IHE M.Ed. grad, Neil Hornish, is co-founder of the Compassionate Living Project, a nonprofit humane education organization. He is also a humane educator for the Ethical Choices Program and a Systems Project Engineer at United Technologies Aerospace Systems. Neil and his wife, Annie, who live in Connecticut, have been vegan for more than 20 years…
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by Marsha Rakestraw Kindness seems like such a simple quality, but unless we’re taught to be kind to ourselves, other people, nonhuman animals, and the earth, it won’t become an integral part of our humanity. Reading and discussing children’s picture books is a great tool for helping children embrace kindness for others as a daily…
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by Marsha Rakestraw Although the “Stanford rape case” has garnered the most attention lately, the sexual assault of women and girls is a regular occurrence. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, in the US, 1 in 5 women will be raped at some time in their lives. The treatment of many girls and…
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by Marsha Rakestraw “The change starts within each one of us, and ends only when all children are free to be children.” ~ Craig Kielburger Have you recently purchased a soccer ball? Something embroidered? Something made from cotton? Chocolate? Clothes? Produce? If so, there’s a good chance you’ve purchased something made from child labor. Child…
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by Marsha Rakestraw I don’t ever remember seeing as much discussion, passion, vitriol, or engagement as I have with this election period in the U.S. Elections may be a regular thing, and voting may be one of our (mostly) fundamental rights, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything easy about exploring these issues. Especially in classrooms,…
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by Marsha Rakestraw Call it climate change, global warming, climate catastrophe, or the impending apocalypse, we’ve seen that it’s rampaging across our planet and affecting every being on earth. A 2020 poll from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication shows that nearly three quarters of Americans now believe global warming is happening, and 56% believe…
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by Marsha Rakestraw “It’s a personal choice.” If you’ve been a humane educator or changemaker for any length of time, you’ve probably heard those words frequently. You may even have said them yourself. We use them when we want to justify the choices we’re making and remove any sort of ethical consideration or right-or-wrong-ness from…
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How can we create a just, healthy, and humane world? What is the path to developing sustainable energy, food, transportation, production, and other systems? What’s the best strategy to end poverty and ensure that everyone has equal rights? How can we slow the rate of extinction and restore ecosystems? How can we learn to resolve…
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by Marsha Rakestraw There is no shortage of examples of how sexism continues to pervade our society. One recent example is this video of women actors reading casting call character descriptions (most of which are pretty demeaning) for female characters. Numerous studies show how much gender imbalance continues to exist in business, politics, pop culture,…
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by Marsha Rakestraw Stories are a powerful tool. They teach us about the world and ourselves; they influence our values; and they help shape our worldview. With children’s books, we’re usually looking for a good story to share with our children. Less often are we paying much attention to the kinds of messages those stories…
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