Person in Profile

Person in Profile: CLIMATE ACTIVISM

A cornerstone of progressive education is having students serve as leaders of their own learning across extended learning formats. At Presidio Hill School, all grades culminate their successful school year with Celebrations of Learning. These important community events shine a spotlight on the learning happening in the classroom and are characterized by public and visible learning, high-quality work embedded in real-life contexts, engaging an authentic audience, active self-refl ection throughout the process, and encouraging intrinsic motivation and engagement.

One example of Celebrations of Learning is the “Person in Profi le” project for 3rd and 4th grade students–many of our alumni likely remember this engaging research project and presentation. This year, the 4th grade students chose a person to profi le who had used their voice to make a positive person to profi le who had used their voice to make a positive change in the world through climate activism. 4th grade students considered the following essential questions: Then, the 4th grade researchers participated in an extended inquiry process wherein they “met” and profi led key climate

What is the climate crisis and how is it impacting me and others?

Who are the climate activists organizing toward climate justice?

How can I support, join, and lead the movement to help heal our environment?

Then, the 4th grade researchers participated in an extended inquiry process wherein they “met” and profi led key climate justice activists. Activists they selected highlight a broad coalition of groups who actively and passionately mobilize climate action. Throughout their process, 4th graders were inspired by these models of environmental stewardship and were moved to join collective eff orts for climate justice. As young activists, students now see how they can support, join, and even lead eff orts to heal our environment and keep it clean for future generations. Students created visual biographies and timelines of climate justice activists, as well as defi ned their own environmental pledge and service. Finally, students wrote letters to climate activists and important political fi gures to encourage policy change. Many recipients wrote back! See below for some examples of student letters and activists’ replies.

Dear Claire Nouvian, My name is Noah, I live in San Francisco, CA. I am a 4th grade student at Presidio Hill School. I’m inspired by your work to pledge to help put out deep sea bottom trawling and other types of off ensive fi shing, as I have learned from your motto “clear cutting a forest for a few fi sh.” I also pledge to get my friends and family to do the same, as you have taught me and a whole handful of other people. I have been inspired by your work for at least a month now and I pledge to help you and be loyal to you forever more. As I said earlier, I will try my best to help put a stop to off ensive fi shing types such as deep sea bottom trawling, which take in so much fi sh, and most of them are then thrown off the boat because most people don’t want to eat them. Thank you for making time to read my letter. (As you probably have a lot more to read). I appreciate how you inspired people to act up and do the right thing. Sincerely, Noah.

And Claire Nouvian’s response: Thank you for the work you are doing with your student activists! Claire greatly appreciated reading the touching letter Noah wrote, full of humour and conviction. It is wonderful to see students being inspired by teachers such as yourselves to act on social and environmental issues, we need them more than ever!