Coming to America: The Humanist Teacher Corps
By BOB BHAERMAN
For HumanistNetworkNews.org
Sept. 30, 2009
Recently the American Humanist Association (AHA) has supported the use of billboards and bus ads to send the message that one should "Be Good for Goodness Sake." It is important for us to send this message. But humanism means much more than an advertising slogan; humanism is about moral and ethical values. That is the message the Humanist Teacher Corps intends to convey.
The Humanist Teacher Corps (HTC), which is being launched by AHA, seeks to identify and then mobilize a cadre of AHA members and other supporters of humanism to take action in one or more of the following activities:
(1) Developing curriculum resources or course syllabi on humanist principles and values for students of all ages and/or teaching short courses in local chapters and communities.
(2) Presenting lectures at meetings of AHA chapters and affiliates and/or informing the public about humanist principles and values.
(3) Employing critical thinking skills as central to instruction in all subject areas in public schools.
The HTC can use your assistance in both individual and team activities.
In a recent article, Carol Wintermute, co-dean of the Humanist Institute, identified two directions one can take when considering the term "humanist education". The first is educational programs for children and adults that are guided by a humanist approach and the second is educating humanists for the betterment of the movement. She concluded that it is incumbent on us to be advocates of both. That is precisely the mission of the Humanist Teacher Corps.
Here's what you can do to help: join the Corps and identify others interested in doing so. Help make the Humanist Teacher Corps a central part of our effort to make America -- and the world -- a better place to live, learn and grow. To join the Corps, please check out this link: http://www.americanhumanist.org/KHECTeacherCorps.
(Bob Bhaerman is the education coordinator of the Kochhar Humanist Education Center, a program of the American Humanist Association.)
