Your Voice Matters

Posted on May 20, 2013 by zoeweil
pile of colored straws

Image courtesy of jeff_golden/Flickr.

In a previous post, “Hold the Straw, and Other Tips for a Humane and Sustainable Life,” I wrote about my frustration every time I receive a straw in my glass of water at a restaurant. I just can’t understand why restaurants would choose to use a single-use, petroleum-based product that becomes trash in minutes, especially when they are wholly unnecessary and cost money, time, and effort. It just seems like such a lose-lose decision.

At one local restaurant where I eat periodically, they bring water with a straw so fast that I often don’t have time to request my water sans straw before it’s in front of me at the table. I’ve gotten into the habit of asking the server to please hold the straw before I’m even seated.

Recently, the server happened to be an environmental advocate herself, and not only did she hold the straw when I explained why I’d asked, she decided that she would hold the straw from now on with every table. And then she informed the kitchen of her decision.

I loved that. By using my voice, I created an immediate system change. So simple.

So use your voice. You’d be surprised at how quickly you can make a difference.

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

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Most Teens Don’t Think the World is Becoming a Better Place

Posted on May 9, 2013 by zoeweil
sad teen siting on bed

Image courtesy merfam/Flickr.

At the EARCOS conference, one of the other keynote speakers was Michael Furdyk, co-founder of TakingITGlobal, a fantastic organization we’ve written about and highlighted at IHE.

During his keynote, Michael shared an interesting (if not disturbing) statistic from the BBDO GenWorld 2006 study. When teens were asked if they agreed with the statement, “I think the world is becoming a better place,” only 14 percent (on average) responded in the affirmative. The breakdown by country looked like this:

China 34%
Taiwan 25%
India 26%
Brazil 16%
Russia 15%
United States 14%
Australia 11%
Spain 10%
Poland 10%
United Kingdom 9%
Germany 9%
Mexico 6%
France 2%

What’s ironic about these statistics is that, historically, things have been improving for centuries. As I’ve written about before and most recently shared here, by so many measures the world is indeed becoming “a better place.” There is greater freedom and democracy; girls are able to go to school, and women are able to live self-determined lives in greater and greater numbers; gays and lesbians are gaining rights; nonhuman animals are gaining greater protections; tolerance is on the rise and prejudice on the decline; life expectancy has increased almost everywhere, and death by violence has never been lower than in the last half-century.

True, the expanding human population and increased standard of living for a growing percentage of people has meant faster resource depletion and more global warming; increased rates of species extinction, and higher numbers of animals being brutalized and killed for expanding global appetites for meat. And the rise of the middle class has certainly not reached everyone—far from it—and slavery, trafficking, and sweatshop labor persist.

But even as the problems we face become potentially more grave, the opportunities for young people (the target of this BBDO survey) to solve them expands dramatically as organizations such as TakingITGlobal and IHE help pave the way for greater learning, networking, solutionary thinking, and problem-solving.

I am not surprised that only a small percentage of youth believes the world is getting better. After all, because they are growing up in the information age, they now know more about the grave problems we face, something previous generations did not. Fortunately, the fact that they believe the world isn’t getting better does not seem to stop them from committing to improving it.

I wish these youth had a greater sense of the arc of history, but I’m relieved that they are, by and large, staving off apathy and despair and joining forces through a globally connected world (which, ironically, is a perfect example of how the world is getting better) to solve the challenges we face.

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

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Don’t Believe Things Are Getting Better? Watch This Video

Posted on April 29, 2013 by zoeweil

In my TEDx talk Solutionaries, I make the claim that we are living in less violent, less discriminatory, and less cruel times than ever before in recorded human history. I point this out regularly when I give talks, and often people find the statement surprising. Periodically they simply don’t believe it. So I refer these people to Steven Pinker’s painstakingly researched book, The Better Angels of Our Nature, that provides ample evidence to support this assertion.

Now there’s another take on it. Watch the 5-minute video above, The Joy of Stats, and marvel at the possibilities for creating positive change.

We don’t have to feel mired in the many horrors of the world. We can remind ourselves that positive change has happened and continues to happen, and our role is to be part of it, using our best skills and talents in the process .

With this in mind, go do your life’s great work and help others find their solutionary path as well.

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

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We Don’t Have to Die to Protect the Earth

Posted on April 25, 2013 by zoeweil

In this powerful 5-minute video, “She’s Alive… Beautiful… Finite… Hurting… Worth Dying For,” we are confronted with the reality that brave heroes – some known, many unknown – have died to protect this planet.

As this short video ended, I found myself simultaneously feeling such gratitude for the courageous women and men who risked everything to do what was right and good, and also hoping that children wouldn’t watch this film. I wouldn’t want them to think that striving to do good is such risky business.

It shouldn’t be.

And if we raise a generation of solutionaries it won’t be. Protecting the Earth must become the norm, and if children grow up understanding this, no poacher or corrupt and greedy industrialist will have a chance against such a generation.

That’s the goal. Let’s make it happen.

Become a humane educator.

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

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Children Change the World in 5 Minutes a Day

Posted on April 22, 2013 by zoeweil

Another video Mike Johnston (see previous blog post here) shared with me was this four and a half minute film of children working together in school to create positive changes in just 5 minutes per day.

A cynic might watch this video and point out that these little acts don’t actually “change the world,” but what those cynics would miss is that these acts prepare these children to be solutionaries. By teaching, empowering, and engaging children in small actions that make a collective difference, these children learn that what they do matters. This is one of the most important lessons we can impart.

Imagine what these children will do when they enter the various professions to which they are drawn? I’m guessing that they’ll perceive themselves as agents of change and problem-solvers who address unsustainable and unjust systems within those professions. After all, that’s what they will have learned in school.

