What is Humane Education?

It’s an approach to teaching that nurtures compassion and respect for living beings, promoting the humane treatment of non-human animals, the compassionate treatment of other people, environmental sustainability, and the interconnectedness of issues pertaining to people and the planet.

The Four Elements of Humane Education

The Institute for Humane Education (IHE) tells us that the four elements of humane education are to help others:

1. Acquire knowledge by preparing them to be enthusiastic and effective researchers who are able to obtain accurate information about interconnected local and global challenges and discern facts from opinion and conjecture.
2. Think deeply by developing their critical, systems, strategic, and creative thinking skills.
3. Make compassionate and responsible choices by fostering wonder and appreciation for the natural world, empathy for people and animals, and commitment to doing the most good and least harm.
4. Focus on solutions by providing opportunities to collaboratively engage in problem-solving, implement ideas, and assess and improve upon them.