Generation Carbon – It’s Time to Start

Teaching climate change actions to primary students

When it comes to the climate, kids want answers and explanations that go way beyond, “Let’s recycle plastic bottles.” Many kids and adults think they are doing all they can for the climate crisis by recycling - and the truth is, it will just not be enough.

Generation Carbon is the cohort of kids currently in primary school who are being handed the climate crisis to solve. They need facts and ideas that allow them to hit the ground running so they can grow up understanding how to recognise the systems that need changing to make a dent in the climate crisis.

In the free ebook, Generation Carbon: It’s time to Start (thecarbonalmanac.org/kids), children learn about climate change and then use their voices to teach adults what they know. They also learn to think beyond “individual actions” like recycling and to recognise systems that they might have a hand in changing things for the better.

Many adults have also told us that it’s the perfect book for getting a basic understanding of the mechanics of climate change - something they realise they should know but never learned.

Since parents and adults may know less than they should about climate change, kids can feel a real sense of confidence by teaching them. There are exercises where kids read and teach what they’ve learned to adults.

Children also learn how spreading the word about climate change and teaching others can be a more impactful climate solution than recycling, turning off the lights, or saving paper all combined. If kids don’t have their climate facts straight, they’re reluctant to jump into conversations that will affect change.

Teaching kids to think beyond their own individual actions and to start thinking about systemic measures that will help affect real change for our climate.

If your classroom uses SeeSaw as a learning platform, there are lessons that tie back to the free ebook. Search for “The Carbon Almanac” on SeeSaw to find them.

If you’re interested in paper lesson plans, check out the Educator’s Guide at https://thecarbonalmanac.org/177/. Dozens of licensed teachers collaborated and wrote comprehensive lesson plans for Generation Carbon, which is also available in Dyslexie Font, which makes it easier to read for kids with reading disabilities.

It’s the perfect starting point for kids and adults on their climate journey.

It’s time to start.

Children can start looking for systems that need changing right in their own classrooms, helping to make climatefriendly rules like:

• “Maybe the cafeteria can put the plastic straws behind the counter so people don’t automatically take them.”

• “Let’s see if we can buy our electricity for the school from a power plant generating electricity by solar and wind.”

• “Let’s see if the soccer league can ban plastic bottles.”

• “Let’s request meatless dinners and no disposable utensils for our scout camping trips.”

Changing the extensive systems that automatically make decisions for us will be vital to solving the climate problem, and it’s important to point these opportunities out to kids.

Meredith to colleagues, Paige to friends, Mom to the kids (and that’s her favorite), she is a writer and business owner who loves to bring humor and whimsy to her work.

She can be contacted at: nejamefamily@gmail.com

Navigating Ethical Citizenship

Developing an Online Moral Compass in Children

Schools and households together play a pivotal role in guiding students and their communities to help build their digital compass, so we develop children with a positive and inspiring digital footprint for life.

Navigating the online world isn’t much different than navigating our roads - such a simple comparison, easily understood by most of our parents.

What does the law say about getting a driver’s licence? In short, a person can officially begin their journey towards obtaining a New Zealand driver’s licence at the age of 16 years. The New Zealand Transport Agency states, “Getting your car driver’s licence in New Zealand involves a three-step process. As you progress through the stages, you gain a new licence with fewer requirements and more responsibilities. It’s an approach that ensures all fully licensed drivers have the skills and experience to drive safely on our roads.”

How does this connect with Internet safety, laws and ethics?

If this is the requirement by law to be able to drive on our roads, then what are the laws in place to ensure that all Internet users have the skills and experiences to view, browse and interact safely online? The online world is vast; a simple click can take you down multiple pathways across continents and around the globe to a range of destinations aimed at a range of audiences.

Digital challenges are real and a major dilemma facing schools. The overall focus for schools is to create a digital learning environment that involves the safe and responsible use of digital technology. Schools use stringent website filtering, digital user agreements and policies aimed at reducing the incidents of misconduct involving digital technology and minimising the harm to students by effectively responding to these incidents when they occur.

If we have a carefully thought out, three-step system to gain a driver’s licence on our roads, why don’t we have such a system to access the Internet? Why isn’t there a certain age in which a person becomes able to access the Internet? Safekids.com suggests that children can be online from the early age of two years old. As a teacher and parent, this suggestion is alarming. Most households don’t have the skills or expertise to run stringent web filtering for their children like their local school does - what would a twoyear-old see without one? Within any single day, children navigate between having robust web filtering at school to being thrust into unlimited, open Internet access at home. Can you imagine letting your seven-year-old hop off the safety of the school bus and climb behind the wheel of your car to drive off down the road? Seems crazy, right?

