The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pupils become the teachers at climate change workshop
Dundee pupils told teachers to “settle down and listen” at a series of workshops on climate change yesterday.
The roles were reversed at three Dundee schools – Braeview, Grove and Harris – which took part in Teach the Teacher.
The project, jointly run by SOS-UK, Mock COP26, Earthday.org and Education International, aims to highlight the lack of training given to teachers on climate change.
The Dundee pupils joined those of 42 other schools in 21 different countries to take part in online training and discussions ahead of yesterday’s workshops.
Braeview Academy S1 pupils Kirsty Steinson, Scarlett Forrester and Chloe Hutchison said the experience was an eye-opener.
Kirsty said: “There were people from all over the world there. It felt good to be part of something so big.”
Scarlett added: “It’s made us more aware of issues like litter, recycling, greenhouse gasses and the ice melting in Antarctica.
“And if other people don’t learn about it too, then people in the future won’t have as good a world as we did.”
The pupils, all from Ballumbie, will share what they have learned with their teachers and give a presentation on climate change.
Chloe added: “We’re nervous because we’re quite new to the school, so we’re not that familiar with the teachers yet, but it’s good to put ourselves out there.
“It’s an important topic, and it’s helped us recognise how we can do our bit too for the planet because it’s getting worse, and we think people should help.”
Organiser and geography teacher Margaret O’Neill was keen for the school to take part as climate change is a subject about which she feels passionately. She said: “Being a geography teacher, I’m aware of the impact of climate change, but others may not be, so raising awareness is really important.
“It’s one of these things that we’ve all heard about, but people don’t realise how much what they do has an impact or the seriousness of it.
“People always say that if they went back in time they would be worried about doing something small and changing the future – well, why can’t we change something small now to have a positive impact on the future?”
There will be an online webinar at 11.30am on Monday and anyone who wants to attend can register at bit.ly/ teach-the-teacher
“It’s helped us recognise how we can do our bit