Parking Your Luxury Car in Your Living Room—a Critical Thinking Opportunity

Posted on May 6, 2013 by zoeweil

When Singapore middle school principal Mike Johnston shared this video of a man living in a luxury apartment building in Singapore parking his high-end sports car in his living room, I thought it might be part of a sci-fi movie or a satiric piece of filmmaking.

It’s not.

But what a great humane education tool such a video is!

Imagine showing this film to a group of high school students and asking what they think of it. My guess is that a lot of them will think it’s very cool. Then imagine discussing it in the context of global issues, poverty, global warming, inequality. Imagine asking questions about rights and responsibilities. About freedom and inequity. Think of the lively discussion that would ensue.

If you do share this video in the context of education, remember to keep your own perspectives to yourself. The job of the educator is to share knowledge and instill the skills of creative and critical thinking, not to indoctrinate with personal ideologies. By using an activity like True Price, which examines the real costs of our consumer choices to people, animals and the earth, you enable your students to come to their own conclusions and devise their own actions to respond to the knowledge they gain.

~ 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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Filed under: humane education | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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”

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

Filed under: changemakers | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The Power of One: Israel and Iran – A Love Story?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by zoeweil

In previous posts I’ve written about the capacity we now have to collaborate and innovate with people across borders to solve problems. Take a look at the above TEDx talk, “Israel and Iran: A Love Story?” I love how one Israeli man’s ideas have captured the imagination of so many.

Will this graphic designer’s idea lead to peace in the Middle East? I don’t know, but it’s possible. And from this, what may come?

~ 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 TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxYouth@BFS “Educating for Freedom”

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How to Be a Solutionary: Zoe Weil’s New TEDx Talk

Posted on January 14, 2013 by zoeweil

I’m excited to share my new TEDxYouth@CEHS talk, How to Be a Solutionary, which highlights how vital it is that we each find our solutionary path, and offers examples of how others have merged their passion and skills to work toward solving the issues they care deeply about.

Author, activist, and visionary changemaker, John Robbins, said this about my talk:

“I loved watching this presentation by Zoe Weil, and feel uplifted, informed and strengthened by it. Her clarity and her compassion ring absolutely true for me — in a way that is only possible when someone’s heart and head are in alignment. Thank you, Zoe, for providing such a potent gift to us all. The more people who hear and heed this beautifully presented message, the more powerful we will be in building better lives and a better world.”

I hope you enjoy it! If you do, please share it widely and spread the word. Many thanks!

~ 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 TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxYouth@BFS “Educating for Freedom”

Like my blog? Please share it with others, comment, and/or subscribe to our RSS feed.  

Filed under: citizen activism, humane education | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

“Man” is Missing a Better Vision for Humanity

Posted on January 10, 2013 by zoeweil

This animated viral video has been circulating on the Internet. It’s entitled “Man” (a dismaying title in an era where sexist language should have faded into oblivion), and it depicts the cruel, destructive manner in which humanity has lived on the Earth. As I watched it, I found myself so eager to see how this animation would demonstrate the transformation we can, and must, experience to fix the messes we’ve created and right the wrongs we’ve perpetrated. No such luck. We just become the victims of even more powerful aliens. No utopian vision this.

In various talks and workshops over the past year, I’ve been speaking about a different reality than what this video demonstrates: a reality in which we are living in less violent, discriminatory, and cruel times; a reality painstakingly researched and described by Steven Pinker in his book, The Better Angels of our Nature. Many don’t believe this reality is actually true, given the horrors in the world: a continuing slave trade, sex trafficking, and gender discrimination; the frightening despoiling of nature; the massive abuse and killing of more than one trillion animals each year, and more; yet it is true.

So as I watched this animated film, I found myself thinking how behind the times it was; how dystopian, when what we need right now are visionary ideas and examples of solutionaries doing the important work that lies ahead. But I do hope you will watch this video anyway, and then construct your own ending, one in which we build a humane and healthy world for all.

~ 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 TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxYouth@BFS “Educating for Freedom”

Like my blog? Please share it with others, comment, and/or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Filed under: humane education, MOGO (Most Good) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

If This is a NERD, Let There Be More of Them

Posted on November 15, 2012 by zoeweil

I had the pleasure of meeting Nikhil Goyal at the TEDxYouth@BFS conference in September. Nikhil is in high school. He’s also the author of the new book, One Size Does Not Fit All: A Student’s Assessment of School, and a frequent TEDx speaker. His talk at TEDxYouth@BFS, “Why Kids Hate School,” was powerful and compelling, and I highly recommend it:

Recently, The Washington Post’s The Fix tweeted: “This high school kid just wrote a book on education? NERD.” Having met Nikhil, here’s my new definition of NERD: Normal yet Exceptional and Reasonable Dynamo. May the NERD revolution begin!

~ 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 TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“
My TEDxYouth@BFS “Educating for Freedom”

Like my blog? Please share it with others, comment, and/or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Filed under: education | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Giftivism: A Path Toward Generosity and Generativity

Posted on August 30, 2012 by zoeweil

For my blog post today, I simply want to share this wonderful TEDx talk, Designing for Generosity. If, after you’ve watched it, you find yourself giving in a new or different way, please let me know what happens.

~ 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 TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“

Get tickets to the October 13 NYC performance of my 1-woman show: “My Ongoing Problems with Kindness: Confessions of MOGO Girl.”

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Opening Our Eyes to the Mystery of Nature

Posted on July 5, 2012 by zoeweil

A few nights ago, my husband and I were walking our dogs at dusk. When we walked by our pond, some of the pond insects were skittering and swimming on the surface of the water, creating pathways and patterns on the otherwise smooth surface. Then our dog barked. My husband immediately called me over to see what had happened and used his phone to videotape something neither of us had seen before.

At each bark, the insects – many more than were otherwise visible when it was quiet – responded with a sudden jerk. Take a look:

We have lived in our home for years, yet we have never seen this. Who knew that insects responded to sound in such a way? There is so much we don’t see, don’t notice, don’t pay attention to – a reminder that there is mystery all around us, and there are always new and amazing wonders to discover in the natural world.

So go out and observe. Sit quietly for some time each day and watch a small window of nature, a square foot is plenty. Just pay attention. Our beautiful planet is amazing. And when we notice and truly appreciate nature, there is little we won’t do to protect it.

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 TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“

Like my blog? Please share it with others, comment, and/or subscribe to the RSS feed. 

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

Solutionaries: Zoe Weil’s New TEDx Talk

Posted on July 2, 2012 by zoeweil

For my blog post today I’m excited to share my new TEDx talk: Solutionaries. I hope you enjoy it! If you do, please share it widely and spread the word. Many thanks!


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 TEDxConejo talk: “Solutionaries”
My TEDxDirigo talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“

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In Praise of Wonder, Uncertainty, and Possibility

Posted on April 20, 2012 by zoeweil

Neuroscientist David Eagleman gives a powerful and provocative TEDx talk about the importance of relinquishing dogma in favor of celebrating possibility. Watch it here:


By inviting us to ponder all that we don’t know, Dr. Eagleman reminds us that the best possible response to the mysteries that surround us is a combination of awe, wonder, curiosity, and a thoughtful search for understanding, rather than the dogmatism that pervades so much of society.

What I love most about this talk is its implicit message for education. If we cultivate the innate curiosity of our children and foster their creative and critical thinking capacities, while nurturing their wonder and reverence, we will be laying the groundwork for their open and eager search for new and better ideas that will lead us toward greater understanding, connection, collaboration, and truth-seeking.

For a humane world,

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 TEDx talk: “The World Becomes What You Teach“

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