Ethics For Young Humans

Through ETHICAL community, young humans empower their ethical development, create life-long friendships, and stand up with care and courage for a GOOD WORLD through action. At Ethical Culture, where the cool-ness factor values KINDNESS and DEED, children bring out the best in one another, and thereby themselves... (variation on a quote by founder, Felix Adler.)

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A new season ~ A new decade! Justice January with Dr. King's Inspiration



In January 2020 we will take one step at a time with the deep ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  — Letting the children really absorb and reflect upon a few key pieces of his great vision.

The first focus of our month was the Content of our character:
Dr. King said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day grow up in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the CONTENT OF THEIR CHARACTER.” 

Listen to this song. https://youtu.be/Evl6ATp0AgA

It’s called See Me Beautiful by Red Grammar. This song was introduced to Ethical through the work of Marshall Rosenberg’s Compassionate Communication.  It speaks deeply to the question of seeing beyond the color of one’s skin or any other external detail about people, in order to SEE WITHIN.  This song speaks to the deep yearning that people have to be seen for who they are as whole human beings.

As we discuss the “content of our character” — We focus on this very human need to be seen for who we really are — our mind, hopes, ideas, heart, dignity, wholeness — things that are not visible — unless you find the "ACT" in charACTer to somehow make your inner life visible through ACTion.  Herein lies CHARACTER.

Borrowing an image from the story of the two wolves – (a Cherokee legend, spun a little differently for this purpose) – there are two very different parts of us that need to be taken care of well and deeply, in order for us to express ourselves fully and peacefully. Children all relate deeply to the "wolf within" that is growling with sadness and anger. Take a minute to acknowledge that part of yourself, the part that each one of us knows so deeply but doesn’t often show to others — it is an important and beautiful part of you.  Of course, the happy joyful smiling wolf is the part of our character that we often show to others and more readily get appreciation for. Indeed, some people hide their character more than others, and so as read grammars song says,  “it may take some time. It may be hard to find... but see me beautiful..”

Take a few opportunities this week to apply this notion of the content of one's character— by acknowledging an action (even a smile) as exhibiting the content of the character of those around you. You can let them know you SEE them. REALLY see them.  By doing so, you are helping Dr. King's vision for humanity be more fully realized.


Green Halloween!!!

(This is a letter you are invited to share with others, intended for learning communities....)

Dear ethics-aspiring folks, climate-justice activists, parents and educators, far and wide, 

Unpacking the climate-justice activism for some very practical CAN-DO’s for kids to achieve is important. For one thing, people need empowerment in the face of the dire information that climate activism has necessarily exposed.  
Both empowerment and potentially solutions come from DEED.  

Most immediately, let’s commit to something we can all immediately take action to change: 
greening our family practices of celebration
Engage in the GREEN HOLIDAYS CHALLENGE!  

What: 
This is an invitation to approach all holidays with creativity and rigor necessary to keep our carbon-footprint minimal. To go beyond RRR thinking and REIMAGINE & RE-PSYCH-ALL.
How
The most challenging part is this:    
     RESIST! Redirect shopping from quick easy one-time-use prefab items (hard to reprocess), to sustainable options.  For example, do not BUY a costume for Halloween. Instead, challenge your family and friends to join you in making the coolest costumes ever out of recycled,  reused, reimagined materials — including past costumes, collected egg cartons, etc! 
      And PLAY! Make gatherings and games among your friends for the most creative ways to use an eggshell carton, plastic bottles, take-out-food containers, old clothes. 

Why:
Many of us humans participate regularly in many green practices, yet when it comes to celebrating holidays, these values go on pause.  Think of Halloween, birthdays, other gifting occasions and holidays.  Like a blink of an eye within a steady gaze, we barely notice our own glitch in green behaviors on each holiday. Yet  holiday celebrants create as much trash on earth in a day as they tried to avoid creating all month long. And then, to top it off, they often throw it away more quickly and less carefully.  Instead, honor your month of green-efforts, with green celebrations.

The Big Picture
How can “being Green” ultimately become more fun, more joy filled, more cool?  Please brainstorm this question with your friends and families.  
      Fun may sound like a frivolous measure – but it drives so much of our human behavior, and so much of our buying of single-use items.  Alas, the drive to shop, unbridled, is at the heart of the drive to trash. On top of that, a whole marketing industry, employing many of our top creative minds, goes into making each item on a shelf hard to resist! 
      In honor of the climate justice movement, make Climate Justice the new “True North” on your moral compass.  This will compel decisions you make to go through the litmus test of: “This helps me but does it help the Earth?”  
  
