You won’t see the world in the same light after reading this urgent and inspiring call to action. In this thought-provoking book, Dutch philosopher Floris van den Berg proposes a new perspective, called universal subjectivism, which can be adopted by anyone regardless of religious or philosophical orientation. It takes into consideration the universal capacity for suffering and, through raising awareness, seeks to diminish that suffering and increase happiness. With consistent and compelling moral reasoning, van den Berg shows that the world can be organized to ensure more pleasure, beauty, justice, happiness, health, freedom, animal welfare, and sustainability. The author emphasizes that today the near-term future is our greatest challenge: our affluent western lifestyle will soon exceed the limits of the earth’s sustainable capacity and must soon change drastically to ward off a worldwide environmental collapse. Knowing this, we should all reevaluate the daily routines we take for granted: taking the car to work, boarding a plane to a business or vacation destination, eating meat, or using plastic bags in stores. There are ethical and ecological objections to each of these examples. In fact, if we applied a strict ethical analysis to our lifestyle, almost nothing we do would pass muster. A lot of avoidable suffering attaches to our way of life. After reading this book, the world won’t look the same. Concluding with an eco-humanist manifesto, this book not only offers much food for thought but, more importantly, an urgent and inspiring call to action.

"You'll be safe here. That's what the greasy tour guide tells the Farmer-Bowens when they visit Plymouth Valley, a walled-off company town with clean air, pantries that never go empty, and blue-ribbon schools. On a very trial basis, the company offers to hire Linda Farmer's husband, a numbers genius, and relocate her whole family to this bucolic paradise for the .0001%. Though Linda will have to sacrifice her medical career back home, the family jumps at the opportunity. They'd be crazy not to take it. With the outside world literally falling apart, this might be the Farmer-Bowens last chance. But fitting in takes work. The pampered locals distrust outsiders, cruelly snubbing Linda, Russell, and their teen twins. And the residents fervently adhere to a group of customs and beliefs called Hollow...but what exactly is Hollow? It's Linda who brokers acceptance by volunteering her medical skills to the most powerful people in town with their pet charity, ActHollow. In the months afterward, everything seems fine. Sure, Russell starts hyperventilating through a paper bag in the middle of the night, and the kids have drifted like bridgeless islands, but living here's worth sacrificing their family's closeness, isn't it? At least they'll survive. The trouble is, the locals never say what they think. They seem scared. And Hollow's ominous culminating event, the Plymouth Valley Winter Festival, is coming. Linda's warned by her husband and her powerful new friends to stop asking questions. But the more she learns, the more frightened she becomes. Should the Farmer-Bowens be fighting to stay, or fighting to get out?"--

This essential guide to building and using an inclusive classroom library combines theory and lesson plans for PreK–1 educators. Discover how to audit classroom collections, incorporate virtual resources, approach tough topics, and build stronger, kinder classrooms. Prompts for reflection and action provide a one-stop resource for educators to make the world better through literacy.

This book is about the global environmental and economic crisis. It challenges the whole global economic system and its underlying beliefs, assumptions and values. We need a complete system transformation, a paradigm shift. This requires holistic and whole system thinking. It is a thoroughly hopeful book. The focus is on the possibility of a better world, a more fulfilling way of life, rather than what’s wrong or what we have to give up. Could this book be the best one on the global environmental and economic crisis? The central argument is that we, ordinary people, 6.7 billion of us, need to use our people power to bring about a sustainable, fairer and non-violent world. This means putting our governments under constant pressure to do more and represent citizens’ interests and not those of big business. There are many books about the global crisis. But few, aimed at empowering ordinary people, take a holistic approach. It is for those many people who are concerned, open minded and ready to act.

