Teaching the Truth About Climate Change

Environmental & Science Education, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy & Transportation

by Edward Hessler

Video by NASA [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

An editorial in the October 10 New York Times is a strong endorsement of teaching the facts — the truth — about climate change in schools.

The editorial notes that the Next Generation Science Standards provide a scientific, researched-based framework for teaching this concept in a way that helps students understand the science. The authors call attention to their adoption by fifteen states and also about 40 school districts. The editorial also describes the adoption landscape.

The editors point out that "Children today stand to inherit a climate severely changed by the actions of previous generations. They need to understand how those changes came about, how to mitigate them and how to prevent more damage to the planet. Schools can start by adopting science standards that deal extensively with human-caused climate change and that accurately reflect the scientific consensus."