Third graders at Public School 103 in the north Bronx sat on a rug last month while their teacher, Kristy Neumeister, led a book discussion.
The book, “Rain School,” is about children who live in a rural region of Chad, a country in central Africa. Every year, their school must be rebuilt because storms wash it away.
“And what’s causing all these rains and storms and floods?” asked Ms. Neumeister.
“Carbon,” said Aiden, a serious-looking 8-year-old.
Ms. Neumeister was one of 39 elementary school teachers from across the city who participated in a four-day training session in the summer called “Integrating Climate Education in N.Y.C. Public Schools.” Its goal was to make the teachers familiar with the topic, so they can work climate change into their lesson plans.
I actually think it is the longterm solution. If we had more people educated on the issue, we wouldn’t have such a hard time getting support for shortterm actions we need right now.
Counterpoint: nutrition labels have done nothing for obesity in the US aside from shift responsibility from food manufacturers to individuals. Same with environmental stuff, you can educate people as much as you want but if the people with power have no desire to change (e.g. legislatures and corporations) then education doesn’t really do anything. And they find ways to take over education with propaganda, like carbon footprints. I’m not saying ignorance is preferable, I’m saying education is not sufficient so there are better things to focus on in terms of solutions.
Agreed, education is only part of the solution.