|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Humane Education:
“is based on the premise that if we comprehensively transform the root systems that underlie all other societal systems – schooling – we can prepare generations of students to find answers to our challenges.”
A few years back, I again participated in Miami Dade County Public Schools’ annual Principal TODAY event at a local middle school, where I “ran” the campus for a day. While walking with students to lunch, a kid saw an Anole Lizard seemingly frozen in fear. She immediately smashed it with her foot. I immediately took her to the Real Principal.
I have always wondered why there isn’t one class or subject in our schools that teaches us how to care for a plant or pet. As humans, our relationship with the animal and plant kingdom is so symbiotic that it begs the question: Why don’t we spend more time learning how to contribute? Perhaps if there were, she would not have needed to splatter this cute reptile’s guts all over the sidewalk.
We all know the well-documented link between childhood cruelty to animals and later criminality, violence and antisocial behavior. We don’t discuss how humane education in school can help break this cycle and replace it with one of compassion, empathy and personal responsibility.
Humane education in the classroom can play an important role in creating a compassionate and caring society that takes benign responsibility for ourselves, each other, our fellow animals and the earth.
ANIMALS HAVE FEELINGS
As to our fellow animals, it works at the root causes of human cruelty and abuse of animals. There is now abundant scientific evidence that animals are sentient beings with the capacity to experience ‘feelings.’
They can enjoy life’s essential gifts and suffer emotionally (as well as physically) through cruel or unkind treatment, deprivation, and incarceration. This new understanding of animals’ sentience has enormous implications for how we treat them, the policies and laws we adopt, and how we educate our children.
Humane animal education is the foundation of a kind and ethically responsible society. Educators who successfully implement this process using tried-and-tested methods help students develop a deep empathy for animals, the environment and others based on empathy, understanding and respect.
GROUND ZERO
In a well-structured animal humane education program, younger children are initially introduced to simple animal issues and the exploration of animal sentience and needs.
Then, gradually, learners begin to consider a whole range of ethical issues using resources and lesson plans designed to generate creative and critical thinking and assist individuals in tapping into their inbuilt moral compass.
Importantly, humane education has the potential to spur the development of benevolence and compassion. Lack of empathy is an underlying reason for callous, neglectful and violent behavior. It must be considered a character-building block in school curricula to build stable and peaceful societies.
PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Research shows that humane education has many positive social and educational outcomes. These extend to areas such as bullying, teenage pregnancies, drug abuse, racism and the persecution of minority groups. It has also increased school attendance rates, enhanced relationships and behavior and improved academic achievement.
Humane education should be essential to a student’s learning foundation as it reduces violence and builds the sought-after moral character. It is needed to develop an enlightened world with thoughtfulness and respect for life, thus tempering the cycle of violence and abuse. We ignore the development of ethics and values in school at our peril. These must be woven into a school’s culture.
Children taught empathy for animals tend to be more empathetic toward their peers. By incorporating it into daily activity, teachers can reach kids before they engage in antisocial or violent behavior.
THE BEGINNING
Humane education is best designed as a multitiered approach in which empathy training is delivered to the whole student population in the first tier.
Mental health professionals support students who have witnessed animal abuse. Leaders conduct interventions and monitor students who have documented histories of violent or otherwise abusive behavior toward animals or their peers in the next tier.
Research indicates that a large proportion of young people have witnessed animal abuse, and this lesser-known but still authentic form of childhood trauma is much more pervasive than most educators realize and needs to be addressed. Students who’ve observed acts of cruelty to animals are more likely to abuse animals themselves.
IN THE NEWS
The most egregious cases of cruelty to animals make headlines, but many children encounter animal abuse that goes unreported. This is why schools must implement preventive measures rather than merely reacting to reported incidents of cruelty committed by students.
By the way, the real principal called the girl’s mom. I was called down to the office to share what I saw. The mom said, “I don’t see the big deal.” I stomped my foot in disgust.
This column is by Ritchie Lucas, Founder/CEO of the non-profit The Student Success Project. He can be reached by email at ritchie@studentsuccessproject.org and on Facebook as The Student Success Project.
ABOUT US:
For more Miami community news, look no further than Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online group of newspapers covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami’s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers informed. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami’s Community Newspapers is the ideal source for staying up to date with the latest news and happenings in the area.
This family-owned media company publishes more than a dozen neighborhood publications, magazines, special sections on their websites, newsletters, as well as distributing them in print throughout Miami Dade County from Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, South Miami, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Homestead. Each online publication and print editions provide comprehensive coverage of local news, events, business updates, lifestyle features, and local initiatives within its respective community.
Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami’s culture. Whether you’re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts, Miami’s Community Newspapers has you covered. For more information, be sure to check out: https://communitynewspapers.com.
If you have any questions, feel free to email Michael@communitynewspapers.com or Grant@communitynewspapers.com.
