Humane Edge E-News September 2008

In This Issue:

• 10 TIPS FOR HELPING CREATE A HUMANE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
  
• FEATURED ACTIVITY: POWER CHAT
  
• FEATURED GRADUATE: CAROLIN BEHREND
  
• FEATURED RESOURCE: GREAT PEACEMAKERS
  
• BE THE CHANGE: AN INTERVIEW WITH MELISSA FELDMAN
  
• HUMANE EDUCATION IN ACTION: CONNECTING WITH YOUTH
• FOLLOW THE ONE DOLLAR DIET PROJECT
  

10 TIPS FOR HELPING CREATE A HUMANE SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

Backpacks, bells and bus schedules are taking center stage as millions of kids, parents and teachers jump into a new school year. If you’re a parent, it’s a great time to integrate humane choices into your child’s school experience and to inspire others. If you’re a teacher, the fresh start of a new year provides an excellent opportunity to implement new habits, lessons and explorations into your classroom and school.

Here are 10 tips for helping create a more humane school experience:

1. Invest in eco-friendly, healthy, humane products. There are numerous online stores for purchasing recycled or eco-friendly paper, pens and pencils, backpacks, crayons, etc. If you don’t know where to start looking for such items, there are a slew of blogs and news outlets that have recently covered green products and supplies. Try a web search for “eco-friendly school supplies” or “green back to school,” being sure to also think about the impact of those school supply choices on people and animals. (Many “big box” stores are also starting to carry more eco-friendly supplies.) Back-to-school clothes don't have to mean supporting sweatshops; thrift stores, clothing swaps and sweatshop-free products all offer alternative choices. You can also think beyond the classroom to the entire school and talk to teachers, administrators, the custodians and cafeteria workers about choosing humane and sustainable products. From paper towels to cleaners to napkins to staplers, there are plenty of opportunities to make positive choices.
2. Develop relationships. No one wants to feel like they’re being told what to do or to feel defensive or judged. Get to know your child’s teachers/parents and other members of the school/family so that you can learn to know them as people, develop compassionate communication skills with them and to serve as a role model for healthy, humane practices. Find others concerned about the same issues and start working together and helping support each other.
3. Introduce eco-friendly and humane practices into the classroom. If you’re the teacher, you have the power to adopt such practices yourself. If you’re a parent, talk with your child’s teacher and develop a positive relationship so that you can feel confident in offering positive suggestions. The opportunities are limitless, from starting recycling programs to sharing supplies to reducing waste to minimizing paper use to promoting healthier and more sustainable snacks to reducing various “prints” (carbon footprints, foodprints, waterprints, etc.).
4. Integrate humane education activities into the curriculum. We have several ideas to get you started and to help spark your own creativity. You can also use/recommend books like The Power and Promise of Humane Education by Zoe Weil and Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey (for elementary kids). If you’re a parent, recommend humane education activities to the teacher and offer to lead a lesson on a humane topic that supports the curriculum and is interesting to the kids.
5. Suggest relevant resources. There are a plethora of books, websites, magazines and other resources available that focus on humane education and social change issues. Find ones that are pertinent to what your teacher/other teachers are doing and recommend them. If you leave any “agenda” behind, teachers and parents often appreciate learning about new and useful resources.
6. Look for special opportunities to introduce humane concepts and issues; observances are one opportunity. Columbus Day coming up? Share resources about the experiences of indigenous people related to the “discovery of America.” (Rethinking Schools has a great book with teaching ideas, stories, poems and other resources called Rethinking Columbus.)  Halloween? Host a costume swap and offer fair trade chocolate treats (along with a discussion of the connection between child slavery and chocolate). Bake sale? Bring tasty organic, local, fair trade, vegan treats. Class party? Provide/suggest sustainable supplies, activities and resources. Is the school planning a donkey basketball game or to hatch chicks? Bring awareness about these issues and suggest alternatives. There are plenty of opportunities for facilitating humane connections.
7. Help implement healthy, sustainable, compassionate lunches in school.  Schools all over the country are working on revamping school food programs. Check out resources such as waste-free lunches, healthy school lunch programs, organic gardening programs, farm to school programs and others for guidance and inspiration. If you’re sending your child to school with lunch, be sure to send healthy food and waste-free containers and diningware.
8. Offer your expertise. If you’re a teacher, work with other teachers, parents and administrators to bring awareness to humane issues and suggest ways to implement positive actions. If you’re a parent, offer to volunteer in your child’s classroom, to give presentations (or arrange presentations) about social justice topics, or manifest your expertise in some other way.
9. Suggest humane fundraising ideas. Instead of magazines, wrapping paper, junk food, or slave chocolate, choose creative projects that provide a good service or product while also benefiting people, animals and the planet.
10. Help develop school-wide projects that benefit the community. How about organizing walk to school days? Cultivating school gardens and natural areas? Community tree planting? Initiating service learning based around humane issues? Conducting energy or water use audits? We frequently read in the news about the terrific projects schools are implementing to help create a better world.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, or concerned citizen, there are nearly unlimited ways to help your community's schools make choices that do the most good and least harm for all people, animals and the planet. Start with small steps, and soon you'll be working up to powerful changes.

