Human Wellbeing and Thinking Skills for Schools 

Core values 

Wellbeing and rational thought are fundamental concepts to humanists. It is our belief that young people’s lives --and the societies they shape -- are enriched by developing knowledge regarding human wellbeing and rationality. Even during times of relative economic stability, young people must acquire the knowledge to manage the complex challenges that modern life presents. Without knowledge of what constitutes a healthy diet and what constitutes sexual health people rarely flourish.  Young girls who become pregnant can be economically disadvantaged for the rest of their lives and when HIV spreads through a community without access to antivirals, the social costs are devastating.

Alongside a healthy body, young people must develop healthy minds.  In many parts of the world young people must navigate the joint pitfalls of outdated and often dangerous customs (e.g. witchcraft accusations and FGM) and modern misinformation (e.g. conspiracy theories and alternative medicine). As such we are increasingly finding that having a healthy mind is having a critical mind.  It is with these values in mind the Humanist Global Charity delivers workshops to meet three educational goals for schools and community groups: critical thinking, sexual health and nutrition. 

Program for schools 

Humanist Global Charity offers the following program to schools and community groups. Each daily session runs an hour and a half. Our educators can deliver two sessions to two groups per day.

• Day 1: Baseline survey + Critical thinking (CT) session (basic principle of evidence)   

• Day 2:  CT session 2 (superstitions)  

• Day 3: CT (media literacy) + CT exit survey

• Day 4: Nutrition

• Day 5: Sex Education

CRITICAL THINKING

 Critical thinking is a multidisciplinary skill set which condenses the methods of science, philosophy, history, media studies and psychology into one no-nonsense tool kit -- its goal is to rid our minds of false beliefs.  Critical thinking recognises the human mind is error prone and aims to correct these ‘system bugs’ by making us aware of them. Critical thinking does not offer a pre-filled list of true beliefs and may not be able to adjudicate some question (two critical thinkers may disagree on any reasonably contentious issue).  Critical thinking should however, as a minimum, enable us to identify poor reasoning and evidence-free thinking.  Critical thinking exposes how belief systems like superstitions, alternative medicine, conspiracy theories - while seductive - are misguided.

Curriculum 

·       Introduction: On entering the course all learners complete a brief questionnaire outlining their confidence /certainty level in specific beliefs, as well as identify superstitious beliefs that are prevalent in their community.  

·       Session One: What are the different ways we justify our beliefs (experience, faith, science, authority, reason) and what are the strengths and weaknesses of these beliefs? 

·       Session Two:  Different types of claims and different requirements in evidence. What evidence should magical beliefs require? Exploring folk beliefs globally and locally. Are they justified? Are they harmful? 

·       Session Three: Sources of modern misinformation (e.g. viral texts, junk mail, sensational documentaries, memes, conspiracy sites).  Students learn how to identify and assess these sources      

·       Exit Survey: Students return to their initial survey; we see if their views and skills have shifted 

·       Prize giving: students who participated choose gifts from donors in the UK.   

NUTRITION

The session delivers evidence-based information on what foods are nutritious and which are likely to cause health problems. What makes the session unique is that it challenges misconceptions about diet. Many western food producers have a strangle hold over African markets and promote products that are not healthy, based on manipulative advertising. 

SEXUAL HEALTH 

Sex can and should be safe and consensual. Pregnancy should always be planned.  Learners are introduced to the risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections alongside effective and affordable methods of family planning.

Instructor

Daniel Beaton is a UK based educator. He completed his BA and MA in philosophy at University of Bristol and completed his PGCE at the Institute of Education. He is passionate about global learning and works regularly with the British Council on school projects in Africa. He has completed a global teaching award and core skills qualification on critical thinking through the British Council and has developed a model of critical thinking drawing influence from organizations like Humanist UK and Sense about Science, as well as individuals such as Robert Grimes (The Irrational Ape), Brian Dunning (Skeptoid), and the street epistemology practitioner Anthony Magnabosco.     

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Project locations in 2021: Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria

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