New Zealand will introduce a new school curriculum teaching children about climate change and how to plan activist activities, as well as on how to process feelings of eco-anxiety. Leading science agencies in New Zealand will be curating the content.
According to The Guardian, New Zealand’s government has stated that the curriculum will not be compulsory but will be available at all schools that teach students aged 11-15.
Speaking to The Guardian, New Zealand’s climate change minister James Shaw said: ‘One of the pieces of feedback we’ve got from teachers around the country is that they’re really crying out for something like this, because kids are already in the conversation about climate change.
‘They’re seeing stuff on social media on a daily basis and none of it’s good news, and the sense of powerlessness that comes from that is extremely distressing.’
New Zealand will be among the forerunners of climate change education worldwide when it introduces the curriculum. Italy became the first country to make it mandatory for school children to study climate change and sustainable development from 2020.
Last year the world saw hundreds of thousands of school and university-going students from around the world missing class to protest in a series of climate strikes. The globe’s younger generations are fed up with the lack of action being taken by the older generation to address climate change.
This is why the introduction of paramount curriculums such as these are becoming prevalent across the world.
Image: Unsplash
Also read: Italy’s schools first to make climate change studies compulsory