FEATURED ACTIVITY: POWER CHAT

What are the problems of the world? What tools and skills do I have to make a positive impact? People everywhere want to feel like they can make a positive difference, but with so many prevalent problems and challenges in the world, having an impact can sometimes seem like wishful thinking. Help people clarify and focus their thinking, and realize their own power with the Power Chat activity.

 This activity can serve as a good icebreaker to allow fellow advocates to know each other better and to focus on important issues, or it can serve as an introduction for exploring what each (and all) of us can do for positive social change.

Power Chat

FEATURED GRADUATE: CAROLIN BEHREND

 
Carolin's passion for children and animals led her to the Master's program at IHE. Now Carolin uses her knowledge and skills to teach children compassion and empathy for all. Read about Carolin.

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FEATURED RESOURCE: GREAT PEACEMAKERS 

Great Peacemakers: True Stories from Around the World
by Ken Beller and Heather Chase. LTS Press, 2008. (195 pages)


“The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it.” ~ David Suzuki

“When you have a vision, when you know that what you are doing is good for the people, then you cannot be stopped.” ~ Wangari Maathai

“To stop any suffering, no matter how small, is a great action of peace.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

“Peace is not a goal to be reached but a way of life to be lived.” ~ Desmond Tutu

People of many cultures have been working for peace for thousands of years. Such people have wisdom, passion and insight that can inspire us all. The award-winning Great Peacemakers brings together the compelling stories of 20 people who have (or had) a strong commitment to living a peaceful, compassionate life and to bringing about a peaceful, just world.

The book is divided into five categories: Choosing Nonviolence, Living Peace, Honoring Diversity, Valuing All Life, and Caring for the Planet. Profiles of the peacemakers are each about five pages, and there is also a page of quotes from each person profiled.

Great Peacemakers includes several of the traditional, famous favorites, such as Gandhi, MLK, Jr., Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama, but it also features lesser-known peace powerhouses, such as Anderson Sa, a Brazilian musician who uses music to inspire at-risk youth to choose nonviolence; Colman McCarthy, a journalist who has taught peace courses to thousands of students; and Nader Khalili, an Iranian earth-friendly architect.

Unlike with many books focused on peacemakers, Beller and Chase extend the circle of peace to include advocates for not just people, but animals and the planet as well. The “Valuing All Life” section features Henry Salt, Albert Schweitzer, Astrid Lindgren and Jane Goodall as advocates for animal protection, and “Caring for the Planet” offers the wise words of Rachel Carson, Wangari Maathai, David Suzuki and Nader Khalili.

The stories are all inspiring and easy to read, offering just enough overview of each peacemaker’s life and work. While most of the profiles follow a chronological path, the focus of each mini-biography is on what shaped and motivated each individual to traverse a path of peace and how they’ve made a positive difference in the world. This book is appropriate for middle school students through adults, and can serve well as a book for inspiration, a springboard for discussing and exploring people who make a positive difference, or even a book club selection.

The companion website offers study guides for book groups, service and faith-based groups, and school classes.

