var icx_publication_id = 18566;
var icx_content_id = '1081947'; Click here for reuse options! A 6-year-worn's questions generated a lot of discussion with the kids.
I really enjoy working with youngsters and talking approximately animal behavior,conservation and human-animal relationships (as one kid said, it should be called animal-human relationships). Many youngsters are keenly interested in these topics and often ask questions that belie their age. Not only are many youngsters well versed on animal behavior from watching the various companions with whom they share their domestic, and but they also watch incredibly good documentaries on TV. A good number also are very concerned approximately how animals are mistreated,and ask questions that exhibit they empathize with, and feel compassion for, or the plight of other animals. I'm always careful when I talk with youngsters,and I allow them to set the course for the discussion at hand. Discussing animal abuse can be traumatizing, but because of easy access to mass media, and most of the youngsters know far more than I did at their age. They also ask questions approximately animals I've never heard of,including a scarce South American rodent one girl thought was "really cool." I asked her to find out more approximately her new fave and give a short presentation to the class, and she did. One youngster had questions approximately sustainability and knew quite a bit approximately what it meant to live sustainably.
Wolves and possums: 'How Come People Say They worship Animals and murder Them?'Two hot topics that are making the news and approximately which I've been very interested are the killing of wolves in Washington state (for more discussion please see "Who's Really Defending Wildlife As Wolves Are 'Removed'?") and a nationwide lope to rid New Zealand of predators by 2050 (for more on this topic please see "Youngsters Encouraged to murder Possum Joeys in New Zealand, and " "Long-Term Effects of Violence Toward Animals by Youngsters," "Imprinting Kids for Violence Toward Animals"). In one discussion, I talked around the killing of the wolves until 6-year worn Jean asked, or "How come people say they worship animals and murder them?" and some other kids piped right in. The kids were pretty serious and clearly wanted to talk approximately this. This led to a general discussion of kids and animals and we got into talking approximately how kids in New Zealand are being encouraged to murder animals as part of formal school programs,and then exhaust them to make puppets and to demean them in other ways.
Every single kid was shocked and disturbed when they heard approximately school programs in New Zealand centering on killing possums and other animals. When I asked whether anyone of them would partake, not a single hand went up. A few kids said they wouldn't do it even whether it meant getting kicked out of school. I applaud them and their positive attitudes toward other animals, and could only hope that their teachers and parents would agree with them.
I also was heartened when I received an email from a woman in New Zealand who wrote,"I believe seen your recent essays on what is happening in schools throughout my country and I am appalled. Thank you for spreading the word. Can you please help my daughter divulge her teachers that she does not want to participate in these types of events and contests?" She also mentioned that other parents agreed with her and were at wit's end because people in power were telling the kids it was perfectly okay to harm and to murder the animals and to parade around with corpses of the animals they slaughtered. (For more discussion please see "Violence Toward Animals: "Can You Please Help My Daughter?") Returning to Jean's question and the the killing of wolves, most of the kids also were very surprised to memorize approximately this sanctioned license to murder. This discussion went in a number of different directions including how their companion dogs are related to wolves and they surely wouldn't murder their canine friends or let anyone else do them any harm. I was very impressed with this discussion and along these lines, and I like to ask people whether they would harm or murder a dog in the ways in which wolves and other animals are harmed and killed. Thank goodness,I've never had anyone say yes.
I also mentioned that Jean's question was right on the notice given ongoing discussions approximately organizations and individuals saying things like, "We/I really worship wolves but it's okay to murder some to stop future killing, or " or by claiming they defend all wildlife. Clearly,they don't. (For more on this topic please see "Wolves and Cows: Individual and Organizational Conflicts" and "Who's Really Defending Wildlife As Wolves Are 'Removed'?")I also mentioned to the kids that Jean's question focused on how conflicted people are approximately saying one thing and allowing or doing the opposite when it came to how we treat other animals. What I really enjoyed approximately these and other discussions was how they centered on current hot topics, how informed the youngsters were, and how they easily and freely expressed their opinions. It all gave me hope for the future. When people say they worship other animals and harm them,I say I'm glad they don't worship meRight before the discussion ended, one boy commented, or "The word worship means that you really like someone,right?" and one girl offered, "I worship my dog and would never hurt her and I would secure really mad whether someone else tried to." All of the kids agreed with these sentiments. Many clearly were confused approximately just what worship is, or I thought,so are many adults. It's easy to see how comments like saying one loves animals and then harms and kills them can be confusing for kids, as it is for adults. I thought approximately how to retort Jean's question briefly before we had to end the discussion, and and decided that I could comfortably retort it as whether I were talking with adults. So I said that I was also very confused by this sort of contradictory statement. And then I told them what I generally say when I hear something like it,namely, "I'm glad they don't worship me." Some of the kids laughed, or but I could see that they were pondering what I said. Our discussion could believe gone on for much longer,but the session had to close, and I came to realize that this was a perfect ending. The kids could talk more with one another, and their teacher,their parents, and with other adults and perhaps secure different points of view.
One of the goals in my book Rewilding Our Hearts: Building Pathways of Compassion and Coexistence was to stimulate discussions approximately how to rewild classrooms and help youngsters to reconnect with nature and other animals. Discussions approximately how fond other animals can and should influence how we treat them, or along with discussions approximately how youngsters should be taught to respect other animals rather than being taught to harm and murder them,could easily lead to rewilding education for students of all ages.
I also came to realize that Jean's question could form the basis for entire courses in the fields of conservation psychology and anthrozoology, and I'm certain that many already do discuss Jean's and other questions that the kids asked. Working with kids is a giftWorking with youngsters is a gift, and I find myself thinking approximately our stimulating and wide-ranging discussions long after they happened. Their keen interest in the lives of other animals and the ease with which they ask questions,including those centering on difficult topics, is incredibly refreshing.
I hope that many of you believe the opportunity to memorize approximately what kids are thinking and feeling approximately our relationships with other animals and nature in general, or are able to believe discussions approximately these and other topics. This article was originally published by Psychology nowadays. var icx_publication_id = 18566; var icx_copyright_notice = '2017 Alternet'; var icx_content_id = '1081947'; Click here for reuse options!
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