humane education – Chasing Simple Dreams

On Sharing, Being Awake, and Vegan Dog Food

February 24, 2018

When I interviewed for the Humane Education program, the director asked me how I would deal with coping with some of the information I would learn about. How would I keep my spirits up when some of what I will read and see is the sort of thing that most people would turn their eyes away from, like the ASPCA commercial that has Sarah McLachlan’s song, “Angel” playing in the background?

To be honest, it’s been hard sometimes. Luckily, one of my coworkers went completely vegan at the beginning of the year so I have someone else to talk to about the whole factory farming thing and why we have both gone vegan. With her, I don’t have to hear “I’ll never be able to NOT eat meat,” or “Why don’t you eat dairy? The cow has to give milk and it’s not like they’re killing her for the milk.” She “gets it” when I say that I don’t want to be part of causing any animal pain, and she doesn’t look at me like I’m nuts when I say that I’m considering feeding my dogs a vegan diet such as V-Dog.

It can be kind of depressing (or maybe disheartening is a better word) to see what is happening to so many animals every day and know you can’t stop all of it. Add to that the quandaries you find yourself in, trying to figure out how to best spread the message about becoming vegan or vegetarian, or how our climate is changing every day, or why it’s better to adopt an animal or rescue one off of the streets instead of buying one from a breeder, thereby encouraging the use of puppy mills or the existence of backyard breeders. Some days, you wish you could still be ignorant of a lot of the pain and suffering that animals go through for humans. But deep down, you know it’s better to be awake and aware, than to not know what really goes on behind slaughterhouse walls.

So, you push through things and you watch or see images that hurt your heart. But you do it because the animals need someone to be their witness. Someone to be their mouthpiece. I also tell myself that my brief suffering of watching the event is nothing compared to having actually gone through it.

I’ve found that I have needed to spend some time out in the sun and a lot of time holding Snuggles close to me, especially when watching documentary films like The Witness or Earthlings. I’ve also found writing in my journal to be so helpful in guiding me through the crazy maze of my thoughts. Posting on here has been cathartic too.

I try to not beat myself up for having eaten animals and related products in the past, or for having worn wool and used products that involved animal testing. That was when I didn’t know better. All I can do is help the animals now, going forward, both by my own actions and lifestyle choices and by writing posts like this one from January. (In case you want to see more animal issues awareness posts of mine, look here. And for other posts about my love for animals, look here. Of course, there is some overlap.) In case you are wondering, yes, I still have plans to make lots of updates to this website and making changes to incorporate suggestions that some of you generously offered in response to my post of last December when I requested input from you, my readers!

Last night, I came across a job board called VeganJobs.com. You have no idea how excited that made me! These past few weeks, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been spinning circles, trying to figure out how to earn a living wage while still working in an animal-related job. Unless you are the executive director of a shelter or sanctuary, the jobs are usually very low-paying and as I have my student loans, I can’t afford to take a job at any less than what I am now. It’s hard enough at my current salary level.

It was on VeganJobs.com that I came across the website, Bite Size Vegan and her corresponding YouTube channel. She has so many educational videos on her channel, and many can be shown to kids or young adults. I want to help spread the word about the incredible work she is doing so I am sharing it here. Please go give her some love!

My last few posts have been longer than normal, so I’ll stop this one here today. Today, I’m feeling more upbeat and hopeful about things. I may not be chosen for the jobs I’ve applied for but now I know there are jobs out there that I would love to do and for which I feel qualified. There is light out there at the end of the tunnel.

As always, thank you for reading. Please share if you know someone who you think can benefit from reading it. And as always, comment if you have any thoughts!

Our Changing Environment

November 21, 2017

As I move along in my Humane Education classes, I’ve begun thinking about some issues in more detail than I used to, and sometimes it can get a bit depressing, I won’t lie. When it gets to me, I try to remember a few essays we read in the beginning of the semester on keeping hope alive in the face of what looks to be insurmountable problems, such as the warming of the planet and what appears to be the unwillingness of many to acknowledge what is going on, and that we have to take some actions now to preserve the planet for our kids, grandkids, great grandkids, and so on. All too often, it is to easy to just say “oh, I’m only one person, what can I do?” and throw your hands up in despair without having at least tried to make a difference or a change.

To me, that is almost as bad a strategy to have about climate change as the one undertaken by many to deny it exists whatsoever. Such is the case with the Heartland Institute having mailed books to science teachers all across the country this past March. Have you heard about the Heartland Institute? They’re the same organization that used to argue that second hand smoke didn’t cause cancer. I think we all know how (un)truthful that statement is now.