We must ask ourselves a fundamental question: How do we prepare our children for this transition - how can we help them to have ethics while they’re online?

We have to face the reality that apps, social media, gaming and digital content are constantly evolving and gaining popularity among our children. We are living in a world where the ‘viral’ nature of digital communication spreads rapidly to reach a broad audience. Once digital information or items are created, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to permanently delete all copies. Adults and young people interact in online environments in very different ways. The perception and management of online risks can differ for adults and children. Interestingly, children’s online behaviour can vary significantly from their offline, realworld behaviour.

Who’s responsible for teaching our students online safety? I believe the responsibility lies in a tripartite process between the student, the home and the school. Just like obtaining your driver’s licence, there are various stages to becoming a safe, responsible and honourable online citizen. How do we prepare our children to transition from restricted access at school to full access at home?

Schools and households must work simultaneously, and numerous opportunities must be available for open, honest and respectful conversations about challenges and changes affecting our children. Between school and home, we must share the responsibility to teach our children how to develop their moral compass in an online world. How do we do this? To have a moral compass means you should treat others the way we want to be treated.

Consider are you modelling the moral behaviours you want your child/ren to adopt? Do you share your moral beliefs directly and indirectly regularly with children. Don’t forget it is important to ask the right questions, such as:

• “Was that part of our school/family’s values?”

• “Why do you think I’m concerned?”

• “How would you feel if someone treated you that way?”

Helping our children develop their moral compass takes time, patience, commitment and love. Keep in mind that every day is a learning day when it comes to moral growth.

Whenever children are online, we must ensure there is a clear purpose. Here are some simple steps to help teachers and parents review the content their children want to or are experiencing online:

1. Ask your child/ren, “What apps or sites do you access?”

2. Take the time to view these sites and apps. Ask yourself, “Is the content age appropriate?”

3. Have discussions with children about the appropriateness of content for their age.

4. Is the content developmentally appropriate?

5. What is exciting about this app? What draws children to want to use it?

6. Does this app have functions that could leave my child open to cyber bullying?

7. Take the time to download new apps and experience them yourself. Use it for a few days and get a feel for it before deciding whether it is right for your child.

8. Did you know you can use commonsensemedia.org and their search function to search for the app or online games? Commonsense Media will outline the age and content for the app as well as give you an explanation of what the game is about. They include reviews from other parents whose children have played the game and even reviews from children themselves. I highly recommend that you read the parents reviews. This is where you discover things about the app that are not necessarily documented anywhere else.

9. For children under 13, COPPA rules are designed to protect personal information. Parents and teachers must be aware of whether an app is collecting personal information.

Unfortunately, this isn’t always obvious. Some developers offer short privacy policies written in plain language. In most instances, you’ll often feel like you need a law degree to decipher the legal language. Aggregate data collection can be good - it can help developers improve their products. It’s what happens to your information that is key. Will it be sold to marketers who then will target you? Can you have your personal information/data removed from the developer’s records?

10. When reviewing a new app, check to see if the user can interact with others. Are your location details collected and revealed? How easy is it to delete your account and remove any or all data?

11. There is the urge among parents to ‘block, ban and protect.’ These all have a role, but do they provide a complete solution? We need to understand that it’s not possible to be safe all the time. We must balance ‘protecting’ young people with ‘guiding’ them as they grow and develop, and make their own life choices.

The bottom line is that it’s up to you to do your research. If you’re not comfortable with what’s on your child’s device, you can always turn off the app or delete it. Sometimes it takes a village to figure out which apps are suitable for our children. If you’re on the fence, see what other parents and children say.

I was not given any digital citizenship training as a childthe Internet didn’t exist like it does today. I was raised by parents with strong morals and values. I use these values to guide myself whenever I am online. We have to hope our children will do the same. What I do know is that ethical dilemmas are part of everyday life and seem to increase in complexity as we continue to grow as global communities. Schools and households together play a pivotal role in guiding students and their communities to help build their digital compass, so we develop children with a positive and inspiring digital footprint for life.

Jo is a passionate, curious, innovative, future-focused, professional educator with over 24 years of experience. She has been a leader for over 20 years and is currently a Deputy Principal in a large primary school. She inspires and encourages kaiako and ākonga to explore, question, collaborate, create, innovate, think and be ethical digital leaders. Jo has taught in various settings, including working in England, China and Kura Kaupapa Māori. These broad experiences have strengthened her kete; she brings diverse lenses and perspectives to education. Jo believes great schools are hinged upon positive relationships and rich experiences that nurture the spirit, challenge the mind and touch the heart.

You can contact Jo at: johallnzed@gmail.com