Republished with permission from CERBC
August, 2, 2021
Following the successful launch of our Reform to Transform (R2T) campaign, Climate Education Reform BC has been continuing to further develop and promote our campaign, with several key milestones!
Table of Contents
- Meeting with the BC Ministry of Education
- Our Response to the Ministry Response
- Calling All Students: We’re Intaking!
- “Hear Our Stories” – A New Section of the Website
- New Endorsements!
- Our Toolkits
- New Email Address
- Show Your Support
Meeting with the BC Ministry of Education
Our team at CERBC is excited to announce that we will be meeting with the BC Ministry of Education and Minister Jennifer Whiteside near the end of August! At this meeting, we will be presenting our Needs, as well as discussing our campaign and how we can move forward for intersectional climate change education. This is a major step in furthering our campaign and the future of our student-led initiative! We want your voice heard in our meeting if you have any feedback send it using this link
Our Response to the Ministry Response
In June, you may have received a response email from the BC Ministry of Education and Climate Action Secretariat. Among other things, it cited existing “required learning standards” in the K-10 curriculum and grade 11-12 elective courses related to climate change and environment, as well as a Social Awareness and Responsibility core competency.
We would like to emphasize that as students growing up in this curriculum, none of these current measures have been sufficient in furthering a proper understanding of the crisis, as they enforce no concrete requirements to highlight climate change beyond a passing, often superficial reference.
The current BC curriculum fails to explicitly mention climate change as a core concept or “Big Idea” for any mandatory course, and where climate change is taught, it is largely restricted to science courses and focuses on teaching the science behind climate change in isolation of its relationship to society, politics, and social justice.
Climate solutions are also rarely discussed beyond individual habit change Additionally, elective courses are only offered under adequate teacher expertise and student interest, and are therefore inaccessible to many if not most students across the province. We are glad that the Ministry recognizes that further work must be done, and welcome any community input on what to bring to our meeting in August.
Calling All Students: We’re Intaking!
If you are passionate about climate education activism and are ages 12 and up, or know anyone of age, use this form to join our core organizing team! Gain new skills, meet lasting friends and advocate for a positive change alongside CERBC. Join now for an exclusively memorable experience to help prepare for the meeting with Jennifer Whiteside, the Minister of Education, and ensure that it is a success. Welcoming youth from all backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets!
“Hear Our Stories” – A New Section of the CERBC Website
CERBC Homepage > About > Hear Our Stories
Located under the “About” portion of our website, there is a new section where you will be able to read real stories from our team members regarding why they think climate change education is essential to our schooling system.
New Endorsements!
As an organization advocating for climate justice, our team has enjoyed partnering and collaborating with other groups with similar climate-related goals and interests. CERBC is thankful to be supported and endorsed by the following organizations:
BC Teacher’s Federation, Sustainabiliteens, Be The Change Earth Alliance, New Westminster and District Labour Council, Student Energy, BCCIC Climate Change, Youth Climate Lab, SFU 350, and South Island Climate Action Network.
Our Toolkits
In addition to the launch of the campaign, we have released our official resource toolkits. There are three toolkits targeted towards a variety of different age groups and community members. They provide great resources for taking action, supporting the campaign, and educating ourselves and others about climate justice.
Please direct all new inquiries to info@cerbc.ca
Show Your Support
Support the Reform to Transform campaign by following us on social media:
Instagram: @climateedureform
Facebook: @climateedureformbc
Twitter: @climateedreform
Sign our “Open Letter”.
Donate to our “Go Fund Me”.
Visit our website.
Read articles on climate change, sustainability, education, and more from GTEC’s Communication & Media (formally GTEC Blog)!
GTEC is at the forefront of solutions to the social and environmental challenges of our time. Our Climate Response Centre will be Canada’s first centre that combines a source of relevant and accessible educational and community development programming, and a centre of evolving community-based expertise about responding to climate change.