Becoming a Solutionary

I recently read the 2016 book The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries and it led me searching for more and to author Zoe Weil as well as one of her many TED Talks below.

The idea of being a "solutionary"is good food for thought. What is a solutionary? In short, someone who looks for solutions to problems. In long (from Zoe's Weil's Institute for Humane Education) website :

 

As a teacher, isn't that our ultimate job--to help build and grow critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaborations, and compassion skills in our students? To help them see ways to solve relevant and important problems that affect us all? It reminds me of my belief that innovation is what will help us solve our world problems--environmental and more.

Operating on the "MOGO Principle" (which is short for "Most Good & Least Harm" to selves, others environment), Zoe talks a lot about being a humane educator and what that means as we inspire our students to see the effects of ours (and their) choices and working to create change on a systemic level. Given it is our students who will be creating solutions and our future world, we want and need to help develop their skills as innovators--as smart, conscientious choice and change makers.

To learn more, check out the Institute for Humane Educator. Here, you will find a wealth of teacher resources to help inspire and create solutionaries!

For more of Zoe's TED Talks, check out:

• The World Becomes What You Teach: TEDxDiringo
• How to be a Solutionary: TEDxYouth@CEHS
• Extending Our Circle of ompassion: TEDxYouth@JBMHS
• Educating for Freedom: TEDxYouth@BFS
  
• How Will You Answer This Question: TEDxSpenceSchool
  
• Educating the Solutionary Generation: Zoe Weil TED Talks Compilation

Other books by Zoe Weil:

• Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life (2009)
• Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times (2003)
• The Power and Promise of Humane Education (2004)

Definition of solutionary screenshot from https://humaneeducation.org/what-is-a-solutionary/, video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImOi9YnMau8