Youth are calling for an immediate response to climate change. Young organizers across the globe are taking action. This past fall, 4 million students took to the streets and protested the lack of progress from politicians and businesses. But here in the US, many of these students are not receiving any education on the science of climate change.
In 2013, 36 states and Washington, D.C., adopted Next Generation Science Standards or a similar framework that says human-caused climate change should be taught in our public schools. The remaining 14 states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia) either fail to mention that humans are culpable or they present humans’ responsibility as being scientifically controversial.
How will the leaders of tomorrow be effective without all the facts? Even in states that have said human-caused climate change should be taught, teachers have no training or curriculum to use. The good news is that because many education decisions are made at the local town or county level, your voice can be heard. Go to your next school board meeting and speak up!
