I was recently invited to attend a reception for Tom Allen, a Congressman from Maine who is running for Senate against Susan Collins. I’ve always liked Tom Allen’s politics — what I know of them anyway. And I liked how he responded to questioners at the reception. Some were somewhat peeved at Tom because of a few of his votes, and because he hadn’t gotten us out of Iraq yet.

Tom’s responses to his more testy questioners was never defensive, capitulating or bullying. He calmly expressed his views. I went up to him after the reception to give him two books: Capitalism 3.0: A Guide to Reclaiming the Commons (by Peter Barnes) and Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (by McDonough & Braungart). While I was waiting to speak to him, someone came up and asked a question. Tom responded with his own thoughts and then said, “What do you think?” He seemed genuinely to want to learn from his questioner. He appeared authentic in his awareness that he didn’t have all the answers, and his job was to learn. He graciously, and apparently gratefully, welcomed my book donations. I gave them to him because I believe that our politicians have as much to learn as we do, and that we must work together to find meaningful, practical, ethical solutions to challenges, which books such as these help us to do.

Whether Tom is as genuine as he seems, I don’t know; but I do know that we play our role in democracy by participating in it and helping to educate our political leaders.

Zoe

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Here’s a great way to reduce your carbon emissions and have more fun and meet people all at the same time. GoLoco.org helps you arrange ride-sharing, for short and long trips, on a regular basis (e.g., carpooling to work), for a conference or event, or for outings, vacations, and adventures.

Visit www.GoLoco.org to learn more and sign up!

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In our M.Ed. and Humane Education Certificate Program, students read a lot of books – about 40 altogether. In the course on Human Rights, they currently read Derrick Jensen’s brilliant, comprehensive, no-stone-left-unturned book, The Culture of Make Believe. It’s an impressive work of 600 plus pages that chronicles all that’s wrong with the world. And at the very end, just when you’re hoping to discover the solutions to the web of interconnected problems, Jensen leaves you hanging with a call for the end of civilization and a return to the particular. Hmmm….

Students in our program write their own last chapters to Jensen’s book, with their own suggestions and ideas for real solutions and answers to the challenges we face and the problems we’ve created. This is what humane education is all about: diving deep into the issues of our time and tapping our creativity, talent, insight and wisdom for meaningful, practical ways to create systemic change. It’s about giving others these tools so that together we can actually create a safe, sane, sustainable world.

Whenever and wherever you are faced with a thorny problem or danger, seek a solution. Less rant, more imagination; less can’t, more positive ideas; less shan’t, more effort.

– Zoe Weil, IHE President

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During the past two mornings, I’ve been teaching my son’s seventh grade class about advertising and helping them to think critically about the products that surround us. I began, as I often do, by testing their brand knowledge. I showed them the first letters of several brand names (The M in McDonald’s, the A in A & W, the K in Kellogg’s, the H in Hershey’s, etc.) and asked whether they could name the brands just from seeing the first letter; (they could). Then I checked to see if they could recognize a brand by just a logo (such as the Target bullseye), and they all could do this, too. Most of them could even identify a brand by just a color (such as GAP navy). Lastly, I asked them to fill in the blanks: Got ______? Just __ __. Give me a ________. Do the ____. In the process, they realized just how much they “knew” from advertising. I then gave them some tools for analyzing ads so that they would not be unwitting victims, but conscious viewers and listeners able to discern, think critically, and make choices based on their own values. I also had the students analyze products and research the product’s effects on themselves, other people, other species, and the environment. Finally, I let them know about some young people who have, like them, learned about some of the problems in the world and have sought to fix them.

By the end of class, they were all making promises to do or change something that would make a difference. I emphasized that the promise should be small – something they would be sure to keep. On Monday, one child will be setting up a donation box at school to gather items for kids at out local homeless shelter. Another is starting a petition against animal testing. One plans to try to buy only fair trade items from now on.

There’s not much that’s as heartening and hopeful as watching a group of young people learn about some of the challenges we face and seek to solve problems. It’s why I’m a humane educator, and why I hope that more and more teachers and activists will become humane educators, too.

Download some sample activities like those mentioned above:
Analyzing Advertising activity
Behind the Scenes activity
True Price activity

Find more humane education activities.

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