In recent years, more and more schools have incorporated climate change education into their classroom curricula. For example, in 2020 it became law to teach climate change in New Jersey schools and the curriculum was introduced in 2022. This past December, Connecticut joined New Jersey, and announced that it would require its public schools to teach climate change starting in 2023.
Despite growing student interest in learning about the climate crisis and its impacts, New Jersey and Connecticut remain the only two states that require by law that climate change be taught in schools. The U.S. currently does not have mandated national science standards that dictate a climate curriculum; these decisions are made at the state level and vary widely.
In the U.S., approximately three-quarters of public-school science teachers do cover climate change in their curriculum. In Connecticut, close to 90 percent of schools already teach climate change by using the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), which is a voluntary national standard. Variations of these standards, of which there are a total of 103, are adopted by 44 states; the other six states have developed their own science standards. At the middle school level, only one out of the 60 standards explicitly mention climate change.
While there is progress in Connecticut, efforts to federally support climate change education were put to a halt when a bill (H.R. 4521), aimed to support climate change education, died in committee this past January. “The time is now to include climate education as a key climate risk mitigation strategy—along with energy transformation, land uses and water—and to make climate education a mandatory part of the national curriculum,” says Radhika Iyengar, director of the education sector at Columbia Climate School’s Center for Sustainable Development.
Teacher education is a significant barrier to teaching climate change: a survey from the North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE) revealed that 80 percent of teachers and school leaders believe teaching about climate change is important but don’t feel properly equipped to do so. One organization paving the way is the Columbia Climate School, which offers free climate and sustainability webinars and resources, such as the Climate Resiliency Literacy Handbook, which was jointly produced with the Waterfront Alliance. While these resources exist, there is still a gap in training standards and materials necessary to teach climate change.
Not only do teachers have to teach complex lessons but they must also manage students’ increasing climate anxiety. Many educators are realizing that teaching about the issues is not enough and that solutions need to be taught. “Working with these young kids, some of the things I think are most important is making sure children get not only accurate information but also hopeful information. We need to make sure that kids learn about solutions and creativity and resilience as much as they learn about causes and effects,” said Lauren Madden, a science educator and professor at the College of New Jersey.
Teachers need support from school administrators and community members to teach a climate change curriculum. Only 36 percent of teachers said they thought administrators want students to learn about the human driven nature of climate change. Half of teachers also say they worry about complaints from parents when it comes to teaching anything related to climate change.
So, what is the current landscape of climate education? According to Radhika Lyengar, “The current state of climate education in the U.S. is fast evolving, and actually it’s very promising.” While lack of resources continue to hold back many educators, there are glimmers of hope. Along with the newly passed legislation in Connecticut, teachers in Oregon have drafted a bill that would require climate education across all subjects in grades K-12. More recently, Mayor Eric Adams announced all New York City public schools will be required to participate in Climate Action Day, in the 2023-2024 academic year. The New York City Department of Education will add to these efforts by establishing a school certification program for climate education, with up to 25 schools per year. .
In the meantime, organizations like the Waterfront Alliance have stepped in to fill the gap on climate education. Waterfront Alliance’s Estuary Explorers program started six years ago to build basic climate literacy and connect students across New York City to their local waterfront. Estuary Explorers has engaged more than 6,000 students across 40+ schools and dozens of community organizations, in addition to having a widely accessible Coastal Resilience Education Toolkit. Programs like Estuary Explorers play a major role in educating the next generation to meet the climate crisis head on. To learn more about the program and how to bring climate education to your school or community group, please contact senior waterfront education coordinator Jake Madelone at [email protected]