Rethinking humane education

Abstract

The increase in violence in South African schools, as elsewhere, has been associated with a general ‘decline in moral values’. There have been three different responses that emphasise the decline in religious teaching at schools, the loss of traditional values like ubuntu, communalism and the like; and humankind's increasing alienation from nature. In other words, in terms of teaching and learning initiatives, we should turn to religion, community and the common good and nature (the natural environment and nonhuman animals) in order to feel the force of morality and, consequently, to counteract human violence and cruelty. After critically examining these responses, the present article focusses on the third as the most promising, albeit one that is in need of re-conceptualisation. We need to teach not as if nature mattered but that it matters. Concepts and principles like justice, equality and rights have worked in the past. They have been useful in governing and regulating relations between human individuals. Indeed, it is the recognition of and respect for rights that best exemplifies the transculturality of values. Taking these concepts and principles seriously requires extending and employing them beyond the human realm. This may well be the most reliable way of halting the rapid deterioration of the world. Humane education, insofar as it incorporates guidance in moral reasoning and critical thinking – over and above nurture of appropriate feelings in individuals – and engages both rationality and individual responsibility, consists of transmission as well as in transcendence of our moral and cultural heritage. ‘Decline in moral values’, then, is counteracted by an approach that combines caring with respect for rights, in order to contribute towards erasing what has been called ‘the ultimate evil’, namely human violence and abuse. Environmental education and humane education, so re-conceived, arguably have long-term benefits for both humans and nonhumans.

Keywords:

• animals
• de-ontological orientation
• environmental education
• humane education
• moral education
• moral values
• religion
• ubunto

Notes

Note

1. http://www.mg.co.za/printPage.aspx?area=/breaking_news_national (accessed November 12, 2006).

2. There have been two more recent initiatives in South Africa aimed at bringing about the requisite ‘changes within’. The Bill of Responsibilities was mainly the work of the National Religious Leaders Forum (NRLF), which began drafting it in June 2007, and was introduced as part of Life Orientation, one of the compulsory subjects of the national curriculum. Speaking on behalf of the NRLF, Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein said that while the Bill of Rights had created a culture of human rights in South Africa, a culture of responsibility was also needed. ‘It's not only about what I can take, it's what I can give – it's not only about me, it's about those around me because rights are what I'm entitled to and responsibilities are what other people are entitled to …’ (http://www.polity.org.za/article/bill-of-responsibilities-to-be-taught-in-schools-2008-02-18; accessed March 16, 2009). At the beginning of 2008, Pandor unveiled both the Bill and a (new) National School Pledge, to be recited by learners during morning assemblies. She expressed the hope that the pledge, which had already been announced by then-President Thabo Mbeki in his State of the Nation Address, ‘would instil a sense of morality in the youth’ (Du Plessis 2008). I will briefly return to these initiatives, responses to which have generally been negative, if not damning, later in the article. It was generally felt that the introduction of the Bill and the pledge would not be compatible with democratic education: not only are they unlikely to promote autonomy but they also threaten to undermine critical thinking.

3. The NRLF in South Africa holds a very similar set of views (see Just 2005).

4. The precursor to the National School Pledge (see footnote 2) was the ‘Ubuntu pledge’, formalised in May 1998 by the NRLF. The Forum ‘met with various government departments and ministers … and with the Banking Council representatives and business sectors, in particular to have the Ubuntu pledge disseminated as widely as possible’. (Just 2005). Like the Pledge that would succeed it, the ‘Ubuntu pledge’ met with an overwhelmingly negative response. Nonetheless, the National Heritage Council has recently launched a campaign ‘aimed at reviving and integrating the African philosophy of Ubuntu in schools and prisons’ (see Mbola 2008; Sambo 2008; see also Ross 2008, on the restoration of African traditions).

5. The National School Pledge reads: ‘We will respect and protect the dignity of each person’ (see Du Plessis 2008). The ‘rights and values of our Constitution’ pertain only to human beings, as do the ‘duties and responsibilities that flow from these rights’ (ibid.), not only as agents but also as recipients. In its entirety, the pledge reads as follows: We the youth of South Africa Recognising the injustices of our past, Honour those who suffered and sacrificed for justice and freedom. We will respect and protect the dignity of each person, And stand up for justice. We sincerely declare that we shall uphold the rights and values of our Constitution, And promise to act in accordance with the duties and responsibilities, that flow from these rights. ! KE E:/XARRA//KE Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika [God bless Africa] (Du Plessis 2008).

6. This may or may not amount to a serious objection to ubuntu ethics – after all, proponents of these ideas and priorities could be argued to be mistaken about the essence of ubuntu. Thus, the androcentrism and other discrimination allegedly sanctioned by ubuntu might be attributed to the mistaken assumption that ‘some people are more human than others’, counsel that proper and honest adherence to the spirit of ubuntu cannot follow.

7. http://www.aallinstitute.ca/HumaneEducation/humaneed1.htm (accessed December 14, 2006).

8. http://www.21stcenturycares.org/importance.htm (accessed December 14, 2006).

9. ‘Mr Wikus Gresse, Chairman of the Parole Board at Pollsmoor Prison near Cape Town, recently made an impassioned plea. “Teach people how to care”, he said. As founder of one of the most successful criminal rehabilitation projects in the world today, known as The Bird Project, Gresse has seen first hand the healing power inherent in the gentle art of caring. The Bird Project enables prisoners to hand-rear Love Birds, Cockatiels and parrots for ultimate sale to avid bird-keepers. “If these people [the prisoners], as youngsters, had been given the chance of humane education, of learning how to care, some of them would most probably not be here today”, says Gresse’. (van der Merwe 2009).

10. http://www.het.org.za/index.php?option=com_contentandtask=viewandid=91andItemid=188 (accessed March 17, 2009): ‘Of all the benefits the learners derived from this intervention, there was none as great as their development of self-esteem’.