by Marsha Rakestraw “The soul cannot thrive in the absence of a garden.” ~ Thomas More Gardens are full of life, diversity, and wonder. They feed us physically and emotionally. They can be made of plants, rocks, or other materials. And their seeds can blossom into food, or memory, or hope. Gardens of all sorts…
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by Elizabeth O. Crawford, Ph.D. “Do you think our garden will help bees pollinate fruits and vegetables?” a second grader from Northwoods Elementary (Jacksonville, NC) asked excitedly. On Friday, May 15, Northwoods broke ground on its first pollinator garden, the culminating event of a semester-long humane education project with the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s…
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Felice Clyne-Davis, a fifth grade gifted and talented teacher in New York City, has been a public school teacher for 24 years. Felice regularly infuses humane education into her teaching. She says: “I am proud that students in my class throughout the years have flourished as critical thinkers, readers, writers, creative problem solvers, and observers…
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by Marsha Rakestraw Both the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of the Child explicitly mention the right to an education. Achieving universal primary education is one of the Millennium Development Goals. Leaders and citizens alike recognize the importance of education, yet millions of children still lack access to education…
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IHE M.A. graduate student Jenna Bardroff lives in Gainesville, Florida, and works as the executive director of Kids ROCK-Reation and manager of Gainesville Rock Gym. She says that she could be labeled as a lot of things, “…. But I am most proud of identifying with being a solutionary, changemaker, and humane educator. Since early…
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by Marsha Rakestraw It seems like common sense that when we learn that previously-believed information is false – when we receive new facts that contradict what we previously thought — then we’ll change our beliefs to fit with the new information. Right? After all, we’re thinking, logical beings. But numerous studies show that’s not the…
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Teaching has been a part of Gypsy Wulff’s life for almost four decades. An alum of IHE’s online courses, Gypsy, who lives in Fremantle, Western Australia, has worked in primary schools, trained teachers, and has taught adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. She became a music teacher 16 years ago and continues to enjoy working…
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Many of us make the choices we do because we’re trying to do the right thing – we want to do the most good and least harm for people, nonhuman animals, and the earth. But what we think we know about making more sustainable choices is often based on incomplete information. And we’re often limited…
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Sharing stories of people who have made a positive difference in the world is a powerful way to inspire youth to become their best selves and to realize their role as committed citizens and compassionate changemakers. Children’s picture books are a great tool for doing so. Here are 14 children’s picture books about solutionaries. 1. …
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by Amanda Schmidt In 1995 when I was eight years old, we moved from Palmdale, California, across the country to Buffalo, New York, where I still currently live. Some of my best memories are from living in California. My early experiences there laid the foundation that has led me to humane education. Palmdale is a…
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