The Role of Climate Change in the Classroom

In May 2015, the California Parent Teacher Association (PTA) voted almost unanimously to adopt the “Climate Change is a Children’s Issue” resolution which although doesn't require schools to teach climate change, allows the PTA to take a stance on the issue of Climate Change. By arguing that it is a threat to children, the PTA can lobby on Climate Change issues and encourage its teachings in schools.

Although in many counties, the idea of teaching Climate Change is still a stretch. This WSJ article mentions the case of Teenia Joi, a sixth grade teacher at Corte Madera Elementary outside Palo Alto, who shows "An inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore, and receives such a backlash from the parents that now the next time teachers want to watch that film, the students need to fill out a parent release form. And this is in California.

There have been the Next Generation Science Standards which have been developed and require the teaching of Climate Change. But these have only been adapted in 13/50 states including California.

I spoke to a researcher Minda Berbeco from the National Center for Science Education and she told me that although most educators teach about Climate Change, they teach it in an equally caused human induced and natural problem., even though science clearly shows that that humans are the reason for this significant change in climate. This is not necessarily because its what they believe, but according to Minda, because they don't want to get in trouble for not showing the skeptics side.

A similar conversation plays out with textbooks. KC Busch, a PhD Candidate of Science Education at Stanford has studied the role of Climate Change in textbooks. This The Guardian Article  illustrates that even publications like  Focus on Earth Science, published separately by Prentice Hall, Glencoe-McGraw-Hill and CPO Science, and Earth Science, published by Holt, Rinehart & Winston don't show the reality of global warming. The books present "the debate" on climate change- saying that not all scientists agree that the temperature change is human induced and they even sight Climate change as having some "positive impacts" like allowing farmers in colder locations to have a longer growing season. 

This kind of redirect, Busch concludes, ends up causing more doubt than urgency around the issue of climate change. In a society where only 57% of youth see Climate Change as fueled by human activity, we need to make sure our textbooks reflect a confident scientific dialogue.