BALTIMORE, MD – When it comes to education, Show Your Soft Side, Inc. (SYSS), a Baltimore-based public service campaign, is deeply invested in working to empower and encourage youth to build a better world for animals, and in turn, for humans. This year, SYSS teamed up with the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work (IHAC) to launch the “Cool to Be Kind” humane education program nationwide. Together, the two organizations collaborated to create lesson plans and tools to bring out the “soft side” of students in classrooms across the country.
The lesson plans incorporate hands-on activities, physical takeaways, such as posters from the SYSS campaign, and talking points for educators. Lesson plans have been crafted for students in upper elementary school, middle school and high school.
“The Cool to Be Kind program could truly be a game changer for the students of Baltimore and beyond,” said co-founder of Show Your Soft Side Caroline Griffin. “We’re thrilled to have worked closely with experts at IHAC, who have made our humane education program a reality.”
A lesson plan was tested in two elementary school classrooms in Denver, Colorado, thanks to a grant from the Latham Foundation for the Promotion of Humane Education. The curriculum proved effective for promoting critical thinking skills and empathy. SYSS will kick off the program at the Academy for College & Career Exploration in Baltimore on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019.
The curriculum can be downloaded here for upper elementary school students (grades 3-6) or here for middle and high school students.
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