Are kids the best
climate teachers?
They may be small, but when it comes to getting those around them up
to speed on climate, kids are big change agents. How does that work?
Let’s
find out.
Words:
Anne-Marie Hoeve
In collaboration with:
Recess Therapy
Imagine if kids could teach their parents a thing or two about climate change?
It turns out that they can. In a revealing study, some middle school classes were given a climate curriculum, while others were not. And guess what?
Exposure to the curriculum not only affected the kids’ views, but also those of their parents – even those traditionally most resistant to climate messaging: politically conservative men.
In short, kids are incredible eco influencers.
In his web series Recess Therapy, Julian Shapiro-Barnum interviews kids aged 2 to 9 for advice on the things he finds himself struggling with as an adult: everything from the economy to love and now, the climate.
Let’s hear what the kids have to say about protecting our wonderful planet.
The power of intergenerational learning is clear, which is why it’s so vital to develop a climate education curriculum. And yet, teachers are struggling to incorporate climate into their lessons.
SURVEY: REASONS TEACHERS DON'T TEACH CLIMATE CHANGE
Source: NPR/IPSOS poll of 505 US teachers. This question was asked of the 55% of teachers who said that they do not teach climate change. Respondents could select up to three answers. "Other" and "Don't know" responses not shown.
Climate in the classroom
Meet Dennis Nolasco. As a former teacher and earthday.org education coordinator, he is passionate about instilling students with the knowledge and skills to navigate and thrive in an eco-friendly world. He explains why climate education is so important.
Let’s explore this in more detail…
3 reasons why every school needs to teach climate education
1) Climate anxiety
Students are increasingly anxious about the state
of the planet.
By engaging with the topic and using social-emotional learning techniques, teachers can
play an important
role in alleviating climate anxiety to support their students’ well-being.
2) Green muscle memory
By providing students with the information
they need to modify
their behaviors and to reduce carbon emissions, it will become second nature to them.
That’s why, to develop
green muscle memory, climate education needs to be taught consistently to children
across all subjects,
from kindergarten to graduation.
3) Growing the green economy
If we are to find ways of mitigating
and coping with the problems that the climate crisis is causing and will cause in the
future, we will need to motivate future generations to find solutions and develop new
types of industry. This will create massive economic opportunities.
Source: Earthday.org
“You are never too small
to make a difference”— Greta Thunberg