WIN A COPY OF GREAT PEACEMAKERS!

Send an email to Marsha@HumaneEducation.org, telling us who your favorite peacemaker is and why (be sure to include your full name and a valid email), and one lucky person (via random drawing) will win a copy of Great Peacemakers! The deadline to enter is Friday, September 26, 2008.

BE THE CHANGE: AN INTERVIEW WITH MELISSA FELDMAN

"I hope that through my humane education work I can help young people understand that their beliefs do matter and that it is possible —and in fact necessary—to find a life’s work that reflects our deepest beliefs about the world and doesn’t cause ourselves (or others) harm and suffering. I want young people to know that they have choices."

Melissa Feldman is on the faculty of IHE and Cambridge College and has been a professional humane educator since 1985. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s of education degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently director of Circle of Compassion and a humane educator who promotes greyhound protection for the GREY2KUSA Education Fund. Melissa serves on the board of Compassion in Action, a humane education organization based in Keene, NH. She also teaches English as a Second Language at Boston University.

IHE: What role does education play in creating a better world?

MF: I honestly can’t imagine anything that makes a greater impact on the world, from birth to death, for every single person on the planet. Every day. Every hour. Right now.

Of course, that impact can be positive or negative, depending on the goal of the education. In this country just a few generations ago, Native American children were forced into government schools and forbidden from speaking their own languages, while white children were taught that Native Americans were inferior. Education is clearly so powerful that it is often the first and favored tool of those who seek to indoctrinate and oppress.  

IHE: What personal and professional experiences have led you to focus on educating others as a method of changemaking?

MF: Occasionally I hear a news story of a bystander saving a child from a burning building or rescuing a dog trapped on a partially frozen lake. The reporter always asks, “Why did you risk your own life to save someone else? Someone you didn’t even know?” This is often followed by a somewhat quizzical expression on the face of the good Samaritan. They are perplexed by the very nature of the question itself. They usually reply that they didn’t give the danger a moment’s thought. There was, in fact, no decision to be made. The choice to step in was automatic.

I feel the same way about humane education.  I can’t not be a humane educator, whether it’s in a classroom, at the dog park, or in line at the supermarket. It doesn’t feel like teaching to me. It’s just a conversation, whether it’s about what’s for lunch, global warming or modern-day slavery. I enjoy learning from others and sharing opinions. It doesn’t seem to me that I’m doing anything special, but apparently having a conversation marked by respect and active listening is not an everyday occurrence. I don’t think of myself as an educator any more than everyone else is an educator. (In fact, when asked to be profiled for this article, I wrote the editor to say that I’m really not a changemaker; I think you’ve got the wrong person!)

As I near the half-century point of my life it seems appropriate to look back at over two decades as a humane educator. I have tried many ways of using my voice for change: writing letters, protesting on the streets, tabling, breaking the law on occasion, and even burning out and giving up — the whole gamut. However, of all these choices, humane education leaves me feeling the most positive, hopeful, and effective. Though it took many years and several careers to find my path, humane education is what works best for me.

IHE: What do you see happening in the world that gives you hope for a more just, compassionate, sustainable future?

MF: The Institute for Humane Education. That’s the best example.  In 1988 when I was investigating master’s programs in the field of education, I inquired at several schools and none had even heard of the term humane education. I had to cobble together my own humane education program. It wasn’t easy. For example, I was required to take a course called Learning Models. I lasted one day. I was stunned to find out that the course had nothing to do with people and that the only subjects were rats, pigeons, and Rhesus monkeys who were isolated, shocked, starved, intentionally made depressed and ultimately killed.

Today it’s a different world. Students can now get a Master of Education degree in humane education through IHE. Every year our numbers grow exponentially. Eventually there will be a Ph.D. IHE’s master’s program is just one example that allows me to take the long perspective, appreciating the positive changes in the world today, even though there is much much more work to be done.

Young people, especially, give me hope. For example, I visit the same schools year after year, and as I walk down the hall, students will often run up to me, tap me on the shoulder and exclaim, “Hey, you’re the lady who drinks soy milk! I tried it. It’s not too bad,” or “I remember you. You used to be in the fashion business but now you wear secondhand clothes. I checked out a cool vintage clothing shop in my neighborhood.”

