Latham Letter

The Latham Foundation
will be 100 years old
in 2018
Over the years, we have shared humane
education values in many different formats.
One early method (1926-1941) was the
publication of The Kind Deeds Messenger.
The KDM was often a four-page magazine
for schoolchildren with stories and activities
that the teachers could include in their
own lesson plans
The humane values shared then continue
today, so we are now opening our library
so that a new generation can read and
reflect on these stories from the past.
You can find KDM examples in the
Research and Resources section at
https://www.latham.org/latham_resources.
Bringing the Message to the People in the 1920s
As Phil Arkow writes in Latham and the History of Humane Education: A Centennial Celebration, the Foundation was
actively promoting humane education in schools in Alameda County (CA).
Latham’s early work consisted primarily of direct presentations in local schools by the Foundation’s field representatives.
Classroom visits employed the “high-tech” media tools of the era – flannel boards – as well as live animals
to assist in the trainings. Common-sense illustrations taught children to be kind to animals and to each other.
Examples of instructional tools in the 1920s (flannel boards) featuring a young Abraham Lincoln
www.Latham.org Spring 2016 | The Latham Letter | 19