Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca was buzzing with activity at the start of a recent class. The students got off the bus, locked their bikes, and walked around, greeting their teachers.
This is a unique school for public middle and high school students. There are graffiti rooms and plant hallways, and a downstairs science lab hosts classes focused on his one theme: climate change.
Tre Hoyt, an 11th grader, was planning an experiment for his class.
“Basically, we're going to look at how effective sea plants are at reducing water acidity,” Hoyt said as he set up six beakers filled with water under the classroom windows. explained. Next, they planned to add plants to several beakers and measure how the acidity changed.
LACS is a year-long class that is open to all high school students and involves students learning how climate change is affecting the natural world and considering possible solutions.
But access to such climate change education remains unequal across the state, advocates and some lawmakers say. They say students' opportunities to learn about a topic are largely determined by whether teachers and schools prioritize the topic.
Rebecca Redelmeier / WSKG News
Now, a group of lawmakers is aiming to end this contradiction through legislation that would create climate change education expectations in all public schools, along with resources and training for teachers.
“New York schools lack a comprehensive, holistic view of climate education,” said state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, who represents parts of Brooklyn. He has introduced legislation aimed at creating age-appropriate climate change education in all public schools in New York State.
The bill would require commissioners of education to develop expectations for climate change learning across multiple subjects and include resources to train schools and teachers on the subject. It would also create an Office of Climate Education and Workforce Development within the state Department of Education.
“All we're doing is saying to the Department of Education, create this curriculum and make sure it's followed,” said the bill's sponsor, a Brooklyn borough president. said Councilwoman Jo Ann Simon, who also represents the department. “This is literally going to keep our heads above water.”
Similar bills have already been passed in New Jersey and California. Advocates say it's time New York City does too, especially since children and young people are already worried about climate change.
“Imagine a 9-year-old sitting in a classroom somewhere in upstate New York last June when the sky turned orange,” said Don Haas, Director of Teacher Programming at the Ithaca Paleontology Institute. he said. “Are they more anxious if they don’t know what’s going on versus if they actually know what’s going on?”
Students in the climate change class at LACS face similar questions.
Year 11 Sky Ink is working on an experiment about the greenhouse effect. She is concerned about the reality of climate change, she said. But attending classes like this helped her understand the impact and face her future head-on.
“The more you learn about it, the more you realize that things are really getting worse,” Ink said. “But the more you know about it, the more you know, and it's not the unknown, because the unknown is scarier.”
