Humane education
Encyclopedia
Humane education is defined as the teaching of compassion and respect related to animal welfare, environmental, and social justice issues. It works to makes the acquisition of relevant knowledge, skills, and commitment to live ethically, sustainably, and peaceably the very purpose of education. It does this by infusing the curricula at all levels of education with meaningful information, inspiration, and tools for creating a safe and humane world for all.(Selby)
Humane education examines the challenges facing our planet, from human oppression and animal exploitation to materialism and ecological degradation. It explores how we might live with compassion and respect for everyone: not just our friends and neighbors, but all people; not just our own dogs and cats, but all animals; not just our own homes, but also the earth itself, our ultimate home.
The focus on citizenship makes humane education exceedingly compatible with other educational theories and models of reform, including service-learning and character and democratic education which all promote personal and global responsibility.(Itle-Clark)
Humane education helps build and model empathy as well as promote higher order thinking skills related to cause and effect of actions, not just to ourselves but also to everyone our lives touch; the connections between both personal and cultural choices and the fate of other people, other species, and the Earth, and responsibility for creating a better world. Humane education achieves these goals by inspiring people to identify the values that will guide them through life and by teaching them the process of embodying these values in the face of complex problems and needs. Humane education promotes empathy and compassion towards all species.
The importance of childhood instruction has been noted since the time of John Locke. In 1693 Locke made a prominent statement of the need to correct the cruelty of children. The birth of humane education as a national effort dates back to the late 19th century with the work done by George Angell and the formation of The Bands of Mercy and the MSPCA after he became familiar with the RSPCA. Another important event in humane education occurred in 1915. In that year, “Be Kind to Animals Week” was inspired Dr. William O’Stillman, leader of the American Humane Association. AHA’s primary goals were: visiting local schools to promote the development of humane education and publicizing the good works of the nation’s humane societies.(Unti, DeRosa)
Quality humane education uses a four-element approach that includes:
• Providing accurate information about the interrelated issues of human rights, environmental preservation, animal protection, and culture.
• Teaching critical thinking so students can discern fact from opinion and resist forms of manipulation, whether from advertising, media, peers, or social norms.
• Inspiring the 3 Rs of reverence, respect, and responsibility so students will have both the passion for, and the commitment to, bringing about positive change.
• Offering choices for both individual decision-making and group problem-solving so that students can become part of a growing effort to develop sustainable, peaceful, and humane systems by which to live.
http://vimeo.com/18794109 Be an Animal Hero Elementary 15 min video for schools to use a section at a time by7 Humane Educators Reaching Out and KidsHelpAnimals.com
Humane education examines the challenges facing our planet, from human oppression and animal exploitation to materialism and ecological degradation. It explores how we might live with compassion and respect for everyone: not just our friends and neighbors, but all people; not just our own dogs and cats, but all animals; not just our own homes, but also the earth itself, our ultimate home.
The focus on citizenship makes humane education exceedingly compatible with other educational theories and models of reform, including service-learning and character and democratic education which all promote personal and global responsibility.(Itle-Clark)
Humane education helps build and model empathy as well as promote higher order thinking skills related to cause and effect of actions, not just to ourselves but also to everyone our lives touch; the connections between both personal and cultural choices and the fate of other people, other species, and the Earth, and responsibility for creating a better world. Humane education achieves these goals by inspiring people to identify the values that will guide them through life and by teaching them the process of embodying these values in the face of complex problems and needs. Humane education promotes empathy and compassion towards all species.
The importance of childhood instruction has been noted since the time of John Locke. In 1693 Locke made a prominent statement of the need to correct the cruelty of children. The birth of humane education as a national effort dates back to the late 19th century with the work done by George Angell and the formation of The Bands of Mercy and the MSPCA after he became familiar with the RSPCA. Another important event in humane education occurred in 1915. In that year, “Be Kind to Animals Week” was inspired Dr. William O’Stillman, leader of the American Humane Association. AHA’s primary goals were: visiting local schools to promote the development of humane education and publicizing the good works of the nation’s humane societies.(Unti, DeRosa)
Quality humane education uses a four-element approach that includes:
• Providing accurate information about the interrelated issues of human rights, environmental preservation, animal protection, and culture.
• Teaching critical thinking so students can discern fact from opinion and resist forms of manipulation, whether from advertising, media, peers, or social norms.
• Inspiring the 3 Rs of reverence, respect, and responsibility so students will have both the passion for, and the commitment to, bringing about positive change.
• Offering choices for both individual decision-making and group problem-solving so that students can become part of a growing effort to develop sustainable, peaceful, and humane systems by which to live.
See also
- Animal cruelty
- Animal welfareAnimal welfareAnimal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
- Social changeSocial changeSocial change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
- Human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
- Social JusticeSocial justiceSocial justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
- PeacePeacePeace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
- TolerationTolerationToleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
- Environmental protectionEnvironmental protectionEnvironmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
- EcopedagogyEcopedagogyThe ecopedagogy movement is an outgrowth of developments in critical pedagogy, a body of educational ideas and practices influenced by the philosopher, Paulo Freire...
Videos
- http://www.humaneeducatorsreachingout.com/video.htm Susan Hargreaves 2 minutes by RattletheCage.org
http://vimeo.com/18794109 Be an Animal Hero Elementary 15 min video for schools to use a section at a time by7 Humane Educators Reaching Out and KidsHelpAnimals.com
Book References
- Weil, Z. (2004). The Power and the Promise of Humane Education. New Society Publishers.
External links
- Certified Humane Education Specialist Program
- Institute for Humane Education
- Humane Educators Reaching Out
- Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers
- Association of Professional Humane Educators
- Human Rights Education Association
- The Humane Society of the United States
- The Humane Society of the United States Parents and Educators
- National Association for Humane and Environmental Education
- North American Association for Environmental Education
- Teach Children to be Kind to Animals, Charity GuideCharity GuideCharity Guide is a tax-exempt, nonprofit 501 organization in the United States dedicated to inspiring and facilitating volunteer opportunities through an approach known as flexible volunteerism...
- TeachKind
- [ht tp://www.21stcenturycares.org/ 21st Century Animal Resource & Education Services]
- Radio interview with Zoe Weil