Connecticut joins N.J. in requiring climate-change education

A student climate change summit at Joshua Tree National Park,
Calif. (Joshua Tree National Park photo/Flickr via Stateline)

Climate-change education is emerging as a critical factor in addressing the problem, and many U.S. schools are developing or implementing curriculum. In June of 2020, "New Jersey became the first state to incorporate climate-change lessons into its education standards for kindergarten through 12th grade. Connecticut will be the second state to do so, starting next month," reports Alex Brown of Stateline. "Several other states are considering similar measures, while some have provided funding for climate learning opportunities. Most states have adopted standards that include climate change, but education experts say the subject is taught spottily and is usually limited to science classes. Some educators say there's growing recognition that climate change demands a more comprehensive approach."

In New Jersey, "The state has created lesson plans and professional development for teachers and is offering millions of dollars in grants to support hands-on learning," Brown reports. "The state established those resources in partnership with groups such as Sustainable Jersey, a nonprofit network that certifies municipalities and schools on sustainability standards. . . . Those tools, said Randall Solomon, Sustainable Jersey's executive director, were just as important as the standards themselves."

Part of climate-change education's purpose is to help students understand what climate change is and that everyone can do many things about it. Breck Foster, an Oregon teacher, told Brown, "Kids understand the gloom and doom, and there's a lot of fatalism in their comments, but they don't have a lot of the facts." Many educators note that focused curriculum can empower students with those facts and inform their role. Center for Green Schools director Anisa Heming told Brown, "Kids tend to disengage if they don't have a sense that there are solutions, that they have some power in the situation, and the adults around them are acting. We have to arm them with the solutions, and then we have to act ourselves so they can see that those solutions are serious."

Climate-change education has skeptics. "In Texas, the state Board of Education directed schools earlier this year to provide textbooks that portray 'positive' aspects of fossil fuels and suggest rising temperatures are caused by natural cycles, Scientific American reported. . . . Twenty states follow Next Generation Science Standards developed by a consortium of states and education groups, which do address climate change, most often in science classes. Another 24 states have enacted similar standards of their own. But the six outlier states include Florida and Texas, with massive amounts of students. . . Leaders in New Jersey say their first school year under the new requirements has been a success, though some teachers aren't yet totally comfortable. They hope the state's standards, along with the resources it's drafted to help schools adapt, can provide a template for others."