Something that always gives me hope is reading the biographies of changemakers whom I respect. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King’s words give me hope: “The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.”

Lastly, hope is a choice, one I make every day. After all, what is the alternative to hope?

IHE: What are the biggest challenges in creating a humane and peaceful world?

MF: Ignorance, fear, and greed. Humane education takes on all of these at the root.

IHE: What advice do you have for aspiring humane educators?

MF: First, start today. Seize the small, everyday moments to practice positive communication skills. Learn how to open doors, rather than close them.  Begin by honestly and humbly sharing your stories, your fears, your hopes, your questions and your compassion. Even if a neighbor, office-mate or partner doesn’t agree with you on every point, the power of a positive interaction cannot be underestimated. People will remember YOU and your approach much more than what you said. When we treat others with respect and kindness, especially when we disagree, we create an undeniable, unforgettable and positive connection from which real communication and change can grow.

Second, remember that the best educator is a humble one. Give up on trying to change others. You can’t. People change themselves. You can open a door, but it’s their choice to enter, or not. (Of course, it’s very easy to accidentally slam a door shut in someone’s face!)  Instead, focus on changing yourself, enjoying that process and sharing your journey with others. Remember, you too were once blissfully unaware of the myriad challenges facing the planet today. When you finally chose to educate yourself, did you jump right in and change everything all at once? Nope. Impossible for most folks. You probably began by making a few of the easier changes first, and, if you are like most people, there remain other tougher changes you haven’t yet faced. For example, I don’t compost food scraps. I can give you lots of excuses — some pretty good ones, even, like the fact that I live in an apartment in Boston — but still I could figure out a way to compost. None of us is perfect. It’s a journey.

Last, a word about anger. Anger is good. We should be angry about the state of the world — an enslaved six-year old boy making rugs in India, a pig dangling from a slaughterhouse hook as she is dismembered alive or the hundreds of thousands of Americans who today alone will spend $1.25 on sugary water in “disposable” containers. Who wouldn’t be sickened? That said, a confrontationally angry humane educator may do more harm than good. You have to find a way to respect, address, and release your anger so that it doesn’t inadvertently seep out and sabotage your interactions and relationships with others.

IHE: What is one book, film or story that has changed your life?

MF: Biographies are my favorite, and James McBride’s The Color of Water is at the top of my list.  His life story mixes questions of race and religion as he recalls growing up one of twelve children in a Brooklyn housing project. His father was an African American Baptist minister, and his mother was a Polish Jew who hid her identity. I recommend you read this short book aloud with your loved ones. You’ll need a handkerchief for sure.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is also the story of a cultural collision. Lia Lee is a severely epileptic Hmong girl who lives with her family in California. Fadiman tells the harrowing story of the differences between American and Hmong perceptions and treatment of epilepsy as Lia’s parents negotiate their daughter’s care through the American medical system.

IHE: What tools do you use to stay grounded and balanced? What feeds you in your non-work life?

MF: I watch the news in small doses. I make sure I have some personal free time every day, even if it’s only fifteen minutes. I exercise, though to be honest I could do it more frequently! I have a community of family and friends who support me and whom I support. Simple things like having coffee with a friend give me great pleasure. I undertake creative and artistic projects that feed my soul. I’m starting my first garden. Oh, and I dance a lot. It’s impossible to be down when you’re swing dancing to Frank Sinatra.

I have finally come to accept that although I live a life of incredible privilege and although there is suffering on a massive scale at this very moment, I deserve to have fun and enjoy life. From a personal place of peace and joy, I can make a positive difference in the world. In fact, I believe it’s the only way I can make a difference. 

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HUMANE EDUCATION IN ACTION: CONNECTING WITH YOUTH

As a college student, IHE M.Ed. graduate James Wildman had a blast working with youth and inspiring them to make empowered choices. Since graduating from IHE, James has turned to helping young people make a positive connection with animals and to increase their compassion and awareness. He works as a humane educator for the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF).

IHE: What led you to the path of humane education?

