Words by Smiley Team
Young people are becoming empowered to reorientate the education system around climate action, social justice and sustainability – to ensure generations are learning about the right things in school.
A youth-led organisation, called ‘Teach the Future’, has written a Climate Emergency Education Bill, which headed for its second reading in Parliament on the 28th January.
To make a big impact, the group is crowdfunding for the new research, PR for their Climate Education Bill, and to hire student staff to coordinate their work.
Eleanor Andrade May, 19, a first-year student in Sheffleld, is a volunteer with the organisation. “Our campaign is founded on the principle that young people need to be equipped and empowered to face the climate crisis,” they tell Smiley News.
“All of our volunteers are with us because they have found current teaching on climate change to be inadequate, and we want to make sure that no student is left unprepared for their future.”
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The idea was sparked through the youth climate strikes back in 2019, says Eleanor. “Young people were becoming more and more aware of how irreversible climate change was going to be, and how older generations were failing them with inaction,” they say.
Currently, any mention of the climate crisis is siloed into geography or science – meaning students who don’t take those subjects or aren’t motivated by them miss out, says Eleanor.
"But the climate crisis is going to impact every aspect of our lives, and our education must reflect that," they add. "Climate change should be woven through the curriculum like a golden thread, so no child is excluded from their future."
Eleanor hopes people will support their crowdfunding campaign to help them drive forward positive change.
"People should support us because we’re a determined, youth-led campaign with practical solutions to implement," they say.
"And the evidence is on our side: 90% of teachers think climate change education should be compulsory, while 41% say it is rarely or never mentioned. Only 4% of students feel like they know a lot about climate change, while 68% want to learn more."
Find out more about Teach the Future at teachthefuture.co.uk. Or, donate to the crowdfunder to help them reach their goal.
