Blog

resolutions

Short-Term Resolutions Can Create New and Better Habits

I take a CrossFit class almost every morning. The workouts are often quite intense, but they are usually short. When faced with a movement I don’t like—like “Wallballs” or the “Assault Bike”—I remind myself that I can do anything for 15 minutes. I find my resolve because the ask is limited. I’m able to manage…

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Humane Education Through History, Art, and Inspiration: An Interview with Robert Shetterly

Introduction: After graduating from college and moving to Maine in 1970, Robert Shetterly taught himself drawing, printmaking, and painting, becoming an illustrator at newspapers and of approximately 30 books. After the 9/11 attacks, Rob painted a portrait of Walt Whitman, etching a quote from Whitman on the painting. Thus began his Americans Who Tell the…

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Schools are becoming an epicenter of culture wars, but there is a solution to the conflicts

School board members are receiving death threats. School board meetings have become shouting matches. The national news is regularly reporting about the most local of politics—school board elections in tiny districts. The two primary topics causing all this conflict are COVID-based mandates for masking and/or vaccination and teaching about racism in social studies classes. This post is about…

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Integrating Humane Education into the High School Classroom: An Interview with Mike Farley, M.Ed.

Introduction: Mike Farley has been teaching middle and high school Geography and Environmental Studies for 20 years in the Toronto District School Board and currently at University of Toronto Schools. Over the past decade he has explored animal protection with his students, including running virtual field trips to animal sanctuaries during the pandemic. Mike is a frequent presenter at conferences…

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Be a Solutionary, Make a Difference, and Find Meaning in Your Life

When I observe our dogs, I often envy their seeming ease in the world. Sure, Pippin gets anxious when we leave the house (and the couch cover gets a wee bit more torn up as a result); Poppy cringes when treats are tossed her way (perhaps because she was abused before we rescued her); and Hershel has a pillow…

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We Create Others’ Realities, So Be Careful What You Attend To

In late July, I set out to find baby gray tree frogs. They’re emerald green and (I’ll just say it) incredibly adorable. They are also very difficult to find because they’re well-camouflaged, sitting as they do on green leaves. But because I’m looking for them, I often find them. I see what I’m attending to….

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Humane Education through Photojournalism: An Interview with Jo-Anne McArthur

Introduction: Jo-Anne is an award-winning photojournalist, sought-after speaker, and the founder of We Animals Media. She has been documenting the plight of animals on all seven continents for almost two decades. She is the author of three books, We Animals (2014), Captive (2017), and HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene (2020) and was the subject of…

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It’s Time for Educational Leaders to Join the Climate Leadership: Our children’s future hangs in the balance

It’s Time for Educational Leaders to Join the Climate Leadership: Our Children’s Future Hangs in the Balance

This is a guest post from Andra Yeghoian, the Environmental Literacy Coordinator for the San Mateo County Office of Education where she is leading the integration of the Solutionary Framework into 23 school districts. Andra also serves on the Curriculum Advisory Board at the Institute for Humane Education. A version of this blog was originally…

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Our Obsession with Team Sports is Hurting Children

About 10 years ago, I was attending a play at our local theater, which was across the street from our town high school. It was 11 p.m., and one of the actors was closing the show with a soliloquy when sirens started sounding outside. The fire truck’s deafening sound went on and on without moving,…

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overpopulation

We Need to Talk About Overpopulation: An Interview with Nandita Bajaj

Nandita Bajaj is the Executive Director of Population Balance, a non-profit organization that educates about—and offers solutions to address—the impacts of human overpopulation and overconsumption on the planet, people, and animals. A humane educator and a passionate advocate for planetary health, Nandita’s area of interest is on the intimate links between pronatalism, anthropocentrism, and overpopulation…

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