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The
worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but
to be indifferent to them. That's the essence of inhumanity. -George Bernard Shaw |
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Most of us are aware of the important role that teachers play in promoting core values to our children. Efforts to teach life skills and character-building programs, while representing a long-standing tradition in classrooms have grown in response to recurring school violence and concerns about the effects of a range of social ills on the development of civility, respect and responsibility to our children. The connection between humane education and character development has been researched an demonstrated by national groups like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and its Youth Education Division, the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education (NAHEE), the American Humane Association (AHA), and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). The Johnston County Animal Protection League invites the community to make humane education available in our schools by "adopting a classroom." The Adopt-A-Classroom program (NAHEE) provides elementary-school students with KIND News, an award-winning classroom newspaper that incorporates character education - teaching basic principles of right and wrong - into articles and and activities that span the curriculum. It features puzzles, projects, stories, and celebrity interviews that teach children the importance of treating people, animals, and the environment with kindness and respect. The program emphasizes basic values, such as fairness, compassion, and responsibility, seeks to instill good character in children and challenges them to be better citizens. Individuals, civic groups, small businesses, and others can provide a teacher and their students with a $30 gift subscription to KIND News, which includes 9 monthly issues, September through May. Each issue is accompanied by a teacher's guide with 32 copies of the newspaper. In addition, teachers receive KIND Teacher, an annual resource book featuring reproducible work sheets, KIND ID cards for students, a classroom poster, and a calendar of historical trivia, fun facts, and tips on helping people, animals, and the environment. To obtain an Adopt-A-Classroom information package, contact JCAPL. To adopt a classroom, please submit $30 to JCAPL marked "Adopt-A-Classroom." Interested supporters may specify a teacher's name and school or let JCAPL select a classroom. Read The Character Connection from the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education, the Youth Education Division of the HSUS.
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