Force Children To Learn About Climate Change?

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Can we force children to learn about climate change? Many argue these changes will affect them more than their parents or grandparents. Based on that assumption, the argument is that forcing an education about the climate crisis would benefit the students.

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A new bill introduced in New York–NY A00851–” Requires that climate change and sustainability education be taught in elementary and high schools to educate pupils about how human activities cause climate change, the effects of climate change, the dangers associated with climate change and preventative measures that can be taken to alleviate the impacts of climate change.”

Under the bill, local school districts would create the curriculum, but these would have to align with state standards about the basic building blocks of climate change science. Some politicians object. These believe that school exists to teach math and English. Only one state requires climate change education–Connecticut.

The debate is part of an old one. What should teachers be allowed or required to teach to their students? There was, for many decades, and still is, in some places, a debate about sex education. Certain history subjects cannot be taught in some states or school districts. Often, these are about the background of the Civil War and the events that led up to it.

The debate over climate change is about more than just the value of instructing student about current events that will affect their futures. At its roots, it is also about whether climate change is real. For those who do not believe so, teaching climate science in school would undermine their ability to deny climate problems of any kind.