SKYPING WITH CLAUDE AND MEDEA AUTHOR & INSTITUTE OF HUMANE EDUCATION PRESIDENT, ZOE WEIL
Today, May 29, 2015, we had a Skype session with Zoe Weil the founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education and the author of 2 award several books including the children's novel, Claude and Medea and Most Good, Least Harm. We asked her many questions about her life and what inspired her the most.
ALEXIS WENG: I think her last statement. “Life is really really short and to be kind and soak up every moment of your precious life" was most meaningful. I thought that this is a great statement because you can do anything to make a difference. She also told us that in order to be able to be a good writer, you have to write and read all the time.
She wrote her books mostly about animals, humans, and the environment for adults. Then she got the idea to write novels for children when she started, Claude and Medea. When she was smaller, she just read. all the time. In order to know how to write a topic about a topic she says, you have to be interested. It has to be what you love doing so you have the “time” to do research and practice that skill.
We learned one very important part of human attitudes towards helping the environment. People tend to listen more when you write a human interest story that focuses on an individual rather than a just simply talking about a global problem with facts and statistics. For example, when there was a kid who was stuck in a mine, everyone gave lots of money to save that 1 child. On the other hand, when we focus on all the kids who work as slaves and are in child labor, people may feel helpless to save all the children and basically give up. If we really want to learn a lot more about global topic and want to educate people even more, we have to tell them to read books like The Inconvenient Truth. Zoe told us that facts and information that are in this book, that include specific statistics about how global warming has changed our world, can help motivate people to take action and make changes.
Finally, we were able to learn that her background life in Manhattan influenced her. She was able to write about her childhood or playing with her friends. Claude and Medea is only the first book of the series. She motivated us to look at our lives and time that we have left to make a change. If some of us work on making a difference--little by little--we can make a large difference together to change the world.
She wrote her books mostly about animals, humans, and the environment for adults. Then she got the idea to write novels for children when she started, Claude and Medea. When she was smaller, she just read. all the time. In order to know how to write a topic about a topic she says, you have to be interested. It has to be what you love doing so you have the “time” to do research and practice that skill.
We learned one very important part of human attitudes towards helping the environment. People tend to listen more when you write a human interest story that focuses on an individual rather than a just simply talking about a global problem with facts and statistics. For example, when there was a kid who was stuck in a mine, everyone gave lots of money to save that 1 child. On the other hand, when we focus on all the kids who work as slaves and are in child labor, people may feel helpless to save all the children and basically give up. If we really want to learn a lot more about global topic and want to educate people even more, we have to tell them to read books like The Inconvenient Truth. Zoe told us that facts and information that are in this book, that include specific statistics about how global warming has changed our world, can help motivate people to take action and make changes.
Finally, we were able to learn that her background life in Manhattan influenced her. She was able to write about her childhood or playing with her friends. Claude and Medea is only the first book of the series. She motivated us to look at our lives and time that we have left to make a change. If some of us work on making a difference--little by little--we can make a large difference together to change the world.
HANSEN TORRES: This morning, May 29, 2015, we talked to the famous book author Zoe Weil. We made a play based on her book called “Claude and Medea: The Hellburn Dogs.” I think the most important thing that Zoe Weil said was that she wants children to know so that they can make a difference. Even if we don’t make a difference for the world, we can make a difference for ourselves. Also that we should always think of animals instead of eating them. We shouldn’t harm these animals. I think this because if children don’t know, then they can’t make a difference and we can’t change the world. If you become vegan, you’re helping many animals even though you’re making a difference for yourself.
Animals can’t always reproduce instantly, it all takes time. And when we stop eating pork, beef, and marine life, we can save many animals. If we all stop eating animals, companies can shut down and there can be fewer animals dying and no more extinction. So if you stop eating animals and influence others to stop, we can save animals and make a better world. Remember, animals are part of nature and we should be happy that we’ve been given this gift of animals.
So, we should always spread the word of many world problems, especially those impacting animals. I think that Zoe Weil is trying to make a good point that we should teach everyone about the problems of Earth so that everyone can do their best to fix them. That’s what Zoe said. We should always think of Earth, because it might be the only place to live on that we have. We should always try our best to save the Earth.
Animals can’t always reproduce instantly, it all takes time. And when we stop eating pork, beef, and marine life, we can save many animals. If we all stop eating animals, companies can shut down and there can be fewer animals dying and no more extinction. So if you stop eating animals and influence others to stop, we can save animals and make a better world. Remember, animals are part of nature and we should be happy that we’ve been given this gift of animals.
So, we should always spread the word of many world problems, especially those impacting animals. I think that Zoe Weil is trying to make a good point that we should teach everyone about the problems of Earth so that everyone can do their best to fix them. That’s what Zoe said. We should always think of Earth, because it might be the only place to live on that we have. We should always try our best to save the Earth.
Molly Bell: On May 29th, we interviewed a famous author, Zoe Weil. She wrote a book called Claude and Medea. We asked Zoe Weil some of our high order thinking questions. One meaningful thing that Zoe Weil said was when Nidhi asked, In your opinion, was is the most important life lesson you learned? Zoe Weil replied by saying that life is really really short and that your life is precious. She also said that you should show kindness to everyone and that you should soak up every moment of you precious life. This is meaningful to me because I learned that you should do fun things with your family or friends since you life is short and want to do many things before your precious life is over. You want to make everything you do, precious.
Another thing that was meaningful to me was when Zoe Weil said that we all matter. Everyone in the world matters. You are very important in the world and it is true. Some people might not think that they matter, but they do. It is important for kids to to know that they matter. Kids matter because it helps the world move forward. Without kids, life would be over. This is because when kids get older, they will have their own kids and the more people there are, the better the world is. And if there are no people in the world, there will be no world.
The last thing that was meaningful to me was how much Zoe Weil wants to make the world a better place. She did this by writing Claude and Medea and she wrote about how 2 kids wanted to make a difference and help make the world a better place.
One question that Zoe Weil asked us was Claude and Medea and there friends did something dangerous, risky and illegal. Do you think it was right, wrong or in the middle?
I think that they did the right thing because they are standing up for what they believe in for an important issue in the world. If they did not stand up for what they believed in, the problem could never have been fixed.
Another thing that was meaningful to me was when Zoe Weil said that we all matter. Everyone in the world matters. You are very important in the world and it is true. Some people might not think that they matter, but they do. It is important for kids to to know that they matter. Kids matter because it helps the world move forward. Without kids, life would be over. This is because when kids get older, they will have their own kids and the more people there are, the better the world is. And if there are no people in the world, there will be no world.
The last thing that was meaningful to me was how much Zoe Weil wants to make the world a better place. She did this by writing Claude and Medea and she wrote about how 2 kids wanted to make a difference and help make the world a better place.
One question that Zoe Weil asked us was Claude and Medea and there friends did something dangerous, risky and illegal. Do you think it was right, wrong or in the middle?
I think that they did the right thing because they are standing up for what they believe in for an important issue in the world. If they did not stand up for what they believed in, the problem could never have been fixed.