What Can We Do About Psychopaths?

Posted on May 30, 2011 by zoeweil

On my long trip from Maine to Seattle for Green Fest, I read journalist Jon Ronson’s new book, The Psychopath Test, about psychopaths in our society. It was a fascinating, unsettling read by a exceptional writer. That Ronson can take a grisly subject like psychopathy and actually fill it with witty and pleasurable-to-read writing is [...]

Filed under: books, critical thinking, humane education, responsibility | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Why We Need Humane Education: May 21 and the Failed Rapture

Posted on May 25, 2011 by zoeweil

Six p.m. came and went and no rapture on May 21. It seemed that almost everyone I talked to that weekend knew about Reverend Camping’s prediction. And most of us laughed it off. After months of media attention, billboards, emails, tweets, discussions on Facebook, and more, we could be snarky about such a silly prediction. [...]

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Instead of Rejoicing at Osama bin Laden’s Death, Let’s Vanquish the Real Enemy

Posted on May 6, 2011 by zoeweil

For my blog post today, I’m sharing a recent blog post I wrote for Care2.com, an online community for people passionate about creating a better world. Here’s an excerpt: Vanquishing the enemy means looking below the surface evil to the ways in which rage, hatred, sociopathy and brainwashing occur, and attempting to find root causes [...]

Filed under: humane education, MOGO (Most Good), responsibility, social psychology, systemic change, third side thinking, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Reflections on Japan and Our Lives

Posted on March 18, 2011 by zoeweil

When I awoke on March 12 and heard the news on the radio of the earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Northeastern Japan the previous day, I quickly rushed to my computer. I have found myself barely able to tear away from the YouTube videos of the tsunami wiping out villages, the photos, the reports, the [...]

Filed under: citizen activism, compassion, heroes, mindfulness, MOGO (Most Good), responsibility | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Dexter Chapin’s Master Teachers

Posted on March 16, 2011 by zoeweil

I recently read Dexter Chapin’s excellent book, Master Teachers: Making a Difference on the Edge of Chaos and underlined more passages than I had in any book in years. For my blog today, I wanted to share some of them. “Nothing the federal government, the state government, or the school district does will improve education [...]

Filed under: books, changemakers, critical thinking, education, integrity, learning, responsibility, systemic change, third side thinking | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

An Open Letter to Natalie Munroe From Chris Lehmann

Posted on February 23, 2011 by zoeweil

Chris Lehmann, the principal of the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia (who gave a fabulous TEDx talk, “Education is Broken“), has written an open letter to Natalie Munroe, the Pennsylvania high school English teacher whose blog, replete with invective, insult, and profanity directed toward her students, was found by one of those very students, shared [...]

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The World Needs More Heroes

Posted on February 16, 2011 by zoeweil

I’ve blogged about Phil Zimbardo’s work a number of times. His newest TED talk shares his goals and approach for creating more heroes through the Heroic Imagination Project (on whose board of advisors I’m proud to sit). Take a look at Phil’s brief talk, and consider what you can do in your own life not [...]

Filed under: changemakers, citizen activism, courage, goodness, heroes, integrity, responsibility, videos | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

An Open Letter to Educators

Posted on December 17, 2010 by zoeweil

Take a look at this YouTube video from Dan Brown: “An Open Letter to Educators”: Dan dropped out of college because, as he said, “my schooling was interfering with my education.” As he describes a typical college class and makes a passionate and positive plea for real education for the 21st century, do you find [...]

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Dive Into Darkness to Uncover the Light

Posted on December 15, 2010 by zoeweil

I love December. Amidst the festivities, the sparkling lights and candles to brighten the darkest month, the singing and celebrating, the craft fairs and concerts, the spirit of generosity (albeit too commercialized, but that’s another blog post), the gatherings with friends and family, there is also another opportunity I relish: the opportunity to dive into [...]

Filed under: citizen activism, Institute for Humane Education, integrity, mindfulness, MOGO (Most Good), peace, positive choices, responsibility, reverence, simple living, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Environmental Responsibility — An Epic Pain in the Ass?

Posted on September 22, 2010 by zoeweil

I just read an excellent essay by J.B. MacKinnon, “In an Age of Eco-uncertainty,” reprinted in Utne Reader. MacKinnon begins: “Environmental responsibility, of late, is an increasingly epic-scale pain in the ass….” She goes on to say, “… every possible choice from diapers to cremation is overwhelmed by conflicting information about what’s better or worse [...]

Filed under: changemakers, Environmental Preservation, MOGO (Most Good), positive choices, responsibility | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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