Promoting Compassion for Animals in Elementary School

By Alex Berkson
Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010 11:00 AM
Duration: 20 minutes

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I am a fourth grader at J.J. Hill Montessori Elementary School, and I have been a vegetarian all of my life. At times, I have had to deal with challenges from classmates ("Why don't you eat meat?"), ignorance ("You need meat to be healthy"), and even teasing. I decided to do an independent project entitled "Why I am a Vegetarian" to explain my choice to my classmates and to provide them with accurate information about the ethical, environmental and health consequences of eating meat.

In this talk, I will discuss how I created this presentation, how it was received, and what strategies are most effective for getting elementary school students to extend compassion to animals.

Attended by:

• Unny Nambudiripad
• Anne Rokoski
• Suzy Sorensen