One of those times that it seemed a bit depressing to me is when I talked to my sister in Michigan, who has three kids, ages 15, 12 and 9. I asked her what they were learning about climate change in the schools, if anything. Turns out, they haven’t touched on the topic at all. Not even as part of a unit on something related to climate change like the hurricanes of this past summer, or the fact that what was once-in-a-century storms seem to be happening with much more frequency lately. Why is that, I wonder? Is it because it might be considered “controversial” and therefore they should stay away from it? Is it because it’s not on a standardized test and therefore the school can’t show how proficient their teaching methods are? If so, that’s just ….. sad.

tropical cyclone, courtesy of pixabay.com

So if you’re reading this and you’re a parent, I would ask you to ask your kids if they are talking about any of the following in their science classes: climate change, the weather (such as hurricanes, droughts in California, forest fires), rising ocean temperatures, coral reefs dying near Australia, how the ice is melting at the poles and in Greenland, how our glaciers keep shrinking every year. You don’t have to ask them all of this at once – that’s way too overwhelming. Just broach one topic at a time.

If you’re a parent, maybe you can attend a PTA meeting or school board of education meeting at your school to discuss the curriculum. If there are any climate deniers on the board of education, you can point out some of the facts and studies that debunk the ideas espoused by the likes of Heartland Institute, on the Skeptical Science website. Call your school’s principal and find out if the teachers are using or mentioning Heartland Institute’s book. If so, provide them with a copy of this flyer, explaining five reasons why the book shouldn’t be used in the classroom.

if your kids have questions that you don’t feel comfortable answering, maybe showing them one of the three flyers linked here, created by the NCSE (National Center for Science Education). And take them to their local science museum – in Albuquerque, we have one that is very hands on, called Explora. (Check out your local library to see if there is a pass you can use so you can attend it at a discounted price or possibly even for free!!!) The point is to get them thinking and getting excited about science and the human effect on the world around them.

If you’re interested in reading further about this, or how to talk to your kids about climate change and the environment, please check out the following resources, as well as those mentioned on my Helpful Books page. (It’s been revised and republished!)

How to Raise and Environmentalist, from the Greater Good Science Center/UC Berkeley;
Nature is Speaking video series (they’re all less than 2 minutes long, and you might like some of the familiar voices you will hear);
Earth Breathing (1 minute in length)

Or, even better, if there are woods or a lake nearby, take your kids there for a short field trip. Encourage their love of the outdoors and ask them questions about the trees or the water, or any of the living creatures that might cross their path (age-appropriate questions, of course.) You might want to talk about experiences you had as a kid with different animals or species we don’t see so much of anymore, such as fireflies. (If you’re in the US, around my age, think back – when was the last time you saw one?? Didn’t they seem to be everywhere when you were a kid?!) Ask your kids why they think that might be, that some species seem to be disappearing from our planet.

Finally, if your kids are learning about climate change or any of its related issues in school, I’d love for you to drop me a comment and let me know where you live (just a state is fine if in the US, or a country if not in the US), and how they are discussing it so that we can help spread the word. And if they’re not discussing it, but you think they should, then let’s get a conversation started and maybe we can brainstorm ideas on how you can approach your local school or community and raise its consciousness on the issue of climate change. It’s here. Let’s not close our eyes to what is happening right before us.

If you’ve liked this post or think you know someone who could benefit from reading it, please hit the like button or any of the share buttons! As always, thanks for reading.

lightning flash, image courtesy of pixabay.com

Focus, Leap, and Do Good “Stuffs”

July 11, 2017October 20, 2017Terri

As of today, the plural of stuff is stuffs! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. 🙂

I had a conversation on Facebook over the weekend with someone who was in the first class of law students with whom I worked as a professional law librarian, while at Boston University Law School. That was a long 12 years ago, but he still remembers me and when I was typing back and forth with him, I could still hear that accent of his and see his big smile on his face. I remember thinking back then that he was so, so, so incredibly smart, and how in the world did I think I could help someone like him?!

Anyway, the point of this walk down my memory lane is this – he reminded me of how much I enjoyed teaching others and teaching them to teach themselves how to do things. How sometimes when a patron would come up to me, completely lost and not exactly know what they were looking for, and sometimes it was a subject I didn’t know much about myself, how I would fumble through with them until we’d finally hit on some piece of knowledge or thought and then we’d both run with it! (Not all interactions were like this, of course, but it was these types that made me glad to do my job.) He told me that I was so devoted to helping them learn, and a few other nice things, and said he thought it had been the opinion of many of his classmates as well. He also told me that time and kindness are two of the most precious resources you can give. I certainly gave them a lot of my time, and especially in the beginning of my career as a librarian, when I was learning so much myself every day, I remember thinking to myself how confused the foreign students must be, and how different it all must seem to them to learn about this whole other country’s set of laws. And how scary it can seem. So if they saw my manner towards them as kind, well, I am glad, because I wanted to treat them the same way I would have wanted to be treated if in their shoes.

