Last month on 27th August, Teach the Future organised a climate education Teach-In in Central London. In response to the recent release of the Department for Education's Climate Change and Sustainability Strategy and the end of yet another year of schooling where young people have been failed due to a lack of environmental education, our Teach-In provided an educational and motivational space for young people, educators and key stakeholders to come together. We provided a platform for people from all walks of life to provide their insight into how we should tackle the systemic failures in climate education, with us hearing speeches and mock "lessons" from our volunteers and supporters.
Speeches
Matt, a teacher from Leeds, kicked off the Teach-In by giving us the educator’s perspective on climate education. Matt talked about the importance of a creative outlet in processing anxiety, especially existential concerns such as eco-anxiety, quoting Peter Bazalgette, Chair of ITV: "science keeps us alive, but the arts and humanities keep us sane". Schools need to equip students with the skills to participate, engage and enjoy music, literature, dance, drama etc; however, successive governments are sidelining the arts.
Next, it was Zamzam Ibrahim’s turn. Zamzam, an SOS trustee of Teach the Future, talked about her background in social justice and the alienation she first felt from the climate movement. She reaffirmed the importance of climate justice and how the work tackling racism, islamophobia and other forms of hate are massively interlinked with the climate movement. Zamzam went on to reiterate that education is the root of addressing systemic issues. We need to reimagine higher education to ensure students understand the cause of the climate crisis and have the tools to analyse and identify climate justice issues.
Paul, from the National Education Union, talked about the trade union's climate network, which develops the union's climate policy. He spoke about the importance of working-class people taking the lead in fighting for just changes, instead of reactionary, defensive actions against imposed transitions. Climate justice is a class issue as it is a problem caused by the wealthiest few yet felt by the most vulnerable.
Emma from Earthwatch talked about how teacher training is essential to climate education. She reminded us that education reform must re-evaluate the importance of other topics within education, instead of just adding climate education on top of everything else. Emma linked the fact that "climate education is survival education" to the recent record-breaking heatwave as young people need to be given a pathway to address the challenges of climate change.
Olivia from the Nottingham Climate Assembly rounded the speeches off by outlining the great work done to reach the ambitious target of Carbon Neutral by 2028. The NCA has created a manifesto for the council, suggesting different ideas to get on track to be carbon neutral by 2028, such as a comprehensive food waste strategy. Liv finished her speech by encouraging us to think about actions we can take in our local area. She showed us the “heart, head, hands” conversation model, which “channels emotion into motivation and then action”. Firstly she asked us, “What makes you angry in regards to climate change in your local area?” Then she pushed us to think about how we want this to change in the next five years and how we can realise this change.
Citizens' Assembly
Following the speeches, we organised a citizens' assembly to allow the attendees to discuss the ideas and concerns brought up in the speeches. The first question was about which topics should be included in climate education, which prompted a range of exciting ideas. We touched on sustainability, activism, and causes of the climate crisis but also the importance of community and reimagining our relationship with the environment. Then, we moved on to discussing who should contribute to the climate education curriculum. We agreed that everyone is a stakeholder in climate action, and all communities should be included in climate education. We particularly stressed that students and educators should be listened to, as well as academics and people from industry.
Overall, the Teach-In successfully fostered a supportive and educative environment to discuss topics such as climate justice, the role of arts in mitigating eco-anxiety and how education can be an essential tool in climate action. As Olivia said, “It's so important to have events like these where we can begin to collaborate and learn how we as individuals and as organizations can best help our planet!”
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