Humane educators are innovative social changemakers, using their skills and talents in a variety of ways. There is no typical humane educator. They teach in classrooms and communities; they start their own businesses; they work for non-profit organizations. They bring humane education to careers as diverse as filmmaking, social work, law, health care, veterinary medicine, and design.
Read stories about humane educators in action below.
Introduction: Ariane White began working in education in 2003 as a high school teacher before earning her M.Ed. degree with the Institute for Humane Education in 2010. She earned her doctoral degree in education from Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in 2019. LMU has recently launched a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center, which…
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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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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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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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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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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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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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Julie Meltzer has served in a wide variety of roles in education in several states over the past 30 years. Her work has always been within the context of equity and capacity building. She is a systems thinker who collaborates with others to improve education at the local, state, and national levels. Julie is a…
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Introduction: Lynne Westmoreland was a professional pianist and piano instructor for over thirty years. When deciding on a meaningful path after retirement, she discovered humane education when attending the Washington, DC Green Festival and meeting Zoe Weil. Humane education represented everything Lynne had cared about her entire life, and IHE’s graduate program connected the dots…
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Introduction: Sayyid Duja has been an educator and researcher for more than 20 years and has worked and volunteered in 30 countries across the globe. Driven by a passion for educational intervention and social renewal, he has founded schools based on IHE’s MOGO (most good) and solutionary philosophies and seeks to impact and transform education…
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