Support
We have to support each other!
A. Tools: Scroll down for collections of RRR costume-ideas and links.  
B. Showcase: You may send a picture of your RRR costume to us and we will post it on the blog in a “RRR-costume photo exhibit!” 
C. On Halloween, don’t forget to tell everyone you see who DID make their costume, “Bravo!” 
What you put attention towards, can grow! 
D.  Make “Green” FUN !!!

TALK ABOUT IT! 
TEACH ABOUT IT! 
HAVE FUN WITH IT!

Imagine the earth thanking you.  

Young Ethical Explorers 
Ethical Culture NYC

Below are some links to explore for GREEN HALLOWEEN COSTUMING!!!!

https://goodonyou.eco/ultimate-guide-green-halloween/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/31454897372955690/

https://www.acleanbee.com/sustainable-halloween/

https://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/stories/10-crafty-costumes-made-cardboard

https://www.mamoq.com/journal/ditch-the-disposable-sustainable-halloween-costume-ideas/

https://green.harvard.edu/tools-resources/green-tip/6-tips-greener-halloween

https://www.terumah.ca/sustainable-eco-friendly-green-halloween-diy-costume-ideas/

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/412712753338015524/?nic=1

https://www.pinterest.com/madampantomime/recycled-material-costumes/

https://www.pinterest.com/sdrecycle/diy-costumes-recycled-and-reused/

https://www.seventhgeneration.com/blog/how-kids-costumes-recycled-materials

https://www.feedmrmurph.com/kids-activities/make-your-own-costume-out-of-recyclables/

Climate Justice Team

Greta Thunberg at Ethical, Sept. 13, 2019


Young Ethical Explorers preparing for the Global Climate Strike. 

summertime 2019

A BETTER WORLD FESTIVAL in SUNNYSIDE, QUEENS!



3 Ethical societies united at the second annual “A better World Festival” in Queens, on June 14, 2019.  Ethical NYC has partnered with the host organization, “Love, Hallie” for a few years, and this is our second year hosting a booth and performing an Ethical message on the stage. At our booth, we hosted visitors to become familiar with our programs and mission, and to make “I am a FAN of ethics!” fans!  Our bright and courageous Young Ethical Explorer, Marifer, gave an inspiring speech about how and why to shop was an ethical conscience. She talked about shopping, not just for what’s healthy for your body, but for what is healthy for the earth and for the other citizens of the earth.  Her parents, Jesus and Griselda Posted guests at the ethical booth.  Riverdale’s young team representative, 12 year old Elise Salandy (daughter of Riverdale’s mighty organizer of Ethics for Children programs),  attended the conference for young activists held of the day before the festival as well as coming to the fair. And Christian  Hayden, our representative from Philadelphia, who had given the platform at ethical NYC that very morning, let the crowd to cross bridges and find connections interpersonally in this diverse public square of Queens.  Leader Anne Klaeysen invited the crowd to join us at Ethical Culture, while Audrey Kindred, organizer of family programs, reminded the crowd that ethics unites us all, as humans striving always to contribute to the mission of “a better world.”


From left to right:
Audrey Kindred, 
Christian Hayden with Jesus Torres-Vazquez sitting in front
Ana Griselda Sandoval with daughter Marifer 
Anne Klaeysen
Sabine Salandy and daughter Elise



MALALA DAY CELEBRATION


Photo of Maria Fernandez (Marifer) Torres Sandoval 

At YEE’s Second annual Malala day celebration, our keynote speaker was Marifer!  YEE member Gabriel Pozdnykov also gave a compelling speech about what ethical culture is. 
      Both of these fine young speakers also lead their younger peers in outstanding speeches late that night at our annual rooftop sleepover... when we visited the Great Hall of the AEU, imagining Felix Adler’s first speeches ever that took place there, and “being his voice.”



Performer and teacher Simba Yangala and her company Jungledom Network were Ethical NYC’s special guests for the second annual Malala Day Celebration. 

“What’s Forgiveness Looks Like”
is a dance-performance galvanizing  support of 4 children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who have recently lost their parents and have suffered terrible abuses along their way. 
Simba Has secured a safe haven for them as they recover from this loss, and organization called BUMI (=LIFE).  As a long-time Ethical Culture teacher of children at BSEC, she is touring this performance to many societies to support the “nurturing” of these four siblings toward healing and recovery. NYSEC’s YEE is proud to be in collaborative support of this endeavor with other ethical culture society’s.

