{"id":549,"date":"2021-11-19T19:03:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-20T00:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/?p=549"},"modified":"2021-11-19T19:03:35","modified_gmt":"2021-11-20T00:03:35","slug":"climate-change-education-a-parents-call-to-action-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/climate-change-education-a-parents-call-to-action-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change Education: A Parent\u2019s Call to Action (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source: Illustration by stoatphoto<\/a>, stock photo<\/a> ID: 538907086, modified by author.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is one looming thought that keeps me up at night as a parent: it\u2019s the<\/em> talk. That talk I know I will have with my child one day. But I am not talking about the \u2018sex talk.\u2019 Instead I\u2019m talking about the \u2018climate talk.\u2019 This is because climate change has been described by scientists as the \u2018greatest global health threat in the 21st century<\/a>,\u2019 and especially for young lives with impacts to their physical health and mental wellbeing<\/a>. However, I am a big believer that with more education the better informed we are and the better decisions we can all make about our futures. That is why a robust Climate Change Education across Canada and elsewhere is so important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my academic research over the last, I’ve come across ways in which a robust Climate Change Education may actually help young people to overcome some of the challenges ahead in a warming world. By not only psychologically preparing them for the warming trends and associated impacts, but further education may provide them with an ability to thrive in the future despite these challenges. Or perhaps more ambitiously, if given the right opportunities to engage in the climate crisis, youth may play a fundamental role in shifting the crisis by envisioning and mobilizing alternative solutions not yet conceived of. But the only way for any of this to happen is for Climate Change Education to no longer be treated like Sex Education has (and is) being treated in Canada, that of a limited education that is held up by partisan debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Climate Activist, Graduate Student and Mother myself, I believe this is an appropriate analogy to make when it comes to Climate Change Education and Sex Education. Because both have struggled to be fully accepted and therefore have inconsistent curriculum being taught across provinces and territories while failing to to meet international standards, as according to a review in Canada\u2019s climate science curriculum<\/a> and a national State of Sex-Ed Report<\/em><\/a> released last year. Additionally, both curriculum struggle to be implemented in the classroom due to personal bias of the teachers that creeps into educational practices. Such as in Climate Change Education where the above national study found some educators were encouraging debate in the classroom over anthropogenic causes of the crisis when in fact the world\u2019s leading scientist announced it is \u2018unequivocal<\/a>.\u2019 The same is true for \u2018Sex Ed,\u2019 as youth have reported receiving \u201cideologically-driven, abstinence-based Sex-Ed that is misleading and inaccurate from their educators,\u201d as stated in the above Sex-Ed report. Moreover, these reports and others<\/a> show that there is limited resources, training or support for educators in teaching these curriculums by the educational systems in Canada. This essentially leaves youth alone to grapple with large and complex issues on their own, that have life-altering consequences at stake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I say this because like Sex Ed, climate change should be understood as a health crisis that has both physical and mental health consequences for young lives. In terms of the climate crisis specifically, according to the World Health Organization<\/a> youth are projected to suffer 80% of the known illnesses, injuries and deaths attributed to climate change. In regards to mental wellbeing, it was recently found in a not yet formally published survey that nearly half (45 percent) of global youth<\/a> are affected by \u2018climate anxiety\u2019 of some kind. While not a clinical diagnosis, climate anxiety<\/a> is a very real experience by many youth that can translate into pre and post traumatic stress disorder with symptoms as wide ranging as depression, panic attacks, sleep and anxiety disorders, and in some rare cases, suicide. Moreover, youth who struggle with climate anxiety may face long-term developmental and educational consequences from climate anxiety making it harder for them to reach their full potential in their lifetime. This is due to chronic stress during youth and adolescent years over the climate crisis that can result in permanent brain structure alterations and even the emergence of psychopathologies later in life, according to a Lancet report<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For these reasons and more, youth not only need education about climate change but a holistic approach to their education. This follows again similar calls made the State of Sex-Ed Report<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>but also similar calls made by teachers in Canada on Climate Change Education. In a survey conducted last year<\/a> with teachers across Canada, the majority of educators are calling for a more \u2018holistic\u2019 approach to teaching about climate change that transcends across disciplines with increased training, resources and support in facilitating this curriculum.  But what are some of the approaches for a holistic education in climate change? See part two of this blog series<\/a> to explore some emerging answers to this question. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addendum on the climate change communication techniques used in this series, here:<\/strong><\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. ACSHR. (2020). The State of Sex-Ed in Canada (report). Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights. Retrieved from: https:\/\/www.actioncanadashr.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2019-09\/Action%20Canada_StateofSexEd_F%20-%20web%20version%20EN.pdf<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Atter. H. (2021). Climate change anxiety affecting children, but parents acknowledging it can help: social worker. CBC News. Retrieved from: https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/saskatchewan\/ecoanxiety-children-youth-1.6146470<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Armstrong, A. K., Schuldt, J. P., & Krasny, M. E. (2018b).  Framing climate change.           Communicating climate change: A guide for educators<\/em>. Cornell University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Armstrong, A. K., Schuldt, J. P., & Krasny, M. E. (2018a).  Establishing trust. Communicating climate change: A guide for educators<\/em>.: Cornell University Press. Ebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Burke, S.E.L. & Sanson, A.V. (2020). Climate Change and Children: An Issue of Intergenerational Justice. Children and Peace: Peace Psychology Book, pp. 343\u201362. doi:10.1007\/978-3-030-22176-8_21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Chopin, N., Hargis, K. & McKenzie, M. (2018). Building Climate-Ready Schools in Canada: Towards Identifying Good Practices in Climate Change Education (report). Sustainability and Education Policy Network, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Connor, P.; et al. <\/em>(2016). Interpersonal communication about climate change: How messages change when communicated through simulated online social networks. Climatic Change 136<\/em>(3-4), 463\u2013476. doi: 10.1007\/s10584-016-1643-z (13 pages)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. CTV. (2015). Sex-ed curriculum protests in Ontario go province-wide. <\/em>CTV News. Retrieved from: https:\/\/www.ctvnews.ca\/canada\/sex-ed-curriculum-protests-in-ontario-go-province-wide-1.2544517<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Dupar, M., with McNamara, L. & Pacha, M. (2019). Communicating climate change: A practitioner\u2019s guide. Cape Town: Climate and Development Knowledge Network.<\/em> <\/em>Retrieved from: https:\/\/unfccc.int\/sites\/default\/files\/resource\/Communicating%20climate%20change_Insights%20from%20CDKNs%20experience.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Field, E., Schwartzberg, P. & Berger, P. (2019). Canada, Climate Change and Education: Opportunities for Public and Formal Education (Report). Learning for a Sustainable Future. Retrieved from: https:\/\/lsf-lst.ca\/media\/National_Report\/National_Climate_Change_Education_FINAL.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Field, E., et al<\/em>. (2020). Climate Change Education in the Canadian Classroom: Perspectives, Teaching Practices and Possibilities. EdCan Network. <\/em>Retrieved from: https:\/\/www.edcan.ca\/articles\/climate-change-education-canada\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Hickman, C. et al.<\/em> (2021). Young people\u2019s voices on climate anxiety, government betrayal and moral injury: a global phenomenon (preprint). University of Bath, UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. Hine, D.W. et al.<\/em> (2016). Preaching to different choirs: How to motivate dismissive, uncommitted, and alarmed audiences to adapt to climate change? Global Environmental Change 36<\/em>, 1-11. doi: 10.1016\/j.gloenvcha.2015.11.002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14.  Hughes, C. & Akkari, A. (2021). Education needs a refocus so that all learners reach their full potential. The Conversation. <\/em>Retrieved from: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/education-needs-a-refocus-so-that-all-learners-reach-their-full-potential-154649<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. Lewandowsky, S. (2020). Climate change disinformation and how to combat it. Annual Review of Public Health 42<\/em>, 1-21. https:\/\/www.annualreviews.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1146\/annurev-publhealth-090419-102409<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