Once again, ask yourself this question: Who are these children’s teachers? What must they do differently in order to create a culture like this? How can we make this culture the norm?

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

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Who Was This Child’s Teacher?

Posted on April 18, 2013 by zoeweil

One of the videos Mike Johnston (see previous blog post here) shared with me at the EARCOS conference was this introduction to the children’s group Plant for the Planet.

As you watch this 4-minute video, I invite you to focus on these two underlying realities: 1) This boy represents a powerful movement of countless children; and 2) All these children have teachers.

Who are those teachers who’ve empowered and supported these countless children and their incredible work? What must these teachers do to support these children and how must they incorporate the skills and tools for activism and real-world service into their curricula? These children clearly aren’t spending every day focused on preparation for standardized tests, and my guess is that they’re learning more, gaining real world skills, and finding voice, passion, and goodness in the process of learning

This is what education should be.

Children like these will be the outcome.

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

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It’s Not About You: Tips on Widening Your Perspective for a Better Life and World

Posted on April 11, 2013 by zoeweil

woman looking through binocularsFor my blog post today, I’m sharing a recent essay I wrote for Care2.com, an online community for people passionate about creating a better world. Here’s an excerpt from “It’s Not About You: Tips on Widening Your Perspective for a Better Life and World”:

It’s a given that we live in a globalized world.

We eat foods produced across the globe; we use electronics whose components come from dozens of places around the world; we can communicate instantaneously with anyone anywhere who has a computer with wifi or a cell phone.

With globalization has come awareness. We can quickly know about the conditions under which people live and work in other countries. We can find out about the plight of other species, or about pollution or deforestation. If the nightly news doesn’t report on these issues, we can discover them through our computers in minutes.

Knowing so much changes us. Or at least has the potential to change us. It enables us to be less tribal, provincial, and self-centered; to think of others outside our family, neighborhood, and even nation; to dwell as often on those we affect as on what affects us.

Read the complete essay.

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

Continue the conversation! Leave your comment below, and “like” and share this post via your social media sites.

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Does Our Short Attention Span Prevent Us From Deep Thinking?

Posted on April 1, 2013 by zoeweil

For my blog post today, I’m sharing a recent essay I wrote for Care2.com, an online community for people passionate about creating a better world. Here’s an excerpt from “Does Our Short Attention Span Prevent Us From Deep Thinking?”:

“In his recent essay in Harvard Business Review, Umair Haque critiques “TED thinking,” which he writes, serves “as a shorthand for the way we’ve come to think about ideas and how we share them, whether it’s through an 18-minute talk, an 800-word blog post, or the latest business ‘best-seller’…. ‘TED thinking’ is just a symptom: and the underlying syndrome is our broken relationship with Great Ideas.” 

 While Haque brings up some important and good points in his essay, the construct he presents creates a false dichotomy between “TED thinking” and deep thinking; between solutions-oriented thinking and theorizing; between application and analysis; between idea generation and Great Ideas. These either/ors are both unnecessary and unhelpful.”

Read the complete essay.

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

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4 Ways to Overcome Despair

Posted on March 11, 2013 by zoeweil
Image courtesy of MervC/Flickr.

For my blog post today, I’m sharing a recent essay I wrote for Care2.com, an online community for people passionate about creating a better world. Here’s an excerpt from “4 Ways to Overcome Despair”:

“I don’t know many activists or changemakers who don’t sometimes feel sad. The more we expose ourselves to exploitation and cruelty toward people and animals; the more we learn about climate change and the rapid extinction of species; the more we see corruption in politics and greed in business, the greater the likelihood that despair will creep in.

Some turn their despair outward into rage, which can too often damage relationships, turn off potential allies, promote polarization, and thereby prevent solutions. Some find that despair leads to depression, undermining action, which can turn into a positive feedback loop: more despair leading to more depression leading to less action leading to more despair.

To face and overcome the periodic despair I feel, I have found four things that work well for me.”

Read the complete essay.

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

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Take This One Small Step for Big Change in Education

Posted on February 28, 2013 by zoeweil
Image courtesy of cruiznbye/Flickr

As the president of the Institute for Humane Education I spend most of my days advancing the field of humane education, training people to be humane educators, and working to transform the very purpose of schooling so that we graduate students ready and able to embrace their roles as solutionaries for a just, compassionate, restorative, and peaceful world.

In my first decade of work as a humane educator I taught middle and high school students regularly; but these days, only periodically do I visit schools, and often only for single presentation. Every year, however, I have the pleasure of teaching a week-long humane education block at a local 7th and 8th grade. It is often one of the highlights of my year.

This year was no exception. The last week of January I spent five afternoons with a group of 25 students who affirmed my belief that change is possible, is happening, and that this generation will succeed in transforming unjust, unsustainable, and inhumane systems, if we simply provide them with the tools and knowledge they need for the tasks ahead.

Why do I believe this?

  • This group generated the most beautiful, nuanced, and powerful list of humanity’s best qualities – qualities they valued deeply.
  • They ALL wanted to make a difference and were eager to start by addressing their own school’s system of recycling, composting, and waste disposal to dramatically minimize the waste they produced.
  • They all made very specific, very achievable personal commitments on top of their commitment as a group.
  • They have a teacher ready and able to support their commitments, nurture their dreams, and guide their process of creating change, starting in their own school.

This last point is key.

Children need our support, guidance, mentorship, and knowledge. Many of us are formal teachers; most of us are not. Yet all of us are educators and all of us have a role to play if we hope to see a solutionary generation.

Let’s begin by each committing to do this one simple act:

Contact your school board and your legislators and ask that they embrace a big enough purpose for our children and their future: to educate a generation of solutionaries.

~ Zoe

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 TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxYouth@BFS “Educating for Freedom”
My TEDxYouth@CEHS “How to Be a Solutionary”

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