The Power and Promise of Humane Education
Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times
Claude and Medea: The Hellburn Dogs
So, You Love Animals: An Action-Packed, Fun-Filled Book to Help Kids Help Animals
For my final blog post of 2011, I thought I’d repost my most widely-read essay of the year: “Teaching: The Most Noble Profession,” that was published on Common Dreams.org, a progressive news site. Here’s a short excerpt:“Teachers are the agents of the future. Will our world be populated by people ready and able to meet that future as creative and critical thinkers; as wise, compassionate and knowledgeable citizens; as skilled and motivated solutionaries within their professions? The answer to this question lies with teachers. More than any other profession, teaching has the power to create a healthy, just, and peaceful world (or not). It has the ability to seed our society with informed, caring and engaged citizens (or not). It has the capacity to inspire lifelong learning and a passion for knowledge, understanding, and innovation (or not). Is there anything more important than this?”
For a humane world,
Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of Most Good, Least Harm, Above All, Be Kind, and The Power and Promise of Humane Education
My TEDx talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
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Filed under: education Tagged: | careers, citizenship, critical thinking, education, education reform, humane education, learning, professions, respect, solutionaries, status, teachers, teaching, values, zoe weil
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I just read your complete essay and could not agree more. Those individuals who decide to go into teaching and put all of their heart into it are very special and important people. As far as I see it, education and the teachers behind it are the foundation for everything else that has become great in our country. Unfortunately, many have forgotten that or never even realized the importance of our educational system and its teachers. The educational system does need an overhaul, being that the system that is in place is a disservice to our children and future generations. Instead of teaching to tests and benchmarks, we need to strive to have every child reach their absolute potential, whatever that may be. Great teachers make this happen.
Thank you for this post!