08.09.07

Humane Education Training at Farm Sanctuary

Posted in My Life, Humane Education at 11:35 pm by Freeman Wicklund

Participants of the Sowing Seeds Workshop at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York.

The Farm Sanctuary Sowing Seeds Workshop was a huge success. Over 30 people attended (unfortunately not all were available for the photo above) to learn about how to teach issues such as human rights, animal protection and environmental justice.

Attendees learned several fun, interactive activities for promoting the three Cs: critical thinking, creativity, and curiosity; and the three Rs: reverence, respect, and responsibility. They also saw examples of how to share positive choices with their audiences in an encouraing and nonjudgmental manner. You can see pictures of the Workshop in my photo gallery.

On the first evening, Farm Sanctuary’s Education Coordinator, JB Mulcahy, took us on a three hour tour of the sanctuary. We saw rescued cows, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, bunnies, and more. It was nice to interact with those who were interested in interacting with us. JB was very clear during his introduction that we were entering the animals’ homes and needed to respect them and their needs. If they did not want to approach us or interact with us, we were to observe them only. View my pictures from the tour, including some fun photos of Zoop the goat playing with Robin the human.

Zoop is a rescued goat with a wooden leg. Here she rears up preparing to smash into Robin.

Humane Education Assessment

During the workshop, Shawn asked if there have been assessments of humane education programs to prove their effectiveness and measure if we are really helping to make people more humane, more kind, and more respectful of one another, animals and the planet. At the time, I didn’t know the specifics to answer the question. Since the workshop, I’ve done a little digging and here is what I’ve found.

Healing Species is a humane education program that has done a variety of assessments on their classes showing fantastic results. Here is a sampling of information from the program results page of their Web site:

Statistical results across all SES [socioeconomic status] levels:
o Out-of-school suspensions for violent behavior decreased by more than 50%
o Aggression decreased significantly
o Choice-making based on empathy for others increased significantly
o Classroom behavior significantly improved

Results Using the Normative Beliefs About Aggression Scale (NOBAGS)
o Retaliation Aggression, General Aggression, and Total Aggression Combined decreased by 62%

Results Using the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA)
o Choice making using empathy increased by 42%

Results Using the Aggressive Behavior Teacher Checklist (ABTC)
o Teachers rated displays of violence by students decreased by 66.9%

Results by Review of out-of-school suspensions for physical fights
o Suspensions decreased by over 55%

Several other humane education programs are also doing assessments of their work. New York based HEART (Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers) are in the process of doing an assessment of their programs. Fellow colleague and IHE staff member, Dani Dennenberg, had one of her elective humane education courses independently assessed by an assessor from the University of Maine. I have also heard that Humane Society Youth (formerly the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education) has also done assessments of their work. Unfortunately, I do not yet have these assessments. Still, it is good to know this work is being done to verify the effectiveness of humane education.

Participants got to enjoy the wonderful outdoors of Farm Sanctuary while working on a writing assignment during the communications workshop.

Humane Reading Lists

Jeannie encouraged us all to use literature to help promote a humane message, so I found some links to a few good lists of humane books for youth:

• Teaching Tolernace’s “Mix It Up” Reading List promotes multiculturalism and tolerance.
• Amnesty International’s Human Rights Summer Reading Series promotes human rights and speaking out against injustices.
• Humane Society Youth’s reading list promotes compassion towards animals.

Here is Opie, the rescued veal calf, now fully grown.

Thanks to all of the participants who came to the workshop. I really enjoyed meeting you all and learning from all of you. Best wishes to you in your humane education activities! Please stay in touch.

Sincerely,

Freeman Wicklund
Sowing Seeds Workshop Facilitator
Institute of Humane Education

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