Bill Scott
9 September 2021

Reading between the Lines

Posted in: Comment, News and Updates

The University of Reading is holding a Climate Education Summit on September 15th.  It aims to attract young people, scientists, teachers, policy wonks and activists to create "a new, nationwide action plan for better climate education in schools and colleges".

I'm attending and was invited to submit questions for the distinguished panel of experts.  My two inter-related questions were:

–1– Given [i] that the national curriculum already requires schools to help young people learn a limited range of facts and ideas about about climate, climate change and other environmental issues, and [ii] that the DfE consistently refuses to either require or encourage schools to do more than that specified by the curriculum, what is the best way to encourage and help all schools provide a more effective climate education for their students?

–2– It seems clear that some schools go beyond (and sometimes well beyond) what the national curriculum requires in terms of educating their students about climate, climate change and other environmental issues, whilst other schools struggle even to do what the curriculum requires.  How do you explain this difference, and does your explanation offer any insights into what might be done to help all schools do an effective job?
I wonder whether they will make the cut.

Posted in: Comment, News and Updates

Respond

  • (we won't publish this)

Write a response

Read next

  • Bill Scott
    24 April 2024

    Oh Dear! Only 20 Years Left

    It's a commonplace claim that the realisation of commercial nuclear fusion reactors is always around 20 years away.  It seems to be no different today despite the huge increase in private sector cash flowing into development.  What I didn't realise...

  • Bill Scott
    16 April 2024

    The End of the World

    Did you see that Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told an audience in London: “We have two years to save the world.”  I didn't and am grateful to Dominic Lawson in  The Times...

  • Bill Scott
    11 April 2024

    The Significance of another 1%

    Here's a rather impassioned article from the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit [ECIU] about the significance of the UK's ~1% on-shore [*] contribution to global emissions.  It's the Tesco argument. It essentially says that although 1% is small compared with...