Humane Edge E-News May 2009

• 15 TIPS FOR CULTIVATING A MORE HUMANE LIFE
  
• FEATURED ACTIVITY: INSPIRING KINDNESS TOWARD ANIMALS
  
• TRY BEFORE YOU APPLY: TEST DRIVE OUR CERTIFICATE PROGRAM
• YOU CAN'T SMOKE JUST ONE: EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF TOBACCO & TOBACCO ADVERTISING
  
• HUMANE EDUCATION IN ACTION: BRINGING HUMANE LIVING DOOR-TO-DOOR
  
• FEATURED RESOURCE: THE STORY OF LILLY & LOU
  
• FEATURED STUDENT: CHRISSY BEVENS -BROWN
  

15 TIPS FOR CULTIVATING A MORE HUMANE LIFE

There are a ton of tips out there for making green and responsible choices — choose compact fluorescents, drive less, buy organic and fair-trade, use cloth bags, etc. These are all terrific, simple things that most of us can do; but, it’s also important for us to examine the bigger picture — to have a vision and connection and purpose in helping create the world we want for all. Here are 15 tips for cultivating a more humane life:

1. Seek out inspiration, knowledge and support. Read, view and explore widely and deeply. Find role models whose bits of wisdom resonate with you. Find inspiring and meaningful quotes, visuals and other tidbits. Surround yourself with empowering and supportive people. The humane journey can feel lonely, but there are a lot of people out there working for a humane world; we need to connect with and learn from each other.
2. Go plant-based, local, organic, unprocessed, seasonal, fair trade as much as you can. Our daily food choices have such an enormous impact on ourselves, other people, animals and the earth that they deserve special consideration.
3. Build community in your neighborhood. This could mean something as complex as developing and living in a co-housing community, or something as simple as getting to know your neighbors, holding a neighborhood potluck, or sharing tools and other resources. We love and respect what we know. When we know each other, we have a better chance of treating each other with kindness and respect and of being more concerned about the impacts of our actions on others.
4. Love your "enemy". Finding compassion for those whose actions we abhor is one of the most challenging tasks we can ask of ourselves. But it is so essential to explore others’ points of view, and to develop tolerance and understanding for those who don’t share our views. We are all more than just the pieces of ourselves. Learn to find and love the positive pieces of others.
5. Learn skills for communicating compassionately. We can’t build a humane community if we can’t listen, and if we're making judgments and assumptions about others. Cooperate. Build bridges. Communicate to understand and connect, rather than to convince.
6. Teach others & share the joys and power of what you’ve discovered, without proselytizing. If you can show people that they can live humanely while still meeting all their needs and finding happiness and fulfillment, you have the potential to influence their future choices and the lenses through which they view the world.
7. Extend your circle of compassion to all beings and the earth. See non-human animals not just as biodiverse species to be respected, but as individual beings, each deserving respect and equal consideration. Immerse yourself in the natural world so that your reverence and respect can grow and flourish.
   
8. Reduce your footprint. We can make conscious and careful choices and still have a huge ecological footprint. Hybrid cars, giant eco-houses and green travel to faraway countries are all greener ways of living, but they all still have a significant impact on the earth. Find ways to reduce your impact and live a meaningful, joyful life.
9. Pay attention to the influence of media and advertising. A lot of our need for stuff comes from people telling us we’re not healthy-whole-sexy-successful-worthy-intelligent-interesting-normal unless we buy a bunch of products or choose a certain lifestyle. Make your choices with awareness and intention, rather than because you’re feeling inadequate or fearful or lonely or bored, and learn to know when someone is trying to manipulate you.
10. Expand your global awareness and connection. Make room for everyone. We North Americans pat ourselves on the back for our eco-friendly choices, but we still consume the earth at an alarming rate, leaving much less for our brothers and sisters around the world. We also need to be aware of the choices our corporations and governments make in regard to other countries, and to speak out when those choices are poor ones.
11. Examine your lenses. As activist Laura Moretti says, “That’s the nice thing about beliefs. Just because you’ve put your faith in them doesn’t make them true.” Learn to view the world through a humane lens: see the impact of your choices, the influence of your words and interactions with others, the example you set for children. Ask yourself if the choices you make every day (and the influences of those choices) reflect the kind of world you want for yourself and for future generations.
12. Do some small something every day to make the world a better place. Celebrate the small victories and habits.
13. Pause every day to count your blessings. Remember the journeys of your neighbors, especially those around the world who have much less. If we pause to reflect on all that we have and to feel gratitude for that, we’re much less likely to feel deprived and thus feel the desire to have more.
14. Exercise your own power and responsibility. It’s not up to the government or scientists or industry or technology to fix things. We each need to step up and create the world we want. We can recognize the power each of us has -- in our daily choices and in supporting (or refusing to support) certain systems -- and use that power wisely.
15. Expand your creativity. There are so many ways to solve problems and to fulfill our needs without depriving or destroying others. Take advantage of your creativity to explore them. Look for "third side" and "both/and" solutions that benefit all.
    

