05.03.07

Sowing Seeds Workshop in Carlsbad

Posted in Social Justice, My Life, Activism, Humane Education at 9:26 pm by Freeman Wicklund

Many educators attended the Carlsbad Sowing Seeds workshop; including teachers, youth camp coordinators, travelling presenters, and even a puppeteer!

I’m finally back in DC! California was wonderful. The Sowing Seeds Workshop in Carlsbad, California was awesome! We had a fantastic group of enthusiastic, passionate educators who had a lot of collective wisdom which they shared with each other during the workshop (April 28-29).

A “Big Time Thank You” goes to Christopher Greenslate for hosting the conference in his La Costa Canyon High School classroom where he teaches English, Journalism, and Social Justice (follow the link for an excellent video that his students created).

On the first day of the Sowing Seeds Workshops, we explained the theory, pedagogy, and best practices of humane education. Then we practiced good communication skills. The second day was devoted to showing activities and lesson that educators could implement in the classroom.

Alene and Leighann take part in a humorous yet poignant activity that introduces the topic of how farmed animals are raised today.

During the workshop I mentioned several resources that can be found online. Here are the links to those items and a photo gallery of pictures from the weekend.

• Photos: See more pics of the workshop and the beautiful plant life of Carlsbad! Thanks Alene and Michelle for taking many of the pics!

• Sowing Seeds Workbook: This booklet contains lesson plans and resources for educators. It also has an excellent Q & A section on how to respond to common questions with finesse and respect. Unfortunately, it does not have the student and teacher evaluations that I thought it did. Whoops! If I can find copies of the ones I used to use, I will post them on the Web and let all of the attendees know about them via e-mail.

• More Lessons: The Institute for Humane Education (IHE) and other organizations provide a variety of humane education lessons for teachers to use. Check them out!

• Livestock’s Long Shadow: A 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization that reveals the environmental destruction caused by animal farming; including how raising animals for food causes more global warming than does the entire transportation sector!

• Thoreau and Mother Earth Dialogue: A though-provoking and humorous discussion about law care that will serve as a great an ice-breaker for discussions on organic gardening, backyard habitats, and yard maintenance.

• Teaching Gay and Lesbian Issues in the Classroom: A lesson plan for middle school teachers.

• Speaker Request Form: This is the form I used while serving as Humane Educator for Bridges of Respect. It helped me make sure I had all the information necessary to best serve them and their students, and made sure I said all of the important things so they knew what to expect.

• An Example of Effective Communication: This is an example of effective communication that I forgot to share with you. I think you will enjoy, so I have posted it here.

Join IHE at an upcoming Sowing Seeds Workshop; they are held several times a year. The next one I will facilitate is July 21-22 at the beautiful Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York. Join us, and tell all of your friends about it. Thanks!

To learn more about humane education, check out my blog on the Atlanta Sowing Seeds Workshop.

The drought resistant plant life in Carlsbad is beautiful.

This text was written in 2007 by Freeman Wicklund of FreemanWicklund.org, and it may be freely reprinted or distributed in any e-zine, e-mail, newsletter or blog as long as this sentence and Web link are included.

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