to both positive choices and the necessary tools for problem solving. “These elements enable students to take all that they learn and use it with reverence and a sense of responsibility,” says Weil.
Her institute offers the only master’s degrees in humane education that this approach requires, with complementary in-class and online programs for young people and adults. Her determined vision is slowly becoming a reality as teach- ers become familiar with these concepts and integrate them into hands-on, project-based learning that crosses disciplines and better marries school experiences with real-life lessons.
Make the Extraordinary Ordinary Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seymour Papert, a renowned educator and computer scientist, has conducted in-depth research in how worthy real-world topics get students excited about what they learn. They increase their tendency to dig more deeply and expand their interest in a wide array of subjects as they better retain what they learn, become more confident in trusting their own judgment and make the connections needed to broadly apply their knowledge. Young people learn how to collaborate and improve their social and group speaking skills, including with adults. According to Papert, project-based learning improves
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THE NEXT LEVEL W
Education for a More Sustainable World by Linda Sechrist
hat is the purpose of education?” That’s a ques- tion Zoe Weil frequently revisits with her work- shop audiences. As co-founder and President of
the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), Weil has spent most of her adult life researching the answer. Her conclusion is that the U.S. Department of Education’s present goal of prepar- ing graduates to “compete in the global economy” is far too myopic for our times. Weil’s firsthand research, which grounds her book, The Power and Promise of Humane Education, has led her to forward the idea that the goal should be inspiring genera- tions of “solutionaries” prepared to joyfully and enthusiasti- cally meet the challenges of world problems. “I believe that it is incredibly irresponsible for America’s educators and policymakers not to provide people with the knowledge of interconnected global issues, plus the skills and tools to become creative problem solvers and motivated change makers in whatever fields they pursue,” says Weil. Weil points to four primary elements that comprise a humane education: providing information about current issues in age-appropriate ways; fostering the Three C’s of cu- riosity, creativity and critical thinking; instilling the Three R’s of reverence, respect and responsibility; and ensuring access
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We need to build cases for environmental protection around broad-based community concerns like health, quality of life, the protection of watersheds and wildlife and the education of our children. Environmental issues are also social, economic and quality of life issues. Our challenge is to bring life-sustaining principles into creative
thinking for the long view, rather than the short term. ~ Terry Tempest Williams
test scores and reduces absenteeism and disciplinary prob- lems. “If schoolchildren are given the gift of exploration, society will benefit, both in practical and theoretical ways,” notes Papert.
Telling Transformation Papert’s observations were affirmed by middle school students at Voyagers’ Community School, in Farmingdale, New Jersey, in one of the IHE 10-week online classes—Most
www.na-sd.com
Zoe Weil portrait by Robert Shetterly
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