Formal Humane Education (Schools, etc.)

The ideal Humane Education in the classroom incorporates an exploration of human, animal and environmental rights, to teach children a personal sense of responsibility and a compassionate attitude towards each other, animals and the earth they live on. Children are extremely receptive, their minds are inquiring and active and they have huge supplies of natural enthusiasm. Important messages they receive at school go in deep, yet, this education is the opposite of indoctrination, since the message is not to believe x, y, or z, but to encourage consideration of different issues:
  • Thinking about others (including animals) and their needs, feelings and suffering
  • Thinking about the effects of your actions
  • Thinking about your world and your place within it.
Working for Humane Education to become an integral part of each child's formal education is fundamental to the long-term strategy for alleviating animal suffering on a grand scale. Inclusion in the educational curriculum, or specified in part of this (such as 'citizenship studies') would be the most acceptable outcome.

It would appear that in most countries humane education usually concentrates on animal issues alone, and is done in a piece-meal way, dependant mainly upon the coverage achieved by animal groups, or on the inclinations of individual teachers. The ideal of a broad-based, all-encompassing humane education is important because this consolidation presents an educational package, which is difficult for governments and teaching authorities to ignore. As regards methodology, if animal groups could be training teachers, instead of giving one-off lessons, the educational messages would be far more widely spread.

In addition to lessons in compassion for children, it is important that animal societies campaign for animal protection to become an essential part of the training for anyone planning to work with animals, apprentice stockmen, slaughtermen, animal wardens etc. Animal protection training for veterinarians, is especially important because of their future potential for spreading the welfare message and promoting good practice. In some countries, veterinarians and other animal professionals are still completing their professional training without any real understanding of animal ethics and welfare. This is clearly an area for animal protection lobbying and influence, and for well-resourced animal groups to play an active educational role.

Humane Education Resources | Need for Humane Education | Non-Formal Humane Education

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