators, groups that address one or more humane issues, friends, changemakers, legislators, anyone, everyone!

2. Write about it.
Whenever you see a humane or education issue mentioned in the media – whether in newspapers, video, magazines, blogs or other avenues – take a moment to write a letter or send an email mentioning the connection to humane education.

3. Ask for it.
Are you a student or a parent/guardian of a student? A member of a group that has guest speakers? A volunteer for a non-profit? A public library patron? Part of an office or business situation? Ask your school/group/entity to provide humane education programs, resources, and/or training (and mention IHE as a resource).

4. Web 2.0 it.
Cyberspace is fast becoming THE way to share important social issues with others. Use your blog, social networking pages (MySpace? Facebook? Zaadz? WiserEarth?), website, wiki page, podcast or other online forum to promote humane education.

5. Bring it.
A great way to inspire and empower others in your community is to help bring a Sowing Seeds or MOGO (Most Good) workshop to your area. Browse our local organizer’s guide to see how to bring humane education to your community.

6. Fund it.
Short on time but have some extra coins in the jar? Inspiring the world to make more just, compassionate choices takes money. Help support humane education and IHE’s work by making a donation.

7. Do it.
Any time you inspire someone to think critically about the pressing issues of our time and to develop positive ways to solve them, you’re “doing” humane education. Whether your special talent is teaching, writing, speaking, creating, organizing, building, or something else, there is a way to integrate your abilities with educating and inspiring others to help transform our world into a humane one. IHE’s resources and programs can help you learn the skills you need to be an effective humane educator.

8. Model it.
Author and activist Frances Moore Lappe says that "Every choice we make can be a celebration of the world we want." Work toward being conscious of the impact of every choice you make on yourself, other people, animals and the planet, and take steps to make choices that nurture and support the compassionate, sustainable, just world that we all want!

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RESOURCES REMIX: NEW MAGAZINES/VIDEOS SECTION ON OUR WEBSITE

We're renovating our Resources section. Check out our lists of recommended videos and magazines -- great tools for humane education and MOGO living!

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WHAT'S IN A NAME? ACTIVITIES ABOUT THE POWER OF WORDS

January 21-25 is No Name-Calling Week. We have several activities that explore the power of names and words.

Two Apples

In this icebreaker, participants learn just how important words and actions are when they explore their impact on two apples.

Recommended for All ages.
Time: 5-10 minutes

What’s in a Name?

“You’re such a pig!” “She’s a total dog!” Help students examine our myths about and prejudices against animals, to explore why they exist, and to consider what we might want to change about our relationships with them.

Recommended for grades 6 and up.
Time: 45 minutes

Word Power

Words have enormous power and often assign value. This activity explores sample words in context and what kinds of value those words imply.

Recommended for grades 4 and up.
Time: 15-30 minutes

MEDIA MASHUP:  USE NEWS & ADS TO EMPOWER YOUR STUDENTS

Media surrounds us. Children and adults are daily bombarded with messages from a variety of media. More people are taking advantage of web 2.0 technology to create and publish their own media. And more people are realizing that we are ill-prepared to critically assess the messages and values we’re fed daily. Realization about the need to teach citizens to think critically about the media – and the messages – is increasing in the media itself. For example, The European Commission recently announced plans to promote and encourage media literacy for EU citizens on a policy level. A new study by psychologists reviewing numerous studies on the impact of children’s exposure to media violence calls for the development of effective public policies to address the issues. A recent analysis conducted by the Minnesotano Media Empowerment Project discovered that news stories about Latinos are frequently full of stereotypes and derogatory language and “are mostly in the categories of immigration and crime, with entertainment a distant third.”

News stories, ads, and other mediums of messages provide excellent opportunities to help students think critically about the messages and their purposes and how to effectively assess elements such as credibility, bias, context and more.

IHE has several humane education activities in our Resources section that could serve as springboards for customizing your students' critical exploration of media and advertising. For example:

In Analyzing Advertising, students learn to be ad-savvy by exploring the pervasiveness of ads in their lives and by analyzing what ads are trying to sell…and trying to hide. 