For more information and for their support of this endeavor, please contact BSEC.Simba.csa@gmail.com
You may also look up BUMI at www.BUMI-rdc.org

Photo: (left to right) 
YEE member Katy Pozdnyakov, 
Jungledom Leader: Simba Yangala
Jungledom performer: Pilar Murrieta Ngalouo 




Performers at Malala Day: 
Simba Yangala 
Pilar Murrieta Ngalouo 
Alec Lichtenberg 







SPRING DEED FEST.... LET'S GROW!

The Spring Festival of DEEDS at Ethical NYC. invites all to move into a season FULL of  PERSONAL AND SOCIETAL SELF-DEVELOPMENT THROUGH DEED...
The Trash Puppets narrate talk to each other about the plight of their existence in short animated  film by Young Ethical Explorers and Amy Reid
"Let's plant the world as a Forest of Love"
Sponsor our Young Ethical Explorers to walk the Aids Walk in May 
The tables are arranged as the Ethical Culture Symbol, with participatory DEEDS  all over  THE  ETHICAL BODY
From the gut, "talking trash" is an invitation to make puppet dialogues about the plight of trash.
While at the heart level. there's the SEED DEED -- to drop seed explosions all around the city.
Exploring non-dairy alternatives...
Donating Underwear to children ages 2-18 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
www.bumi-rdc.org
Our tables are designed like the Ethical symbol as we contemplate the idea of the year: Ethical Infinity
Seed Secrets are "positive litter" created from clay, compost and seeds.
Ethical children are leading the way, inviting the society members to BYO.... Bring Your Own.... Utinsels, plates, napkins, coffee cups, and water bottles.
At the "head" is our consciousness.  Our leader Anne Klaeysen presides.
The Ethical Future and the weaving of ethical Memory are side by side.
The invitation here is to...
Give yourself a "placebo power" character
A thought-friend you can draw upon whenever things overwhelm you. 
THE ETHICAL BODY, embodied by the arrangement of our festival space. 

Invitation to Ethical's Spring GREEN Fest


Ethical NYC Spring Festival!  
Sunday, March 17, 11am
All Are Welcome


Intergenerational Fun! 
Children and adults of all ages! 

Retooling & Refueling
our Commitments to 
GREEN PRACTICES

For Black History Month

The Montgomery Bus Boycott Story: 
(sung to the tune of Wheels on the Bus)
created by Audrey Kindred

Intention: 
This is an easeful way to share an important and intense historical story about racial justice, 
and the struggle of the Civil Rights movement to achieve greater racial harmony and equality in America.

Action Note:  
A group can spontaneously gesture-drama this song,  as one would with the traditional version of Wheels on the Bus.
It is a resource for the grade-level ages who are studying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For both young and fluent readers, it's a perfect print-up. 

The updated version includes teen-activist Claudette Colvin as well as Rosa Parks.  The biography of Claudette Colvin was written for young readers, Twice Toward Justice, by Phillip Hoose is an important and oft-untold story that took place within the early moments of the Civil Rights Movement, this time of immense American development.


Throughout the text, there are terms, which can grow the social studies vocabulary of children. 

Suggestions from readers are all welcome!!!

Lyrics Note: 
Emphatic sounds of the rhythm are underlined when necessary. 
The bold words get repeated twice.

The wheels 
   on the bus 
      went round and round...
The wheels 
   on the bus 
      went round and round
Way back when, 
   in Montgomery town.
This story 
   happened
      several decades ago.
This story 
   happened 
      several decades ago
The year was 
    1955.

The story 
   teaches us to 
       stand up for justice.
It teaches us
    to stand up 
       for justice.
So our world 
    can be more FAIR.

The rules 
    on this bus
       let some folks sit,
The rules
    on the bus
       let some folks sit,
…if the color of their skin was light.

Those rules 
  were
     unfair and wrong...
Those rules 
  were
     unfair and wrong...
This song tells how 
   things have changed.

A driver told
   people  
     "You can’t sit there.
A driver told
   people, 
     "You can’t sit there
if your skin is brown."

Separating people 
   by 
    the color of their skin
Separating people 
   by 
    the color of their skin
Was a rule called
   Segregation.

Many brave people 
    protested those rules
Many brave people
    protested those rules
And they were punished
    for doing right.


