![\"bus\"](\"http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Bus-300x200.jpg\")
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By Alicia Hueckmann, intern visiting from Germany<\/p>\n
Of all professions related to veganism, school teachers are probably not
\namong the jobs one would think of first. Is it even possible to actively
\npromote a lifestyle that is completely different from that of many
\nfamilies and not get in trouble? As a student teacher who has taught
\nseveral middle and high school classes, I have found quite a few
\n‘loopholes’ that have enabled me to share my love for animals with my
\nstudents without having to fear consequences.<\/p>\n
Before we move over to my list, I would like to make clear first that my
\nexperience is limited to relatively liberal German schools – I have
\nnever actually experienced what it is like to be a teacher in the USA.
\nSo before you start any of the following vegan ‘projects,’ take into
\nconsideration how liberal your school is in general (e.g. do they raise
\nawareness for or deny climate change?), how open-minded the staff at its
\ncafeteria is (do they try to serve healthy food or do they rely on junk
\nfood?), and how well you get on with your class parents (are there any
\noverly protective parents or parents that tend to complain much about
\nwhat you do?).<\/p>\n
While making a difference as a vegan biology teacher is probably very
\neasy \u2013 they usually have many opportunities to show their pupils how
\nbeautiful nature is and that it is our duty to take responsibility for
\nanimals and the environment \u2013 this does not mean that they are the only
\nones that can. I, for example, ‘only’ teach English, German, and Math and
\nit works perfectly, as you will see in the following list.<\/p>\n
1. Implicitly make veganism a part of your lessons
\nIn modern languages, pupils in Germany are required to talk about
\nenvironment-related topics at school. As my class’ textbook (11th grade)
\nonly shortly mentioned the impact of the meat industry on the
\nenvironment, I decided to dedicate a whole lesson to the topic by having
\na classroom discussion that was supposed to prepare the class for their
\nupcoming oral exam. In my experience, many people become very passionate
\nwhen it comes to their eating habits \u2013 and it is also a topic that
\nliterally everybody has experience with (unlike local politics, for
\nexample). This was why even those students that are usually not
\nmotivated enough to raise their hands, made some kind of contribution
\nthat day.<\/p>\n
Before the discussion started, I divided the class into two equally
\nlarge groups, based on their personal preference and my own assessment:
\nThe first group promoted meatless diets. The second one was in favor of
\nomnivore diets. I printed out several articles for both groups which
\nlisted the advantages or disadvantages of the two lifestyles. It was up
\nto the students to decide which articles were reliable and convincing
\nenough to quote in the discussion as I did not only bring articles by
\nscientists or journalists but also rather biased activist groups and
\nclimate change deniers.<\/p>\n
As to be expected, almost all of my students participated in the
\ndiscussion and both groups came up with serious, reasonable arguments.
\nAt the end of the discussion, one of the vegetarian pupils of this class
\nthanked me for giving her and her friends an opportunity to share their
\nbeliefs with their classmates. My meat-eating supervisor was also happy
\nwith my ideas and the lesson’s theme which enabled and encouraged
\neverybody to participate. See http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/environment\/<\/p>\n
This was one example of a way in which you could make veganism (or
\nrather the impact of the animal industry) part of your lessons. For
\nMath, I could also think of math text problems in which you ask students
\nto calculate how much water it takes to produce a burger patty or how
\nmany showers equal the amount of water needed for a steak etc. as part
\nof a group of questions related to environmental protection.<\/p>\n
2. Bring vegan treats for your class
\nI have been in charge of my former school’s English Drama Groups for two
\nyears now. It has become a bit of a tradition for me to bake a cake or
\nmuffins to make dress rehearsals more enduring or to celebrate a
\nsuccessful performance. Some of my pupils were very skeptical when I
\ntold them that I made vegan sweets for them for the first time \u2013
\napparently, the only time they had heard the word ‘vegan’ before was in
\na negative context \u2013 but after having a bite, they completely changed
\ntheir mind; some even asked for the recipe. But this is not the only
\nreason why I am sure that veganism is now connoted very positively with my
\nstudents. As two of my student are allergic to lactose and eggs, it is
\nusually very difficult for them to feel as part of a group during a
\ncommunity meal during most of which they are the only ones that cannot
\nparticipate. As vegan food does not contain any animal products,
\nhowever, they never had a reason to feel excluded or disadvantaged. So
\nthe next time you and your classes have a reason to celebrate, bring
\nsome vegan treats with you. You won’t even have to explain the benefits
\nof this diet \u2013 let the food speak for itself!<\/p>\n
3. Support vegetarian or vegan groups
\nAnother great way of making a change at your school is encouraging
\nstudents who are already vegetarian or vegan to share their passion. If
\nyou know any vegetarians or vegans in your class, talk to them after
\nschool and ask them if they would be interested in starting a veggie
\nclub. If your school requires supervisors for clubs, make sure you are
\nthe first one to volunteer. Veggie clubs can work on many different
\nprojects like encouraging their school cafeterial to offer healthier,
\nmore plant-based options, raise money for a good cause by selling veggie
\nfood, organizing a school debate, etc. In this case, your students will do
\nmost of the work and you will mostly be in the background providing
\nsupport. As a consequence, you will be able to indirectly reach those
\nclassmates and students that you as a teacher wouldn’t usually reach
\nwith the help of your pupils.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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