16. McKeown, R., & Hopkins, C. (2010). Rethinking Climate Change Education. Green Teacher 89<\/em>, pp. 17-21.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17. Moser, S .C. (2016). Reflections on climate change communication research and practice in the second decade of the 21st century: What more is there to say? WIREs Climate Change<\/em>, pp. 345-369.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18.  Nicholas, K.A. & Wynes, S. (2019). Climate Science Curricula in Canadian Secondary Schools Focus on Human Warming, Not Scientific Consensus, Impacts or Solutions. PLOS ONE, 14(7). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0218305<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

19. Ojala, M. (2016).  Facing Anxiety in Climate Change Education: From Therapeutic Practice to Hopeful Transformative Learning. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 21, pp. 41-56.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

20.  Sanson, A.V., Hoorn, J.V., & Burke, S.E.L. (2019). Responding to the impacts of the climate crisis on children and youth. Child Development Perspectives, 13 (4), pp. 201 – 207. DOI; 10.1111\/cdep.1234221. Wu, J., Snell, G., & Samji, H. (2020, October). Climate anxiety in young people: a call to action. The Lancet Planetary Health<\/em>, 4 (10). DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S2542-5196(20)30223-0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Illustration by stoatphoto, stock photo ID: 538907086, modified by author. There is one looming thought that keeps me up<\/p>\n

Continue readingClimate Change Education: A Parent\u2019s Call to Action (Part 1)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":950,"featured_media":568,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/full-width-page.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cals502","category-royal-roads-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/950"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":590,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549\/revisions\/590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}