In Be a C.R.I.T.I.C, participants learn to use a special technique to enable them to bring critical thinking skills to any information they receive, whether from industry, non-profits, government or media.

In We Have You Surrounded, students explore issues of branding, marketing and economic globalization.

There are, of course, numerous opportunities available from the news and other media on a daily basis. For example, after reading & discussing the story about the Minnesotano analysis, students could conduct their own media browse to look for the existence (or absence) of stereotypes in their local media. They could then look for stereotypes on a larger scale. For instance, when commercials for cleaning products appear, how many times is it a guy who’s using the product? Or, for that matter, how many single people versus “moms”?  and so on…..

There are also websites in our Links section that focus on media literacy issues and resources, such as PR Watch, Adbusters and Commercial Alert.

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FEATURED RESOURCE: THE TRUTH ABOUT PR LIES

In a world of fake news & media manipulation, it's important to learn about the power of the public relations industry. In Toxic Sludge is Good for You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry by John Stauber & Sheldon Rampton, the authors dissect the public relations industry and their influences to exemplify how they – and the corporations, government agencies and others who use them – “alter perception, reshape reality and manufacture consent.” From “grassroots” front groups to propaganda, to press releases packaged to look like “real” news to more nefarious actions, their tactics are vast and numerous. Sheldon & Rampton give us a behind-the-scenes view of the extent of their influence.

This book provides a great source of information for exploration and critical thinking. Here are a couple of ideas for applying what's in the book:

1. One idea for exploring public relations’ impact on the media is to record sample “real” news stories and sample video news releases (VNRs), and then to play them both and have students determine which is which. Students would also benefit from knowing what to look for to determine whether something is a VNR.

Questions to ask might include:

• Is a product and/or product-name prominently featured?
• If it’s a local news broadcast, are the people, places, etc., local, or did the story come from a different state or country (assuming the focus of the story isn't something that happened in that other geographic area)?
• Does the story cover multiple sides of an issue, or only one?
• Does the story look at the “big picture,” or give only a snapshot? (Example: featuring “a new study” and generalizing a conclusion from the study without looking at other evidence; showing a new technology that can clean up oil spills without exploring details about cost, realistic effectiveness, etc., or considering the larger issues with oil.)
• Are the experts credible? (How can we find out?)
• What is the purpose of the story? (To inform? To educate? To inspire us to buy? To persuade us?)

This same examination could be done with print materials, or with video clips from the web.

2. Another strategy for exploring this issue would be to examine a variety of stories on the same topic from a variety of media and look at how the issue is handled. If time allowed, it would be really beneficial to investigate the authors of the stories to explore their credibility and whether or not they’re influenced by a company or organization. (If time didn’t allow such an exploration, that information could be provided: “Yes, the author of this op-ed piece definitely supports our nation’s leaders wearing sunglasses to increase the “cool-factor” of our country; but what you may not know is that this author is on the board of directors for the sunglass company he featured in his article!”)

You can find out more information about the authors and their work at their website, the Center for Media & Democracy. (The website includes examples of VNRs and other "fake" news.)

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BE THE CHANGE: INTERVIEW WITH CHANGEMAKER KHALIF WILLIAMS, IHE'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

IHE's ED Khalif Williams shares what inspires and drives him as he works to get out the message about the power of humane education to transform the world.

IHE: WHAT ROLE DOES EDUCATION PLAY IN CREATING A BETTER WORLD? 
 
KW: I think of a better world being created on 3 primary levels. The peace and love in our own households, the choices we make as consumers and citizens, and the social and economic systems in which we participate, that we create, or actively oppose. So education plays a role in all the ways that impact these 3 levels.
 
Pardon the over-simplification, but I tend not to over-complicate this idea, if I can help it. Once we acknowledge, in our bones, that education is a major component of the DNA of our societies and economies, the answer to this question need not be expansive or wide ranging, but rather becomes elemental. 