The essential guide to the theory and application of the Social Change Model Leadership for a Better World provides an approachable introduction to the Social Change Model of Leadership Development (SCM), giving students a real-world context through which to explore the seven C's of leadership for social change as well as a approaches to socially responsible leadership. From individual, group, and community values through the mechanisms of societal change itself, this book provides fundamental coverage of this increasingly vital topic. Action items, reflection, and discussion questions throughout encourage students to think about how these concepts apply in their own lives. The Facilitator's Guide includes a wealth of activities, assignments, discussions, and supplementary resources to enrich the learning experience whether in class or in the co-curriculum. This new second edition includes student self-assessment rubrics for each element of the model and new discussion on the critical roles of leadership self-efficacy, social perspective, and social justice perspectives. Content is enriched with research on how this approach to leadership is developed, and two new chapters situate the model in a broader understanding of leadership and in applications of the model. The Social Change Model is the most widely-used leadership model for college students, and has shaped college leadership curricula at schools throughout the U.S. and other countries including a translation in Chinese. This book provides a comprehensive exploration of the model, with a practical, relevant approach to real-world issues. Explore the many facets of social change and leadership Navigate group dynamics surrounding controversy, collaboration, and purpose Discover the meaning of citizenship and your commitment to the greater good Become an agent of change through one of the many routes to a common goal The SCM is backed by 15 years of research, and continues to be informed by ongoing investigation into the interventions and environments that create positive leadership development outcomes. Leadership for a Better World provides a thorough, well-rounded tour of the Social Change Model, with guidance on application to real-world issues. Please note that The Social Change Model: Facilitating Leadership Development (978-1-119-24243-7) is intended to be used as a Facilitator's Guide to Leadership for a Better World, 2nd Edition in seminars, workshops, and college classrooms. You'll find that, while each book can be used on its own, the content in both is also designed for use togther. A link to the home page of The Social Change Model can be found below under Related Titles.

Children’s services in The Developing World brings together evidence relating to the health and development of children in the global South. It is essential reading for students, scientists, policy makers and practitioners in economically developing countries. The book deals with the effects of catastrophe, disease, war and poverty on children's development. There is strong coverage of the ways in which children cope with even the most inauspicious of circumstances. Evidence is provided on the incidence of impairment to health and development. As well as establishing the risks to child well-being in the economic South, the book shows how to intervene to address those risks. Examples of good practice rigorously evaluated will be of interest to everyone seeking to improve the lives of children, whether that be in economically developed or developing nations.

Plan and deliver a curriculum to help your students connect with the humanity of others! In the wake of 2020, we need today’s young learners to be prepared to develop solutions to a host of entrenched and complex issues, including systemic racism, massive environmental problems, deep political divisions, and future pandemics that will severely test the effectiveness and equity of our health policies. What better place to start that preparation than with a social studies curriculum that enables elementary students to envision and build a better world? In this engaging guide two experienced social studies educators unpack the oppressions that so often characterize the elementary curriculum—normalization, idealization, heroification, and dramatization—and show how common pitfalls can be replaced with creative solutions. Whether you’re a classroom teacher, methods student, or curriculum coordinator, this is a book that can transform your understanding of the social studies disciplines and their power to disrupt the narratives that maintain current inequities.

How human behavior brought our world to the brink, and how human behavior can save us. The world is a mess. Our dire predicament, from collapsing social structures to the climate crisis, has been millennia in the making and can be traced back to the erroneous belief that the earth’s resources are infinite. The key to change, says Don Norman, is human behavior, covered in the book’s three major themes: meaning, sustainability, and humanity-centeredness. Emphasize quality of life, not monetary rewards; restructure how we live to better protect the environment; and focus on all of humanity. Design for a Better World presents an eye-opening diagnosis of where we’ve gone wrong and a clear prescription for making things better. Norman proposes a new way of thinking, one that recognizes our place in a complex global system where even simple behaviors affect the entire world. He identifies the economic metrics that contribute to the harmful effects of commerce and manufacturing and proposes a recalibration of what we consider important in life. His experience as both a scientist and business executive gives him the perspective to show how to make these changes while maintaining a thriving economy. Let the change begin with this book before it’s too late