Today, climate change is a global phenomenon. Countries across the globe contribute to the problem. The difference is the magnitude of contribution attributed to each nation. Undoubtedly, the topic should be part of the class discussions next year because of its grave implications. The future of communities, natural resources, and ecosystem depends on how well people understand, internalize, value, and protect the delicate nature (Harmon n.p). If individuals understand the implications of the phenomenon, they will be capable of taking mitigation measures thus promote the sustainability of the current and future generations. For example, some animals, such as dinosaurs, faced extinction because people at the time took for granted factors that directly affected their survival. If the present generation fails to address factors that affect survival, the same would happen to other species. The only way to ensure the future of Earth and its life forms is to give opportunities to students and the rest of the community to shape the world. Education is one of the most effective tools against preventable calamities, therefore, objective of slowing down climate change can only be achieved if the topic is prioritized in education curriculums (Harmon n.p). Upon learning, students could disseminate valuable information to their families and friends.
Reasons Why Climate Change Should be Taught Next Year
Climate change should form the basis of discussion to impart the necessary knowledge geared towards protection of the ecosystem and future generations. In the past students have listened to or watched weather and climatic phenomena on the mainstream media. Examples of these include storms, floods and changing weather patterns that have generated fear among communities. They are always left to wonder why their education curriculum does not envision issues on weather and climatic changes. They are told a lot of stories in regards to weather and climate, and thus not the best way for students and communities to learn about the topic. Integrating the topic in learning is the first step in promoting the desire to learn more about the topic and take appropriate actions (Orca Scuba n.p). in line with this argument, students should be taken through pieces of evidence and facts surrounding the topic so that they can better understand this global phenomenon.
There have been debates on how the topic should be taught with majority confirming that tutors have not done enough in teaching about climate change. A survey conducted in United States found out that 30 percent of tutors had not been teaching the topic as required (Cook n.p). Climate change is a conceptual topic and students should not be only be taught how it is purely caused by humans, but also taken through opposing arguments so that they decide for themselves. By wrongly teaching the subject, educators have provided unsubstantial facts about the topic raising more questions on the topic. Hopefully, hat discussion next year will take into account best teaching methods so that students are not fed a lot of information on how they are responsible for the predicament, but give them opportunities to think about the causes. The discussions should encompass scientific facts about climate change crucial for their future.
Climate is a global problem that has brought different countries together in international climate change conventions. These conventions encompass discussions on the impacts and finding lasting solutions to the problem that has threatened other sectors of the economy. Fundamentally, climate change affects almost all sectors of the economy in addition to social life through loss of biodiversity. Further, melting of ice has greatly increased sea levels leading to flooding at the beaches and the shores. Flooding leads to destruction of property, infrastructural networks and loss of life. Therefore, destruction of infrastructure disrupts the flow of goods and services stifling the growth of sectors such as business, health and education. In return, industrial, agriculture, transport among other sectors directly contributes to climate change and global warming through emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere as depicted below. The chart shows the emissions as percentages. The existing relationship between climate change and other sectors of the economic makes the topic important to students and scholars who must dissect the issue in detail.
Fig. 1: Global Warming Emissions by Economic Sector.
Source: IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007, Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change, Chapter 1. This is a snapshot of emissions in 2004.
Further reason why climate change should be given priority next year is to correct the misconceptions that surround the topic. According to environmentalists, tutors also need adequate training and support to effectively handle this hot topic (Cheskis et al. n.p). Besides, recent research studies published in Science reveal that tutors themselves were not certain about causes and impacts of climate change to the environment (Cheskis et al. n.p). Further, the survey discovered that only 30 percent of middle school and 45 percent of high school science tutors fully understood the extent of scientific explanations of climate change (Cheskis et al. n.p). Consequently, it was revealed that 30 percent erroneously taught that global warming was naturally caused (Cheskis et al. n.p). For that matter, discussions of the topic next year will be critical in correcting the misconceptions that has surrounded climate change and global warming. With such knowledge, students will go ahead and educate those who have believed the conspiracies and misconceptions. Notably, the effects of climate change cannot be underestimated both to humans, plants and animals. Climate change learning programs next year will greatly empower students and give them tools to aid in finding solutions to the problems occasioned by the issue. The learning concepts should be based on empirical data that would encourage problems solving and promote pragmatic methods within which students can find best ways to combat the problem.
Failure to teach students aspects of climate change demonstrates the denial surrounding the issue in educational institutions and societies. Many students complain that this topic has been given priority like other subjects they are taught. In most cases, there are claims that lessons on climate change do not measure up to the expectations of science education (Harmon Amy n.p). Surveys conducted in United States revealed that 38 percent of students were simply taught that climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels (Goldenberg n.p). Further, in colleges, students have often been taken through old and outdated literature materials while this is a current environmental issue. These findings show that the younger generations are denied knowledge that can best serve their current and future needs. These issues leave students with confusing messages and are more vulnerable to misinformation about climate change.
Conclusion
Climate change is a current global issue that directly affects humans, animals and plants. International climatic conventions have called on all countries to take part in mitigating its impacts. Burning fossil fuels and emission of greenhouse gases has partly contributed to this global problem. However, the first step in tackling the problem is imparting the necessary knowledge to students and communities. This will elevate their ability to grasp the causes and potential effects. Therefore, the topic should be discussed next year to increase climate literacy levels and speed up public support required to mitigate the impacts of this global problem. This is aimed at promoting and ensuring environmental sustainability of current and future generations.
Works Cited
Cheskis Abigail, Marlon Jennifer, Wang Xinran and Leiserowitz Anthony. Americans support
teaching children about global warming. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, 2018. Available at: http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/americans-support-teaching-children-global-warming/. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
Cook John. How should we teach students about climate change? The Bulletin Of the Atomic
Scientist, 2016. Available at: https://thebulletin.org/how-should-we-teach-students-about-climate-change9202. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
Goldenberg Suzanne. Two-thirds of US students are taught climate change badly, study finds.
The Guardian. The Guardian, 2016. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/feb/11/two-thirds-of-us-students-are-taught-climate-change-badly-study-finds. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
Harmon Amy. A sense of duty to teach climate change. The New York Times. The New York
Times, 2017. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/28/us/teaching-students-about-climate-change.html. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
Orca Scuba. Climate change: Why is it not a top priority? Orca Scuba. Orca Scuba, 2017.
Available at: http://www.orcascuba.com/2017/10/05/climate-change-why-not-top-priority/. Retrieved May 22, 2018.