JW: As an undergraduate student I worked with youth at the local YMCA.  My life was divided between studying (which I never really did much of) and working (though it was more like playing).  Instead of preparing for exams, I was busy devising activities, programs, and clubs for youth that were intended to empower them.  However, my desire to empower youth took on a new form as I began to examine my own lifestyle and beliefs.  As I learned more about the treatment of animals in our culture, I realized that the compassion inherent in youth (and us all) was being sequestered by societal traditions based on economic interests and not on the principles of humanity.  If this were to change, it had to begin with the youth of our culture.  When I was introduced to IHE, the process of this change became apparent.

IHE: How did you get involved with the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF)?
 
JW: In the fall of 2007 I applied for the Humane Educator position at the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida.  Having recently graduated from the IHE program I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to incorporate my learning into my new position.  So, with a car full of shorts and short-sleeved shirts, I left the comforts of the Northeast and headed down South.
 
IHE: Describe the work you do for ARFF as a humane educator.

JW: As the humane educator I go into classrooms, camps, and community institutions to discuss our perceptions of animals and how that dictates our treatment of them.  ARFF currently offers presentations on wildlife conservation, veganism, and companion animals.  Each presentation strives to promote active learning by incorporating physical and mental activities that stimulate individual expression and thought.

IHE: How are people responding to what you're doing?
 
JW: I work in a variety of settings with a diverse group of ages and demographics.  What seems to be the common denominator among them all is the understanding that animals share the same feelings and needs as us.  What people choose to do with this understanding is where people differ.  My job is getting them to recognize and appreciate the connections between us all, human and non-human alike.


IHE: What's a typical week like for you?
 
JW: I typically attend three schools a week which entails three to five presentations per school.  On those days that I am not in a classroom, I will table (vegan outreach) at colleges and community events.

IHE: How is ARFF's humane education program funded?
 
JW: ARFF is the largest non-profit animal protection organization in the state of Florida and is funded by membership contributions.

IHE: What are some of your biggest challenges?
 
JW: My biggest challenge is getting into the schools.  With standardized testing taking over a great chunk of the school year, I have been searching for different venues that have included home-schooling groups, colleges, and community events.
 
IHE: Share a success story. What has helped encourage you?

JW: Many times when I go into a classroom, students will ask if I am there to get them to go vegan.  To this I respond, "I'm not a car salesman; I'm not trying to sell you veganism and I don't work on commission.  Rather, I am here to provide a different perspective, to give a voice for the voiceless (to quote Rage Against the Machine), and let you make your own decisions."  I am most successful when I am not talking, when I allow the activity to speak for itself and let the students evaluate it critically.  I am continually motivated by discovering new ways to engage youth critically, and I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to attend many classes on multiple occasions, gaining feedback and perspective from the students.

IHE: What are your thoughts about the power of humane education to positively transform the world?
 
JW: Humane education is getting people to realize the interconnections that exist among us all and our dependence upon keeping it a harmonious relationship.  What could be more powerful and transformative than realizing the positive effect one person can have on this balance?
 
IHE: Any future dreams, plans or projects?

JW: First and foremost, I am continually working to improve upon my presentations; with each presentation I gain a new perspective on what engages and captivates an audience.  For next summer I would like to start a camp for middle and high school-aged youth that looks at ways we can live more harmoniously with our sense of compassion and humanity.  And lastly, I am only a few weeks away from eliminating completely my New England farmer's tan.

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FOLLOW THE ONE DOLLAR DIET PROJECT

 More than 1 billion people live on $1 or less a day. IHE M.Ed. graduate Christopher Greenslate, and his partner Kerri -- both social studies teachers -- have embarked on a project to each eat on a food budget of $1/day.  As they say in their first post:

"When we first started talking about doing this, we didn’t really have an agenda, or any developed sense of why we wanted to do it. It  just seemed like an interesting challenge; one that would force us to see things differently.

"We are interested in many of the strands related to this experiment; food choices, consumerism, waste, poverty, social psychology, etc., and this experience may provide insights that could help us better understand and teach about a variety of concerns."

Follow their journey on the One Dollar Diet Project.

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