4 minute read
We have a planet to save
NEU members joined the throngs of climate change protesters taking part in the Global Day of Action.
WHILE many felt disappointed with the outcome of the United Nations COP26 conference, educators have vowed to keep the climate crisis on the agenda for the generations to come.
Two primary school teachers took messages from their pupils to the day of action demonstration in Portsmouth on 6 November.
NEU joint district secretaries Helen Reeder and Charlotte Lawrence had been discussing climate change and injustice with their year 4 classes as part of Climate Learning Month in the weeks before COP26.
Wise words of an eight-year-old
Protesters on the beach at Saltburn in North Yorkshire PHOTO by Salty Lamb Photography
Charlotte told the crowd that she had 60 notes with “fantastic, insightful messages” from pupils to decision makers. Among those she read out was: If YOU help the environment it will be much better for US in this world.
Charlotte told the crowd: “This eightyear-old Portsmouth child already sees that the climate injustice is set to affect her generation. And as her teacher, and on behalf of all educators within the NEU, today I send a promise to her that we will do our very best to end this injustice.”
NEU president Daniel Kebede joined members and officers from the union’s northern region for a Global Day of Action demonstration in Newcastle. He called on the Government to act to deliver “a broad, quality climate education curriculum to enable our children to build a more sustainable future”.
Fifty miles down the north east coast, other members joined a demonstration on the beach at Saltburn-by-the-Sea, where campaigners highlighted the links between climate change and the damage caused to the oceans and the environment. Co-ordinated by local organisations Mooga and The Cut Back, the event saw people carrying their messages on surfboards as well as banners and placards.
n There’s only one world. Please look after the planet and get rid of plastic. n Stop dumping rubbish in the ocean. n Do more walking instead of using cars. Use less electricity. Stop dropping litter.
Use less plastic. n Find out where the sources of pollution are coming from and stop them.
In Wales, NEU member Maggie Morgan, who chairs the Cardiff Palestine Solidarity Campaign, took part in the city’s Global Day of Action demo where she highlighted the impact of climate change for Palestinians.
“I spoke about the importance of international solidarity work at this moment in history, and about standing firmly on the right side of history, not just on the climate emergency but also on human rights and justice for Palestinians,” she said.
The NEU balloon was a focal point for members taking part in the march through London, with branch members holding their banners high as they weaved their way to Trafalgar Square.
Paul Atkin, convener of the NEU climate change network, who was among the crowds, expressed his disappointment at the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) sustainability and climate change strategy, which was unveiled at COP26.
(Clockwise from above) Bernadette Castellano and Helen Reeder marching in Portsmouth; young demonstrators on the beach in Saltburn, photo by Salty Lamb Photography; the union’s balloon in London; Kevin Courtney with students from UKSSP and teacher Philip Leamon in Glasgow; Beth Farhat, northern regional secretary, with NEU president Daniel Kebede at the NEU northern region’s day of action
“While there were steps forward, overall this fell short of what the education unions had asked of them,” he said.
Government ‘gag’ on students?
The Government is consulting on the strategy between now and April, but NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said the union is concerned about DfE comments in the document on the teaching of “partisan” views. The draft also says: “… it would not be appropriate to encourage pupils to join specific campaigning groups or engage in specific political activity, such as protests.”
Kevin said: “One big concern will be how they try to interpret what is ‘partisan’. It is vital that students should be able to discuss this emergency in free-flowing ways. They really must not try to gag the student protest movement, or support for it among teachers.”
Unless this is significantly amended by April, he said, it will “not address the justified anxiety felt by so many young people about what the future offers for them”.
He added that the Government should advocate for free speech on this issue for students and academic freedom for staff, “because it has to be right to tell the emperor when he has no clothes”.
In a message to students he met while in Glasgow for COP26, Kevin said: “I’ve come away from COP more determined than ever to press the Government on inclusion of the climate emergency in the curriculum, and to encourage teachers to come together at grassroots to share ideas about how to do that.”
And he added: “We have a planet to save. I’m sorry that my generation has left it so late to get started.”
The students, from across the country, were part of a team from the UK Schools Sustainability Network who spent four days at the conference.
n For more information, visit transform-
our-world/ukssn
PHOTO by Beth Farhat
