Zeitoun and Humane Education

Posted on January 19, 2011 by zoeweil

My son, a junior in high school, is taking a course entitled “Shared Voices,” an integrated class that brings together American History and American Literature, so that what students read for English is reflected in what they study in history. I love the whole idea of this course, as the separation of disciplines often leads [...]

Filed under: books, citizen activism, compassion, courage, discrimination, education, heroes, humane education, justice, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Ethics Without Indoctrination

Posted on December 22, 2010 by zoeweil

In an essay entitled “Ethics Without Indoctrination” in a now 20-year-old issue of Educational Leadership, Richard W. Paul writes: “If we bring ethics into the curriculum – and we should – we must take pains to ensure that we do so in a morally unobjectionable manner. This requires us to distinguish clearly between espousing the [...]

Filed under: accurate information, critical thinking, education, humane education, integrity, positive choices, propaganda, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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 »

Fantastic New Book: Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism

Posted on December 1, 2010 by zoeweil

I’ve just finished Dr. Melanie Joy’s fantastic new book, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism. Carnism is a word Melanie coined in 2001 when she was completing her Ph.D. in social psychology, but the underlying philosophy that it describes – a belief system that considers it ethical to [...]

Filed under: animal protection, Blogs, critical thinking, food and diet, social psychology, speciesism, systemic change, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Black Friday/Buy Nothing Day: What We Buy Matters

Posted on November 26, 2010 by zoeweil

Today is Black Friday. We’re told it is the biggest shopping day of the year. You’ll find massive sales to jump start your holiday shopping, and you can start very early in the morning. In fact, here’s a website that posts the hours for a bunch of chain stores. Why, you can start shopping at [...]

Filed under: citizen activism, consumerism, economy, habits, mindfulness, MOGO (Most Good), values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Do You Tune Out or Tune in To Atrocities?

Posted on November 19, 2010 by zoeweil

I’ve always been struck by people saying that they don’t want to know about a particular atrocity or cruelty or problem in the world. It’s not uncommon to hear this from adults (though rarely from youth). I think the motivation to avoid new knowledge stems from people’s desire to live with integrity. That might sound [...]

Filed under: accurate information, citizen activism, courage, habits, integrity, MOGO (Most Good), values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

What to Save When Your House is on Fire

Posted on November 1, 2010 by zoeweil

I had a nightmare a few days ago. In it, brush that we’d burned the day before had left embers that spread. I noticed smoke oozing up from the fields behind and in front of our house, and I alerted my husband. By the time he had gotten a hose, the field was ablaze and [...]

Filed under: mindfulness, MOGO (Most Good), values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Making the World Better Through Education

Posted on October 8, 2010 by zoeweil

Jim Haas has written a powerful and crucial essay, “Question of Values: Are We Learning for Earning—or for Living?” in Education Week. Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite to read more: Vartan Gregorian, the master educator and president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, has spoken of liberal education as “the soul [...]

Filed under: education, humane education, systemic change, third side thinking, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Damselflies Revisited

Posted on August 6, 2010 by zoeweil

In a previous post, “Altruism v. Rape,” I wrote about damselflies appearing to rescue other damselflies who had fallen into the water. Since writing that blog, I have observed this behavior again. Specifically, I saw a damselfly drowning in the pond and at least a half dozen other damselflies were flying to attach onto this [...]

Filed under: nature, perspective, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Altruism or Rape? Recognizing Our Lenses

Posted on July 7, 2010 by zoeweil

Recently, I was sitting at the pond behind our house observing the myriad life around me. The damselflies were mating, flying attached to one another as the one in the rear dropped eggs into the pond. I saw one damselfly struggling underwater, and several others flew to the site of the struggle. As the damselfly [...]

Filed under: nature, values | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

« Previous Page — Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 31 other followers