Putting climate change in classrooms

CLIMATE- SAVVY EDUCATORS ARE PREPARING CHILDREN TO HELP PROTECT THE PLANET

The debate has raged in recent months: is the climate crisis being given due prominence on school curriculums? Four young students at Cheney school in Oxford thought not and so launched a petition in March, calling for more lessons on the subject. It has since been signed by more than 76,000 people.

Though climate change is taught in science and geography, critics say that simply isn’t enough. But rather than waiting for the UK government to integrate the subject into the curriculum further, teachers are taking matters into their own

hands by enrolling on the United Nations’ Climate Change Teacher Academy.

The online course provides free training for primary and secondary school teachers, arming them with the knowledge they need to introduce climate change into other parts of the curriculum.

“We can’t wait for governments to pull their fingers out, we need to get on with it,” said Melanie Harwood, whose company, Harwood Education, is helping deliver the training programme in the UK.

“Young children are far more vulnerable to climate-related disasters and associated health risks than any other social group. We need to give them the tools to understand the effects of a changing climate so that they can take well informed and effective action in the future.”

Bec Wakefield from Down Hall primary school in Raleigh, Essex, was the first teacher to graduate from the academy, which aims ultimately to train at least one teacher from every school in the world. “Making the next generation climate literate is one of the most important things we can do for our children now,” she said.

The academy takes around 25 hours to complete and consists of five modules, which consider the climate crisis through the prisms of gender, politics and health, among other topics. Teachers are given access to up-to-date UN research as well as case studies to use in lessons.