First, I’m most inspired when education is defined with as much breadth as possible.  It’s a huge concept that spans from parenting, children’s play or work experiences, counseling, mentoring, adventuring -- to name a few -- to a variety of either learner-centered or conventional academic and vocational models.

Second, it’s critically important to truly actualize that education, in all its manifestations, plays a primary role in creating the world we have right now. That means the good stuff as well as the bad. And there’s plenty of both. 
 
Education has always played an instrumental role in how oppressive or destructive social and economic systems either purposefully or inadvertently create and perpetuate themselves, as well as how they atrophy, are overthrown, or are revolutionized.
 
Likewise, education can continue to play a larger and more deliberate role in creating households, lives, and social and economic systems that offer our world more peace and sustainability.
 
Since the ways and means for education to create a better world are limitless, I like to leave it up to those inspired to do just that to find the most meaningful way they can do so in their specific sphere of influence. This way we can all put our shoulders to the wheel and not feel like our particular passion or method isn’t worthwhile thinking some defined “X” is the only real way change can happen through education. 
 
In the end, it’s a personal, spiritual pursuit; a calling to make a difference, to fight for peace, justice and sustainability. It’s personal and there’s no mold for it, no specific role. It’s only circumstantially academic. It’s people’s hearts and minds in motion. We just need to choose the right directions.


IHE: WHAT EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES LED YOU TO YOUR CURRENT VISION AND WORK? 

KW: Well, honestly, every single experience I’ve had since birth. But specifically, I can remember a few key educational experiences that dramatically shifted my trajectory, both in my thinking and consequently in my life choices and work.
 
First, my parents never lost an opportunity to show me how to think for myself. Growing up in my house was to live with the constant echo of “Do what YOU think is right.” “If you act with dignity, you will be treated with dignity.” “Follow your own path."  “Who cares what everyone else thinks you should do.”  Of course I failed at these calls to action time and time again, and still do, but growing up in a family that truly valued my individuality and helped me cultivate the confidence to be true to my own beliefs is at the foundation of my life, vision and work.
 
Second, I was lucky enough in college to run into two very insightful and impassioned (my favorite combo) English literature professors who were able to lead me to a new level of critical awareness about the world of literature and the media and its effects on society. Through this ever-clearer lens I began to explore my myriad assumptions, which led to massive changes in perspective and in my life choices -- everything from professional pursuits to how my family attempts to tread lightly on the earth.


IHE: WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING IN THE WORLD THAT GIVES YOU HOPE FOR A MORE JUST, COMPASSIONATE, SUSTAINABLE FUTURE?

KW: I’m not sure if I’m qualified to be spotting bona fide trends, but what gives me the most hope is seeing how so many people are changing their lives in very important and abiding ways. They awaken in some way that calls them to demand peace, calls them to somehow work for the restoration of the planet, calls them to begin creating the world they want to see. I’ve seen dramatic, revolutionary changes in myself and in other people, and it’s in this potential changing that the real hope for our future lies. The more people we have working to create these shifts in one another -- helping each other along the path toward a better world –- the more hope we have.
 
IHE: WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THE WORLD OF HUMANE EDUCATION TO LOOK LIKE IN 5 OR 10 YEARS? 

KW: I would like the demand for and acceptance of humane education to be charging ahead as a popular movement, in the sense that it’s people and not bureaucracies spreading and building the movement. Longer term, I’d like it to become part of the educational substructure of our culture. It will be best when we need no term for it at all, no slogans, no rallying cries –- when it’s so much a part of us that naming it will no longer be necessary.


IHE: WHAT FEEDS YOU IN YOUR NON-WORK LIFE? 

KW: My family is at the center of my life. My wife and children form my core. Our life together is my main fuel. In our life I most enjoy teaching my sons, working with my hands, living close to my means, swimming in the cold sea, being dirty, working hard, and sharing food with friends.

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FEATURED STUDENT: PHOEBE PLANK

When Phoebe read The Power & Promise of Humane Education, it changed her life. Now she's excelling in our HECP program and leading the charge to green her school. Read her story.

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