Believing Untruths – The Dangerous Lack of Critical Thinking

Posted on August 31, 2009 by zoeweil

Sharon Begley has written an important essay in Newsweek, “Lies of Mass Destruction,” that every educator should read. Begley explores the strange, but ubiquitous, tendency of people to believe untruths even when there is massive evidence to contradict them. Whether it’s the persistent belief among many that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, [...]

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Resisting the Collective: Choosing MOGO When Desires & Values Conflict

Posted on August 28, 2009 by zoeweil

This summer I was at an event, and I met a woman who was my age (late forties), but who looked at least a decade younger than I. I marveled at her wrinkle-free, perfect skin and flowing brown hair. She lives in Florida, land of sun damage, whereas I live in Maine, where we can’t [...]

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Fiji Water Fad Yet Another Reason We Need Humane Education

Posted on August 26, 2009 by zoeweil

In my talks and workshops I do an activity called True Price in which we examine a product, food, or article of clothing and ask a few questions about it. The questions include: 1. Is this product a want or a need? The purpose of this question isn’t to condemn the satisfaction of our desires [...]

Filed under: critical thinking, humane education, marketing, media literacy, MOGO (Most Good) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Humane Education: Re-Expanding the Circle of Compassion

Posted on August 24, 2009 by zoeweil

The term “humane education” originated with the founders of the first humane societies and SPCAs who were also the founders of the first child protection organizations back in the late 19th century. Humane education taught kindness to both people and animals, and the leaders of the humane movement were humanitarians in the broadest sense. During [...]

Filed under: animal protection, compassion, humane education, language | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Microglass: The Little Gift That Opened a Big Avenue for Reverence & Wonder

Posted on August 21, 2009 by zoeweil

My husband has a high-powered magnifying glass which he’s put on a string to wear around his neck. Mostly, he forgets about it, and it’s come out quite seldom in the past few years. When we were heading to Newfoundland last month, I asked him to make sure to bring it. For some reason I [...]

Filed under: Inner Peace, MOGO (Most Good), reverence | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Fun With Pronouns: Bringing “Aha” to Humane Education

Posted on August 19, 2009 by zoeweil

Once a year at the Institute for Humane Education, our M.Ed. and Humane Education Certificate Program students come for a week to our beautiful facility in coastal Maine for the residency component of their otherwise distance-learning program. During residency week, the students each do a 15 minute presentation on a humane education topic of their [...]

Filed under: humane education, Institute for Humane Education, language, speciesism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Human Overpopulation: The Taboo Topic

Posted on August 17, 2009 by zoeweil

In a previous blog post, Desire ≠ Wisdom, Part 2, I mentioned the issue of people having more than two biological children. Before posting, I reconsidered. I worried that readers with more than two children might feel judged by me. Many of my friends have more than 2 biological children, so let me be clear: [...]

Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), population issues, systemic change, third side thinking, U.S. policy | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

When It Comes to MOGO Choices, There is No Happiness Paradox

Posted on August 14, 2009 by zoeweil

Recently I watched Barry Schwartz’s talk at TED.com, “The Paradox of Choice”, in which he elucidated the surprising truth that, beyond a certain point, freedom of choice doesn’t make us happier. In fact, it makes us less happy. This isn’t big news, and the plethora of cartoons that Schwartz displayed that supported his central point [...]

Filed under: Inner Peace, MOGO (Most Good), positive choices, responsibility, systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Hope is a Verb With Its Sleeves Rolled Up

Posted on August 12, 2009 by zoeweil

David Orr, professor of environmental studies at Oberlin College once wrote, “Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.” I love this quote.  It reminds me of Joan Baez’ famous comment, “Action is the antidote to despair.”  We don’t have the luxury or the time for despair and hopelessness. Many will say that hope [...]

Filed under: citizen activism, MOGO (Most Good), positive choices, systemic change | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

For a Humane World Tomorrow, Start Advocating Humane Education Now!

Posted on August 10, 2009 by zoeweil

Recently, I had the privilege of speaking at an induction ceremony for the National Honor Society at our local high school. Six juniors, who had demonstrated character, scholarship, leadership, and service had been selected, and I felt honored just to be in their presence. I spoke to them about the Stanford Prison Experiment and the [...]

Filed under: citizen activism, humane education, systemic change, youth activism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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