A brave teen bus-rider
  named
    Claudette Colvin
A brave teen bus-rider
  named
    Claudette Colvin
Was grabbed and
    locked in jail.

"With Sojourner Truth
on one shoulder
and Harriet Tubman on the other shoulder,"
Claudette Colvin could not get up!
"History had me glued to the seat"

The N, double A, C, P helped 
her get out of jail.
The NAACP helped 
her get out of jail.
and there she met 
Rosa Parks.
 (note:  NAACP:  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

Ms. Parks invited Claudette 
to speak to youth
Ms. Parks invited Claudette 
to speak to youth 
At the N, double A, C, P.
 (note:  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)


The N, double A, C, P
   is an 
     important institution
The N, double A, C, P
   is an 
      important institution
Working hard for equal rights. 

History books say that
Rosa sparked change
History books say that 
Rosa sparked change
By getting arrested 
on the Montgomry bus.

Rosa Parks
   had 
     worked all day 
Rosa Parks
   had 
     worked all day.
At the NAACP.


Rosa Parks 
  said, 
   "I'm tired and I’ll sit"
Rosa Parks 
  said, 
   "I'm tired and I’ll sit."
I won't give up my seat!


The driver on the bus 
   said "You must 
       obey the rules."
The driver on the bus 
   said "You must 
       obey the rules.
Even if the rules
     are unfair."


Rosa Parks
  said,  "No, I’m 
        tired of one thing"
Rosa Park
  said
     "I’m tired of one thing
I’m tired 
   of giving in!"

The Policeman said
  "Ms. Parks! We’re
        taking you to jail."
The Policeman said
  "Ms. Parks!  We’re
        taking you to jail.
Just for
   sitting in that seat."

People in the town
   said 
     "The rules are unfair!"
People of the town
   said 
     "The rules are unfair!
Racist laws
   need to change!"

"To stand up
   for justice, 
     we’ll walk instead
To stand up
   for justice, 
     we’ll walk instead
Of taking
   a racist bus-ride."

The wheels
   on the bus 
      went round and round 
The wheels
   on the bus 
      went round and round
but people
   walked and walked.

The manager
    of the bus said 
       "We're loosing money!"
The manager
    of the bus said 
       "We're loosing money!
 When people
      don't ride our bus."

The people 
   of the town 
     said "Change those rules
The people
   of the town
     said "Change those rules
Then
   we'll ride your bus"

They walked 
   in the winter
      and the spring and the sun,
They walked
   in the winter
      and the spring and the sun
They walked for over a year.

They also 
    carpooled to 
       help one another 
  They also 
    carpooled to 
       help one another 
Let's boycott that bus!
    

A great leader 
   named Dr. 
     Martin Luther King
A leader
   named Dr.
     Martin Luther King, Jr. 
      stood up for Rosa Parks.
Dr. Martin Luther King
    shared 
       a dream for the future
Dr. Martin Luther King
    shared 
       a dream for the future
He dreamed of 
    racial integration.
      

"I have 
   a dream"
      of equality for all.
"I have 
   a dream"
      of equality for all.
Let's protest with our Love.

The boycott of the bus
    lasted 
       ten whole months
The boycott of the bus
    lasted 
       ten whole months
But the bus laws finally changed. 

Now, the wheels
   on the bus
      go round and round
Now, the wheels
   on the bus
      go round and round
Equal rides for every one.

Standing up
   for fairness
      we're not alone
Standing up
   for fairness
      we're not alone
Justice is on our side!

Claudette Colvin
    went to court to
       change racist laws
Claudette Colvin
   went to court to
       change racist laws
The Supreme Court of the Land.

Dr. King and Ms. Parks
   became 
       Civil Rights Heros
Dr. King and Ms. Parks
   became 
       Civil Rights Heros
of Non-violent Revolution.


People worked 
   together in 
      the Civil Rights Movement
People worked 
   together in 
      the Civil Rights Movement 
to make the world a better place.

Judging people
     by their color
         is prejudice
Judging people
     by their color
         is prejudice.
Whether their skin is
    dark or light.

Like Dr. King said, 
   "The content of 
         your character"
Like Dr. King said,  
    The content of 
         your character
Is how everyone shall be judged.

The Content of your 
    character  is 
     how you act
The content of your 
    character  is 
     how you act
And the values that you portray.

When we all do our best
   for 
     humanity 
When we all do our best
    for 
       humanity
The human family includes 
      EVERYONE!