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FEATURED ACTIVITY: INSPIRING KINDNESS TOWARD ANIMALS

Since the first week in May is Be Kind to Animals Week, this month is an excellent opportunity to explore and think critically about the relationships we have with animals. Whom Do You Pet & Whom Do You Eat? explores why we treat different types of animals differently, and how we can  learn to view them with new eyes. This is a great activity for grades 4 & up. Another lesson that addresses our relationships with animals and people is Alien in the Ethical Universe, which inspires students (grades 5-8) to reflect on the inconsistencies in how our society encourages us to treat others (animals and people both).

Download Whom Do You Pet & Whom Do You Eat?(pdf)

Download Alien in the Ethical Universe (pdf)

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TRY BEFORE YOU APPLY: TEST DRIVE OUR CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

Educators: You’ve been wanting to find your unique niche in creating a truly humane world, and our Humane Education Certificate Program (HECP) has seemed like an effective, exciting and worthwhile way to make a difference; but you’ve been a bit hesitant to commit to a two-year program.

Now you can take a test-drive: start our HECP before you apply! Through 2009, take up to two courses (Intro to Humane Education and Environmental Ethics) before committing to the entire program.

By earning a Certificate in Humane Education you'll be part of a growing movement working for hope and change through education. You'll learn to awaken compassion and inspire your students to take action to make the world a better place.

Our HECP has rolling admissions, so you can begin at any time. And, since our HECP is one of our distance-learning programs, you can take it from wherever you are.

"When I started the program, I knew immediately that every student was valued, their learning style accommodated, and their curiosity and interests nurtured. As a professional educator, I was aware of how rare it is to find these qualities in an institute of higher education. I eagerly began the life-changing process of being a student once again in the most supportive educational experience of my lifetime."
~ Kelly Coyle DiNorcia, IHE student

Sign up for your First Course Today!

Just Email Info@HumaneEducation.org
Or call: 207.667.1025


See what our some of our students and graduates are doing now. 

For more information, please contact Mary Pat Champeau, Program Director, at marypat@HumaneEducation.org or 207.667.1172.

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YOU CAN'T SMOKE JUST ONE: EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF TOBACCO AND TOBACCO ADVERTISING

by Marsha Rakestraw, Humane Edge Editor

My first memory of smoking is when I was hanging out with my much older brother and his friends, who found a pack of cigarettes and decided to give the forbidden sticks of mystery a try. To make sure I wouldn’t “tattle,” my brother backed me up against a wall and made me take a puff or two, thus, in his eyes, making me as “guilty” as the rest of them. I was about 8. (I wouldn’t have told anyway, Bob. But thanks for the early exposure to lung cancer.) Maybe I should thank my brother; I've never "smoked" since.

Back then, smoking wasn’t considered a big deal. Celebs did it. Parents did it in front of their kids. Respectable business owners and church-goers did it. Now that the jury has finally returned from an interminably-long coffee break and rendered a “guilty” verdict to the link between smoking and health hazards, you’d think that smokers everywhere would lay down their "cancer sticks" and refuse even one more puff. Some people have. And some of those who haven’t are at least more aware of issues like the impact of secondhand smoke. But, according to the World Health Organization (WHO):

• There are more than 1 billion smokers in the world.
• Almost half of the world’s children breathe air polluted by tobacco smoke.
• Tobacco kills about 1 person every 6 seconds.
• Most people start smoking before the age of 18; a quarter of those start before the age of 10.
  

And where is most of this smoking  happening? In developing countries. Tobacco use is finally decreasing in “high-income” countries, like the U.S. But, globally, use is increasing. The WHO says that “more than 80% of the world’s smokers live in low- and middle-income countries.” Why is smoking increasing when information about the negative effects of tobacco use is more widely available (and known) than ever? Say it with me: advertising.

The fact that people start smoking when they're still kids provides a great platform for exploring the influence of media and advertising on youth. There are plenty of news reports to analyze -- such as this recent one about tobacco companies targeting youth in Asia -- as well as websites with information about the tobacco industry, such as the Center for Media and Democracy's TobaccoWiki. There are also numerous websites that offer tobacco ads and spoofs of ads. Just do an online search for “tobacco ads.”  Two examples: Tobacco Free Kids has a gallery of tobacco ads from around the world, including from magazines, billboards, displays, etc. Ads can be searched by country, company, brand or ad type. If you want to compare those to earlier ads, Truth in Advertising has a collection of cigarette ads from the 1940s and 50s.

