No Child Left Unkind: Building Humane Education Competencies

Posted on September 29, 2008 by zoeweil

Teachers are expected to educate their students so that they are competent in certain subjects, and No Child Left Behind and state laws require that students pass tests demonstrating their knowledge and competencies. While it’s important to know that we are succeeding in our goals as teachers, and that our students are actually learning and [...]

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Dancing Cockatoos, Drawing Elephants, Raven Altars and Crow Vending Machines

Posted on September 26, 2008 by zoeweil

We’re always underestimating other animals. I’ve been reading Animal Dialogues by Craig Childs, and his description of raven altars is almost eerie, until I ask myself why I’m surprised, or awed, or amazed that other species do what we do — sometimes with training (which concerns me), and sometimes on their own (but in human [...]

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Speak Out So That Sarah Palin Will Speak Up

Posted on September 25, 2008 by zoeweil

So far, the McCain campaign is not permitting Sarah Palin to talk to the media on the record or to answer questions at open events, beyond a couple of selected venues (one of which was with a right wing conservative commentator, not a respected news anchor).  I presume they believe this is the MOGO (Most [...]

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Instead of a Bailout, a New Deal for Education, Sustainability and the Economy

Posted on September 24, 2008 by zoeweil

I’m not an economist, but I, like many Americans, have been trying to understand and develop a cogent opinion about the economic crisis we are facing.  A $700 billion dollar taxpayer bailout of Wall Street investment firms doesn’t sit well, although I’m convinced that speedy action is necessary to avert economic collapse.  During the great [...]

Filed under: economy, education, humane education | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Eating on $1 a Day

Posted on September 22, 2008 by zoeweil

One of our M.Ed. graduates at the Institute for Humane Education, Christopher Greenslate, and his partner, Kerri, have embarked on a new project. For a month, they are eating on less than $1 per day each. You can read about their journey on their blog. As I read their first week of blog entries, I [...]

Filed under: food and diet, MOGO (Most Good) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

10 Technologies for MOGO (Most Good) Living

Posted on September 18, 2008 by zoeweil

In its latest issue, Discover Magazine describes 10 relatively simple technologies to help change the world. I love these, not only because they are practical, doable, and creative, but also because they demonstrate that there are so many ideas being generated all the time to solve our challenges. At the same time as we are [...]

Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), positive choices, technology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Meat and Global Warming: Mainstream Media Reports the Important News…Eventually

Posted on September 15, 2008 by zoeweil

In last week’s Time Magazine, there’s a great article on the connection between meat consumption and global warming. When articles such as these come out, I’m always so happy that the mainstream press is reporting on such critically important information. I’m grateful that such news –- unpalatable though it may be to many –- is [...]

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Lipstick on a Pig

Posted on September 11, 2008 by zoeweil

At the risk of adding yet another comment on the endless, ridiculous commentary on Barack Obama’s remark about John McCain’s economic policies (that his policies, no matter how he tried to recast them, amounted to putting lipstick on a pig; the policies were still a pig), I feel compelled to say this: In a Washington [...]

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Teach What You Know

Posted on September 8, 2008 by zoeweil

Those of us working to change the world for the better are accustomed to viewing websites, reading blogs and articles from our favorite media and watching films and YouTube videos that fuel our motivation and effort toward action. We learn something new about a problem in the world, and we want to teach others about [...]

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Racism of the Blind

Posted on September 4, 2008 by zoeweil

I’ve often wondered what racism looks like if you’re blind.  In societies in which the color of our skin is still a powerful force in the way we are perceived and treated — our privileges and opportunities as well as our obstacles and challenges — what would happen if we could not perceive color?  Would [...]

Filed under: compassionate communication, discrimination | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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