The climate generation gap

RE: ... RETIRED Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent George Bello’s Sept. 23 op-ed, “Mayor is wrong to help protests,” ...

Like (him) I am a retired educator ... . Although I never rose to the level of superintendent, I was a principal, teacher and curriculum specialist at all levels for almost 50 years. While I understand (his) reasons for condemning Mayor (Tim) Keller for supporting APS students’ decision to skip classes in order to protest about our climate crisis, I oppose (him) for taking that position for the following reasons:

1. By referring to our climate crisis as “climate change,” (he is) self-identifying as a member of our senior generation whom young people feel “just don’t get it” — that climate change under our watch is a legacy that they understandably decry, that will have a devastating impact on their lives and those of their/our descendants, and for which we are to some extent responsible.

2. I am of the other group of seniors who understand that young people of all countries — and many of their teachers and parents — accept that they are key agents of change regarding the urgent need to change behaviors and laws supported by scientific evidence.

3. Therefore, I fully support actions such as school walkouts and other protests that our grandchildren engage in these days, and I laud Mayor Keller and all climate reformers. I urge you to recall how our own generation engaged in similar activities when we were young to bring about changes that were needed at the time and that at times required us to skip classes. GEORGE PEKNIK Albuquerque