By exploring and thinking critically about such ads, young people can unravel the messages, tactics and strategies used to encourage people to adopt a lifelong, potentially-fatal habit.

In addition to thinking critically about the ads they’re exposed to, young people can explore how tobacco companies and their public relations divisions work. For example:

• How much do tobacco companies spend on advertising/marketing each year? How has that changed over the years?
• What countries do they target most heavily?
• What age groups?
• Who would a company whose product can cause death and disease for its consumers look to to find new customers?
• What means do they use to attract youth to smoking?
• Why is a company that markets products known to be harmful (even fatal) so successful at recruiting more customers?
  

And, tobacco use isn't just a health and human rights issue. In addition to all the animals in laboratories who are still subjected to testing to prove/disprove the benefits/harmfulness of tobacco, and in addition to all the animals in close proximity to humans who are exposed to secondhand smoke, plenty of wildlife inadvertently take up the smoking habit (and sometimes die) by eating butts (and the toxic chemicals in them) that they mistake for food. And, in addition to being a giant eyesore, butts contain toxins that can wash into our waterways. Then there's the whole fire hazard thing. These are also important issues that students can explore.

On May 31, the World Health Organization is sponsoring World No Tobacco Day. Cities around the world are participating, bringing awareness to issues about tobacco and smoking. World No Tobacco Day provides a great chance to help young people adopt a healthy habit: thinking critically and creatively.

Image courtesy of said&done via Creative Commons.

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HUMANE EDUCATION IN ACTION: BRINGING HUMANE LIVING DOOR-TO-DOOR

Kathleen Beck has been passionate about helping people, animals and the planet since she was a child. A chance encounter with a magazine article led her to the philosophy of comprehensive humane education, and now Kathleen is using her skills as a businesswoman, community organizer and outdoor educator to bring humane living concepts to people of all ages.

(In the above pic, Kathleen's on the left. Photo courtesy of Brian Kramer.)

Quick Facts About Kathleen:

Hometown: Julian, California (under 2,000 residents!)
IHE fan since: 2005 -- graduated with my Masters in Humane Ed. in 2007
Current Job: Outdoor Education specialist with San Diego County of Education and full- time activist for sustainability in food and energy in Julian.
Your heroes: Granny D and Julia Butterfly Hill. They put their feet where their ideals live.
Movie that changed your life: Gandhi
Guilty pleasure: non-local fair trade, organic, shade-grown coffee
Inspired by: Music of all kinds and hiking in all ecosystems of San Diego and beyond!
Love about yourself: My commitment to the environment and the community that I live in. I help to raise consciousness in my own neck of the woods as well as in myself, for the greater good.
One of my strengths: I can sing and create theme music for the ideals that I support. For instance, I have just finished a song called, “Road to Consciousness,” co-written with my friend Jim Bell who is a life-systems ecological designer.
Desired epitaph: "She followed her intuition even at great sacrifice at times; always true to what the truth of the situation was telling her. This could only be accomplished by being a good listener."

IHE: What led you to the path of humane education?

KB: Even as a child I had compassion for animals and people. I thought that I was going to be a veterinarian through my primary and secondary education. I became a vegetarian in high school in the mid-70’s. In the 8th grade, I also wrote a story about prejudice called “Leroy and Bill”; it was prompted by the books Raisin in the Sun and To Kill a Mockingbird. These early inklings led me down the crooked path of psychology, philosophy and environmental education. Eventually I read in the Utne Reader an article about Zoe Weil. Her life was completely inspiring to me, and I enrolled in IHE's Master of Education in Humane Education program.

IHE: How are you currently manifesting humane education?

KB: I started an organization called, People’s Powerlink, in response to the Sunrise Powerlink transmission line project that professed to bring renewable energy from afar into San Diego, blighting the beautiful backcountry of our county. I have used humane education in all my interactions by using the 3 R’s (reverence, respect, responsibility), 3 I’s (inquiry, introspection, integrity) and 3 C’s (curiosity, creativity, critical thinking) at all times and have networked within many communities and environmental organizations to knit together solutions that will decentralize energy and empower the people. It is a move away from big corporate power companies -- yet I remain open to helping them understand as well.