One thing I don’t get to do much of these days is teach people. Also, because it’s a for-profit business, sometimes, I feel like I have to really hold my tongue from expressing my opinions to customers, such as on issues of declawing cats, docking tails or ears of dogs such as Doberman’s, breeding in general, and failing to spay/neuter your pets. Sometimes, I just want to scream at people, “What are you?? Stupid??!! Don’t you know all the various health issues with not spaying or neutering? And do you really think the world needs MORE unwanted animals? WHY in the hell are you going to a breeder when the shelters are FULL of homeless pets?!” (Anybody who works in animal issues that says that they never say these things or even think them to themselves is lying, trust me.) I also see the animals that come in that are being fostered after being removed from bad situations. It sickens me. Days like that, you catch yourself saying things like “I hate people” to yourself or under your breath.

However, there was one random day that a lady came in and asked about where she could get a German Shepherd dog, and we started talking. The librarian in me took over, and before I knew it, I had turned the computer monitor towards her and started showing her how to do some searches on sites like Petfinder.com, how to navigate the ABQ city website, and started asking her some more questions about what it was she was really looking for in a dog. As with some of my favorite interactions at the reference desk in the past, she took out a pen and paper and started writing stuff down so she could look on her own later on.

I’ve been doing some soul searching and thinking about what it is that makes me tick. What kind of movies or videos I like to watch, or podcasts I like to listen to, or blog posts I like to read, and then share with others because I find them inspiring. I have tried to figure out a common thread between them. In the past, I wrote this post about the movie called Opening Our Eyes. I think I need to go back and watch the movie again. I also wrote this post about the movie, I’m Fine, Thanks in which the filmmaker travels around the country and interviews people who want to make a change in their life, and then DO IT.

I may have talked about this on the blog before, and I thought about applying in the past, but of course, the issue of money is one that has stopped me from applying. But I’m starting to really feel this pull inside like this is the right thing to do. There is a Master’s degree program in Humane Education offered by the Institute for Humane Education. The degree is taught online and has a week long residency requirement in a beautiful part of Maine, not far from Acadia National Park. The program is accredited through Valapraiso University, and the program I would look to finish is a Masters in Arts in Humane Education, because if I’m going to educate, I would rather it be outside of a traditional classroom, and have it be through my daily work, either with a non-profit, or a civic engagement, or an animal shelter, etc. (They describe the MA in Humane Education as “designed for educators who wish to work outside of school settings, such as through community work, non-profits, arts activism, social services, law, and many other professions.“) I like the idea of being able to use the education in many fields.

Part of the program involves a master’s thesis. It can be creative, professional, and/or research-based. All of those sound right up my alley. If I could find a way to marry research with a realistic plan of how to bring my ideas into reality, I will feel successful. And hey, maybe it could even become that book I have been wanting to publish. 🙂

IMG_20170710_152631 — DO GOOD STUFFS! (Picture from the ABQ BioPark where lots of good stuffs are happening!)

I am grateful to have friends to bounce these ideas off of. I swear to God, my friend Dan is kind of my grandmother reincarnated in the way that he kindly asks me probing questions to get me to think, and he reminds me that I’m always “go, go, GO!!” when I set my mind to something. He wants me to sit back and breathe and really think about things, and for that, I love him to death. I need someone like that in my life. Especially when I’m 44 and considering putting yet even more money into education without the 100% guarantee it will get me a job that will pay that tuition money back, and again, I’m 44! Putting myself through school again? Didn’t I just consider this with the vet tech program at CNM? These are all questions I really need to think about.

Dan has asked me to think about why I would want to do such a program, and here is my long-winded answer. Many of you who have read my blog for a long time, or who were gluttons for punishment, and decided to go back to the beginning and start and catch yourselves up (and I LOVE all of you!), know that I have these big dreams, or big ideas, and I want to do so much, both in every ordinary day of my life, and with my life as a whole! But one of the problems I know I suffer from is being able to focus. I can be like a raccoon that you throw something shiny in front of, and I’m already distracted.

My point is this: I need the structure and guidance of someone else who has felt the same way and knows how to narrow down the wish list, how to take all the grandiose ideas and ACTUALLY put them into concrete action. And I want to meet with others, both virtually, and in person, through the online class tools and at a practicum where I live, who feel the same way, who I can be made accountable to, and who can encourage me when I get discouraged along the way. And I can learn how to integrate some of my ideas, because really, a lot of my concerns are interconnected: animal protection, environmental protection, etc. You can’t really look at things in a vacuum anymore. I look back at these earlier posts of mine and know now that figuring out how to focus my energies and integrate my ideas, has been my problem.

I also want to be like some of the students you see profiled on this page. Some of the students who really caught my eye were involved in issues related to animals:

When I die, I don’t need to have been known for winning a Nobel Prize or having been someone like Bill Gates, or Mother Theresa. I just want to have left this world in a little bit better place than it was when I entered it, and for some people to think of me and think “You know? Terri was all right. She did some good stuffs!”

What kind of good stuffs have you seen being done around you or do you want to achieve in your life?

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