drops

Seeing your epitaph unfold while you’re alive is a recipe for joy and meaning

Zoe Weil is a blogger for Psychology Today, and we share her blog posts here. Last week, I had the opportunity to experience the power of my epitaph. How is that possible given that I’m not dead yet? It happened because I deliberately wrote my epitaph 10 years ago.  Writing one’s own epitaph isn’t something…

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kids

Teaching Kindergarteners to be Humane Leaders: An Interview with John Tewksbury, M.Ed.

When John Tewksbury left the military and then a corporate career, he became a Kindergarten teacher and organic farmer. When he came to IHE for his humane education immersion week as part of our M.Ed. program, I kept thinking, “I wish I’d had John as my teacher when I was a child.” Wise, kind, and…

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peace building

Peace Education: An Interview with Maya Soetoro and Scott Nishimoto of Ceeds of Peace

How might we proactively create a peaceful society? Dr. Maya Soetoro is the co-founder, and Scott Nishimoto, J.D. is the Executive Director, of Ceeds of Peace, a nonprofit dedicated to raising peacebuilding leaders. Their 3-Part Peacebuilding Workshop Series trains more than 70 adults each year in peacebuilding practices. Their most recent cohort serves 39 Department…

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girl with pencil

It’s time to reassess what we teach kids in school

Zoe Weil is a blogger for Psychology Today, and we share her blog posts here. The following post is excerpted from the upcoming second edition of The World Becomes What We Teach.  What should we teach students in school? Given the realities of globalization, constantly evolving technologies, rapidly shifting job opportunities, and a planet in peril…

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blog post

Student solutionaries in Hawaii: An Interview with Ryan Smith

Ryan Smith, a high school English teacher at Maryknoll School in Hawaii, attended my 2017 keynote presentation at the Schools of the Future conference in Honolulu. Inspired to educate his students to be solutionaries, he took our solutionary professional development course, collaborated with his grade level team, and brought solutionary learning to all of the…

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Shannon

Pencil Miles: An Interview with Shannon Finch

Shannon Finch is a humane educator, writer, and wildlife photographer who lives with her husband and numerous animal companions on five acres in Stanwood, Washington. She received her M.Ed. through IHE’s graduate program in 2010. Shannon is the founder of AnimalKind Training and works as a certified animal behavior consultant with dogs, cats, equines, and…

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solutionary

Teaching Critical Thinking: An Interview with Steve Pearlman

I recently read Steve Pearlman’s excellent new book, America’s Critical Thinking Crisis: the Failure and Promise of Education, and I immediately reached out to him. At the Institute for Humane Education, we share Steve’s conviction that critical thinking is critically important, and we’re thrilled that he offers pedagogical approaches for creating critical thinkers. Steve is…

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trees at sunset

How to avoid living with regret

Zoe Weil wrote this post for Psychology Today, which we’re sharing with you today. We hope that you have a safe and healthy new year. When I was twenty-three, my beloved father died of cancer. He had battled the disease for five years. My friends knew of my dad’s cancer, but I turned to very…

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yoga

Humane Education and Yoga: An Interview with Susanna Barkataki, M.Ed.

Susanna Barkataki is an Indian yoga practitioner in the Shankaracharya tradition who supports practitioners to lead with equity, diversity, and yogic values. She graduated from our M.Ed. program in 2010, founded Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute, and runs Yoga Teacher Training programs. Last month, her new book, Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your…

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