More recently I have moved my decentralized approach to food production and have for the last year created a food web called People’s Foodlink. I collect and deliver the eggs of humanely-treated chickens, organic fruits, vegetables and grains, and freshly-baked organic breads to my community, door-to-door. I waste nothing (except gas!) and everything is locally-grown within a 100-mile radius.

In the last few months I have expanded the project to include “Victory Gardens.” We are now in the process of collecting recycled and organic materials; building compost piles; and promoting gardens in our area. We hope to have a community garden area soon and are working with a local two-room schoolhouse to promote food sustainability.

My challenges are few and my successes are many. The local library has hosted three events so far through their Arts and Letters program. They have been filled to capacity! The local newspaper has covered all three of these events. I work within a very enlightened community network who seem to me to be well-seasoned progressive problem solvers -- many of whom are educators.

I guess the challenges might have to be the elements of time. We often wish for sustainability to happen overnight, yet time for incubation can sometimes be slower. I think of it as a slow-germinating seed planted early in the season. Sometimes that plant can be your strongest survivor due to its hardships. In this respect, there are no failures. Even if the plant dies, we can plant again! And again and again! Since I love to plant seeds and am a process person, there really is no discouragement.

IHE: What are your thoughts about the power of humane education to positively transform the world?

KB: It is certainly currently part of the positive current running through our country today. Due to organizations like Moveon.org and others, we live in a pretty sweet climate for humane change. I believe that humane treatment for animals has a way to go, though. This is where IHE comes in. I have no problems convincing my community that cultural sensitivity, humanely-produced purchases (excluding animal products), environmentally-sound decisions and the like, are a good idea. When it comes to animal consumption however, it is a hard row to hoe!

At outdoor school I tell the kids, “Look, in nature, it only works if there are relatively few carnivores compared to the herbivores. Therefore, people can only sustain themselves if there are many more vegetarians than there are omnivore diets.” They listen well and understand the energy flow cycles necessary in nature, yet they are so conditioned to eat meat and dairy products! Thank the Universe that there are many vegetarians and vegans on our staff who are active examples of health and fun for the kids to interact with. I often use Zoe’s lesson plans to bring the messages home.

IHE: Any future plans, dreams, projects?

KB: After we get the solar panels on ‘main street’ (it really could happen soon), food sustainability in schools and backyards, and convince people that eating meat is not necessary for optimal health, I would like to work on a water conservation project. My dream is for consciousness to rise to the occasion of sustainable lifestyles for us all on planet earth. I plan on manifesting this as soon as time allows!

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FEATURED RESOURCE: THE STORY OF LILLY & LOU

Two dogs. Abandoned. Starving. Freezing. In the middle of New York City. Most dogs in this situation probably wouldn’t find a happy ending, but Lilly and Lou do. In The Story of Lilly & Lou, which is based on a true story, teenage Alicia is walking her adopted dog, Bella, in a park when she glimpses two scraggly, frightened dogs running loose. Her efforts to find out with whom the dogs belong lead Alicia on a journey that changes her life. Through her experiences working with friends and neighbors to try to rescue the abandoned, terrified dogs, Alicia learns more about compassion and responsibility for others, as well as the joys of helping those in need. Readers will be inspired by Alicia’s passion and perseverance and will be encouraged by the positive difference that one person can make…especially when that person has a support system. There are also elements of other humane concepts sprinkled throughout, such as not making assumptions about others and showing kindness to people in need.

Although the book is targeted to kids, ages 9-15, the narrator reads a little younger than her 16 years, so kids a bit younger will find the story accessible, too. Since the book is succinct, only 46 pages, it would also make an appropriate read-aloud.

The Story of Lilly & Lou is written by Doriane Lucia, an IHE M.Ed. graduate and the founder of the Humane Nation Foundation, which offers humane education presentations and resources. Doriane (and three other humane educators) have also created a “humane education enrichment curriculum” to accompany the book. The curriculum includes 17 lessons, for grades 4-8, divided by “Human Aspect” and “Animal Aspect.” Activities include raps, puzzles, creative writing, discussions, special projects, etc., and include the national educational standards they address. The “Human Aspect” lessons focus on objectives such as exploring judging others, thinking critically, and learning to make a difference, while the “Animal Aspect” activities focus on companion animal issues and treating animals with compassion and respect.

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FEATURED STUDENT: CHRISSY BEVENS-BROWN

Chrissy was looking for very specific criteria when she went browsing for a master's program and found a great match with IHE.

During her M.Ed. experience, Chrissy has combined her love of fiction and writing with her passion for helping people, animals and the earth and has written a book of stories exploring issues of anthropocentrism.

Find out more about Chrissy.

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