In Conversation : Teach the Future Poland

We interviewed Polish climate education activist Daria Naróć about Youth Climate Strike's Teach the Future campaign!

1. What is the problem with climate education in Poland?

"The problem of climate education is not difficult to understand but yet it is difficult to actually say that climate education exists in Poland. Our Ministry of Education is under our government, which mostly consists of climate deniers. The one and only official attempt to educate on the climate crisis was made a few weeks ago by the Ministry of Education - they launched a video about global warming which was aimed at 13 & 14 year olds as a chemistry lesson. They manipulated many facts, introducing the problem of global warming and its results as something positive that, for example, lengthens vegetation time in the case of some plants. "

2. What do you think needs to change?

"We must bring the topic of the climate crisis further into public debate. We also need to provide teachers with all of the information they require to educate us, the younger generation. As the Ministry of Education launched a video, of which the quality and content was questionable, we must ask why this is being used as a negative resource? This, if utilised properly, could give us a basis for good lessons; also we must fight for an improvement in teaching education."

3. What have you been doing to try to change it?

Right from the beginning of FFF Poland, one of our main demands has been comprehensive climate education. Most of our local groups try on their own to bring the education to schools in collaboration with town councils, now we are trying to coordinate it more to work on this together. We have wrote a letter to the Minister for Education, demanding climate education; this was signed by 74 educators, experts and scientists. On the day that we launch this letter (today), we will also share an online petition, so that every person supporting our demand for climate education can display this, through becoming a signatory.

The aforementioned letter has been written by Młodzieżowy Strajk Klimatyczny or Youth Climate Strike Poland to the Minister for Education and is linked below, if you wish to read their demands.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cyodtH1sL9q64PYBIzA-fy4N-nzQYw8G

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