Hi There. I am a High School Teacher in Miami Florida. Four years ago, I ended up sponsoring a GSA as part of a professional development assingment. The GSA normally covers social justice-human rights issues, I thought our interest should not concentrate only in the GLBT (gay-lesbian-bi-transg.) issues, but also on any form of prejudice, discrimination or hate.
As an ESL teacher, I alsways looked to explore current and sometimes controversial events to help students express themselves, so I created class forums once a week. Since I am a pro-environmentalist and animals lover as well, we covered essentially Social Justice-Environmental-Animal Protection-Culture and Media Influence topics among other Global Issues and the students loved it. They wanted to do more and it lead us to create another club on Environmentalism and Animal Protection which finally merged with the Social Justice causes of the GSA, and we got a big umbrella club that covered all of the issues.
Looking for resources to work with, I found the International Institute of Humane Education, (http://humaneeducation.org) I was impressed to see and Educational approach that covered all the issues I thought were so critical in raising a more responsible just, sustainable and humane generation. This is how the IHE explain the concept of Humane Education:
"IMAGINE. . .
…a generation with the passion and skills to solve the most pressing challenges of our time, successfully and joyfully.
… if each of us were prepared for our unique role in creating a better world from the time we were born.
…if making humane choices were part of every aspect of our lives.
IMAGINE the world we would create.
Humane education is the key to creating such a world.
Humane education not only instills the desire and capacity to live with compassion, integrity, and wisdom, but also provides the knowledge and tools to put our values into action in meaningful, far-reaching ways.
Humane education enables us to find solutions that work for all by approaching human rights, environmental preservation, and animal protection as interconnected and integral dimensions of a healthy, just society.
Humane education includes 4 elements:
1. Providing accurate information about the issues of our time so that people have the information they need to understand the consequences of their decisions as citizens.
2. Fostering curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking, so that people can evaluate information and solve problems.
3. Instilling reverence, respect, and responsibility, so that people have the motivation to face challenges and to act with integrity
4. Offering positive choices that benefit oneself, other people, the animals, and the Earth, so that people are empowered to create a more humane world.
Humane education may well be the most revolutionary and effective effort that we as a society can undertake to create a peaceful and just world.
It’s time to make living ethically, sustainably, and peaceably on this planet the very purpose of education."
I automatically fell in love with this educational approach and since then, I try to incorporate Humane Education issues in my regular classes. I even created "The Humane Education Fridays" where I mostly cover exclusively Humane Ed. Issues that day. I highly believe in Humane Education, actually I think is one of the most important content areas our students should be exposed to, in order to have a more Just, Sustainable and Humane Future.
The Club has been active for 3 years now and kids love it, because they are not limited to only one cause but to Global Issues in general, we organized events like "The Pep Rally for Peace" for the International Peace Day, to bring closer to the students the causes of Social Justice; we have helped the school cafteria design a menu that included vegetarian, locally produced organic food options; we participated in "Mix It Up" day, to help break down the walls that devide the students in the school; we run a school recyclin program; we planned the "No "Logo Day" and the "Buy Nothing Day" to create awareness against consumerism, etc.
I created a Support Social Network for the club here on ning.com, you can visit http://www.humaneeducationnetwork.ning.com and I also ended up creating "The Humane Foundation" http://www.humanefoundation.org as a support non profit organization to help bring Humane Education to the schools and thecommunity.
I am in desperate need of a collaborative team to help me go on with this projects, and the implementation programs. ALst school year, 2007-2008, the project was approved and supported from a grant on Character Education at the Miami Dade County School Board. We would like to see other clubs starting on different schools around the country and the world, so if anybody is identified with the causes mentioned and would either like to join the team or help start a club in your local school, please let me know.
Doing my part to build a better world for ALl as an educator,
Michel Estopinan
Hialeah Senior High
Miami, FL.
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