10 Climate Change Education: The First Step To Action – Taylor Lockhart

Climate Change Education: The First Step To Action

(Excerpt)

These political leaders don’t seem to represent the opinions of average Republicans. When interviewed by the National Public Radio and Ipsos for a poll 66% of Republicans stated that they were in support of teaching about the existence of climate change (Kamenetz, 2019, fig. 1). While less than the Democratic voters, the Republican supporters still claimed a majority towards support with two-thirds of the respondents in support of climate change being taught in science classrooms. While perhaps this statistic could merit some schools providing an opt-out option, it absolutely doesn’t merit schools outright banning or refusing to teach about climate change because of any political nature.

As well, essentialist views on climate change discussion in the classroom can be challenged using the excellent work and activism students have already done. In 2018, Greta Thunberg started organizing speeches, protests, and walkouts as she became a leading figure in the youth movement against climate change at only 15 (Britannica, 2022, para. 3). Since then she has been followed by millions and her activism has led to organizations for the youth to become activists. Voices Of Youth, an organization created by UNICEF, encourages children to become active in the environmentalist movement. Children all across the world are not waiting till college to engage in their beliefs and values. They are doing it while they’re still in High School and that should be lauded and encouraged instead of challenged.

Finally, many educators don’t agree with essentialist claims and have moved to include climate change in the core curriculum. These educators already have a slight majority and 26 states have introduced new school standards including climate change education as a part of the school curriculum. A partnership between the National Research Council, the National Science Foundation, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Science Teachers Association have worked together to introduce the new standards (Chen, 2022, para. 2). The cooperation of NSTA in the coalition suggests a change since former Executive Director David Evans who opposed climate change education was replaced by current director Dr. Erika Shugart.

Clearly, these new decisions from the NSTA suggest that, as climate change becomes a larger crisis, the views towards it and its place in our junior and senior high schools have become more positive despite minor opposition. An article from The Washington Post found that the majority of teens in high school are afraid and angry about the climate change crisis (Kaplan & Guskin, 2019, fig. 2). A similar poll from CIRCLE determined that climate change is the second largest problem the youth is concerned with only behind the issue of healthcare (Suzuki, Medina & Guzman, 2022, fig. 1). Teachers also stand in support of climate change education. In the same NPR poll that determined Republicans actually support climate change education, they also concluded that 86% of teachers were in support of climate change being included as a topic in public education’s curriculum (Kamenetz, 2019, fig. 1).

Evidently, these supporters encourage climate change education for good reason. The United Nations claims that “education is a critical agent in addressing the issue of climate change,” (United Nations, para. 1) because it encourages people to change their attitudes and beliefs as well as make informed decisions. This decision-making process is called climate literacy, one of the key concepts that educators hope to introduce to young students. The book, Communicating Climate Change: A Guide For Educators, describes climate literacy as skills that “include communicating about climate change, assessing climate-related information, and participating in constructive dialogue (Armstrong, Krasny, & Schuldt, 2018, pg. 26). In her editorial, Marcel Thoma argued that climate change should be navigated using core concepts. However, this definition argues that knowledge of climate change is itself a core concept that can be used to navigate the more complex arguments and dialogue about climate change.

However, despite support for climate change education and expert opinions expressing the need for climate literacy, some would argue that climate change education does not result in direct action. Of course, no educator can force their students to implement what they learn but they can point them in the right direction. Communicating Climate Change suggests the inclusion of goals in classrooms for implementing collective action. These collective action lessons would go beyond the classroom and include community service projects that work to demonstrate environmentalism and combat climate change directly. As students get hands-on they’ll see the impact of climate change as well as the part they can play in fighting against it. Our future politicians, scientists, and climatologists are still being taught in lower-level schools and one day using their knowledge of the climate crisis they could help to solve the problem. These first steps begin in secondary education and will help direct students moving into higher levels of education on what they can and need to do to help our planet.

It should be clear that these students are the next generation to whom we will be handing the world over. It is irresponsible to not give them the truth of the situation that will become their future and it is malicious to swindle them out of their share of the planet. Climate change education at a young age should not be a controversial matter. Even if some cannot accept climate change as anything more than a theory, students still deserve to be included in the discussion. This discussion also cannot be muted because of political implications especially when those political agendas fall apart under scrutiny. Students, teachers, and parents are concerned about climate change enough to march and raise awareness through activism already and so there is little reason to not include it in the core curriculum. These discussions and lessons on climate change are the first steps to building an intelligent and prepared generation that can take on their damaged world and steer it toward the healing it so desperately needs.

References 

Armstrong, A. K., Krasny, M. E., & Schuldt, J. P. (2018). “Climate change education outcomes” In Communicating Climate Change: A Guide for Educators (pp. 26). Cornell University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctv941wjn.7

Brittanica. (2022). Greta Thunberg. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Greta-Thunberg

Chen, G. (2022). Climate change to become part of core curriculum in public schools. (2022). Public School Review. Retrieved from https://www.publicschoolreview.com/blog/climate-change-to-become-part-of-core-curriculum-in-public-schools

Kaplan, S & E. Guskin. (2019). Most American teens are frightened by climate change, poll finds, and about 1 in 4 are taking action. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/most-american-teens-are-frightened-by-climate-change-poll-finds-and-about-1-in-4-are-taking-action/2019/09/15/1936da1c-d639-11e9-9610-fb56c5522e1c_story.html

Kamenetz, A. (2019). Most teachers don’t teach climate change; 4 in 5 parents wish they did. National Public Radio & Ipsos. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/04/22/714262267/most-teachers-dont-teach-climate-change-4-in-5-parents-wish-they-did

S. Suzuki, Medina. A, & P. Guzman. (2022). Youth Concern About Climate Change Drives Civic Engagement. CIRCLE. Retrieved from https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/youth-concern-about-climate-change-drives-civic-engagement

United Nations. (2022). Education is key to addressing climate change. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/climate-solutions/education-key-addressing-climate-change