Posted on July 8, 2009 by zoeweil
Since I’ve been writing a lot about what education is for (such as here and here), here’s another perspective, published in May in Educational Leadership.
Author Charles Haynes argues that education’s highest aim should be to “create moral and civic habits of the heart,” and his essay is compelling. Here are some excerpts:
“At a time when [...]
Filed under: education, humane education, integrity, responsibility, systemic change | Tagged: character education, citizenship, civics, educational reform, Holocaust, humane education, integrity, responsibility, systemic change, values | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 16, 2009 by zoeweil
Robert Shetterly, Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series artist, delivered a brilliant commencement address at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill, Maine, on June 14.
Here are some excerpts:
“We want our children well educated not for success as it is usually defined in terms of jobs and money but because the success of our communities [...]
Filed under: changemakers, citizen activism, education, integrity, responsibility | Tagged: citizen activism, citizenship, commencement, education, graduation ceremonies, integrity, responsibility, Robert Shetterly, speeches | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 13, 2009 by zoeweil
I just returned from a 10-day book tour on the West Coast. The trip entailed 3 cities, 6 flights, one car rental, one train ride, and many speaking engagements in a variety of settings. I’m not the best traveler, easily stressing at flight delays and lost baggage, and because I need a bunch of props [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), responsibility, systemic change, values | Tagged: air travel, airport security, airports, modeling your message, MOGO choices, situations, systemic change, values | Leave a Comment »
Posted on February 2, 2009 by zoeweil
For those of you who read this blog, I imagine that you are drawn to do good. While you may struggle, as I do, to make MOGO choices, you find joy in striving to live your life in alignment with your values. While you recognize that your desires sometimes compete with what you believe is [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), responsibility, values | Tagged: desire, humane education, integrity, judging others, MOGO choices, positive choices, principles, values, wisdom | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 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 [...]
Filed under: Inner Peace, MOGO (Most Good), positive choices, responsibility, systemic change | Tagged: Barry Schwartz, choice, happiness, Inner Peace, integrity, MOGO choices, MOGO principle, paradoxes, positive choices, responsibility, systemic change, TED.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 5, 2008 by zoeweil
Less than ten hours after Barack Obama has won the presidency of the United States, it is already a cliché to call this moment historic. There is so much I am feeling and thinking this morning, so much I could write about, and so much that smarter, wiser, more eloquent people than I have already [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), politics, positive choices, responsibility | Tagged: Barack Obama, change, changemakers, citizen activism, critical thinking, hope, political leaders, politics, positive choices, reponsibility | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 23, 2008 by zoeweil
Conservative columnist, William Kristol, has an opinion piece in the New York Times today criticizing the new MoveOn.org ad about the Iraq war. You can view the ad here.
In the ad a young mother, holding her baby boy, says the following: “Hi, John McCain. This is Alex. And he’s my first. So far his [...]
Filed under: humane education, positive choices, responsibility | Tagged: advertising, changemakers, humane education, Iraq, McCain, military, MoveOn.org, peace, responsibility, war | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 25, 2008 by zoeweil
Three Cups of Tea is mountaineer Greg Mortenson’s account of creating schools, primarily for girls, in poor, rural regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 1993, after rescuing a companion on K2 and failing his summit attempt as a consequence, Mortenson got lost on his way down the mountain and wound up in a small, Pakistani [...]
Filed under: humane education, positive choices, responsibility | Tagged: citizen activism, education, Greg Mortenson, humane education, peace, positive choices, schools, terrorism, Three Cups of Tea | 2 Comments »
Posted on February 18, 2008 by zoeweil
In my last blog post, I wrote about the 8th graders at the Bay School whom I taught recently, and I mentioned that they were unwilling to take significant risks to help others. I could relate to these 14-year-olds. Ever since reading Marc Ian Barasch’s superb book, Field Notes on the Compassionate Life, I have [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), responsibility | Tagged: Hero Workshop, heroism, Most Good, responsibility | 4 Comments »
Posted on February 14, 2008 by zoeweil
Last week I taught another humane education block at the Bay School, this time for my son’s 8th grade class. We covered animal issues, environmental issues, and human rights issues. We watched clips from The New Heroes PBS series about individuals who are working to save children in slavery and help end the cycle of [...]
Filed under: MOGO (Most Good), humane education, responsibility | Tagged: critical thinking, humane education, positive choices, responsibility, students | 7 Comments »
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
