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Zoe’s at Bioneers – Back Next Week

Hello, Everyone, I’m off for the Bioneers conference this weekend in San Rafael, California. I’ll be really busy attending sessions, networking, and tabling for the Institute for Humane Education, so I won’t have a chance to do any blog posts until next week. In the meantime, in case you don’t already know about it, please [...]

The New Yorker Cover of Barack and Michelle Obama

By now, most of us have heard about the recent New Yorker magazine cover depicting Barack and Michelle Obama in the White House, fist pumping in their Muslim and terrorist garb while the American flag burns and a picture of Osama Bin Laden looks on. I grew up in Manhattan, and The New Yorker magazine [...]

The 3 Is: Inquiry, Introspection, Integrity

Readers of my blog, books, and essays know about the 3 Cs and the 3 Rs of humane education: Fostering Curiosity, Creativity, and Critical Thinking and Instilling Reverence, Respect, and Responsibility. These are components of quality humane education largely because, without them, positive personal change and problem-solving are impaired. Now that we’re offering MOGO (Most [...]

What a Great Time to Be Alive!

In the current issue of Ecologist, a UK environmental publication, you’ll find excerpted quotes from environmentalists and visionaries interviewed in Leonardo DiCaprio’s new film, The 11th Hour. One in particular, from Paul Hawken, environmentalist, businessperson, and author, popped out for me: “The great thing about the dilemma we’re in is that we get to reimagine [...]

Relativism and Absolutes

Once again, I was confronted with an either/or, and found myself thinking “yes, and….” The subject was moral relativism versus absolutism. You know the issue, too often painted in a broad stroke that delineates the religious conservative against the liberal elite. One caricature happens when some anthropologist-type insists that he or she can’t judge another [...]

Kiva.org

Yesterday, I loaned a woman in South America $25 to help her buy parts for her bicycle repair business. I was one of several people who helped her meet her loan goal of $295, and I can expect to be repaid the loan in full within the next 6 months. So little effort on my [...]

Naikan

A few years ago, I read a book called Naikan by Gregg Krech, founder of the ToDo Institute, which had an enormous impact on me. Naikan is a Japanese form of self reflection in which we ask ourselves three questions: 1) What have I received from _________2) I have I given _________3) What harm have [...]

Creating the Canon

Last week, fifteen of our M.Ed. and Humane Education Certificate Program students were at IHE’s facility for their residency training week. We had students from all over the United States, one from Canada, and one from Kenya. We learned so much from one another, each student contributing her or his creativity, passions, skills, and knowledge. [...]

Politics and You

I was recently invited to attend a reception for Tom Allen, a Congressman from Maine who is running for Senate against Susan Collins. I’ve always liked Tom Allen’s politics — what I know of them anyway. And I liked how he responded to questioners at the reception. Some were somewhat peeved at Tom because of [...]