Testimonials, resources for teaching about climate justice, events, and more
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Coordinated by Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change
Stories of Climate Justice
Climate emergencies surround us today. Students of the 2020s know: Climate change is real, here, and intensifying.
They deserve opportunities to study its history, examine its root causes, and shape pathways to a more sustainable world.
Educators are creating these opportunities for students. Below are just a few of the stories we have received in the past weeks.
We worked collaboratively across subjects to turn The Climate Crisis Trial: A Role Play on the Roots of Global Warming into a larger group learning project where our teachers expanded the lesson to include learning goals in science, social studies, and ELA classes. Parents came to watch the trial, and it was absolutely a highlight of our school year!
—Jaime Peterson, middle school social studies administrator, Chattanooga, Tennessee
I found A People’s Curriculum for the Earth: Teaching Climate Change and the Environmental Crisis incredibly helpful in framing climate justice and exploring climate solutions. When the students learned about climate issues from a first-hand perspective, the impact of their learning was much more profound and inspiring than simply reading about climate change.
— Jonas Denney, high school social studies teacher, Los Angeles, California
—Kari Matthies, high school special education teacher, Red Wing, Minnesota
I love The Thingamabob Game: A Simulation on Capitalism vs. the Climate because it opens the door to conversations about capitalism, mass production, environmental responsibility, and what exactly drives this type of decision making in the real world. This is a lesson that I have and will continue to use every school year!
— Taylor Newport, high school social studies teacher, South Bend, Indiana
Plus, check out recommended books on the environment for pre-K–12 at Teaching for Change’s Social Justice Books.
Teach Truth Resources and Events
Defy censorship by teaching “banned history” in a public space. We offer downloadable resources and procedures to host a mixer or gallery walk with our “Water and Environmental Racism” lesson.
Participants learn about residents’ struggle to access safe water for drinking, cooking, and bathing in the majority-Black cities of Flint, Michigan; Jackson, Mississippi; and Newark, New Jersey.
Youth leaders from Teach Truth partner Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) traveled to DC for an advoacy trip. They visited 300+ Congressional offices. While in D.C., they hosted a Teach Truth SEAT on the Hill reception on June 3. Speakers Mary Beth Tinker and Rep. Christian Menefee commended executive director Cameron Samuels and the young people of SEAT for speaking at hundreds of hearings to defend the freedom to learn.
Prentiss Charney Fellowship
Spotlight on Hope Koumentakos
The Zinn Education Project hosts the Prentiss Charney Fellowship to support a cohort of people’s history educator leaders to study, learn, and organize. Today we celebrate fellow Hope Koumentakos.
As a Prentiss Charney Fellow, Hope created teaching activities to help students explore declassified CIA documents about U.S. interventions in Latin America and the Middle East during the Cold War.
Hope says that participating in the fellowship “connected me to a broader community of educators who pursue justice in their own contexts and inspire me to do the same. I’ve been empowered to engage with peers to push for restorative justice initiatives and collaborate on people’s history lesson plans.”
We are lucky to teach, learn, and organize alongside Hope and all the Prentiss Charney Fellows. Consider a donation to continue and expand the fellowship in memory of education activist and union leader Michael Charney and leading Ohio education lawmaker C. J. Prentiss.
Events
Check out these events hosted by the Zinn Education Project, our coordinating organizations (Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change), and colleagues.
On Juneteenth, America 433+ will gather at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park for a teach-in from 1–3:30 pm with speakers and activities for all ages.
America 433+ brings together Resistance Rangers, Branch 4, Race Forward Action and Public School Strong, and the Zinn Education Project (Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change) — in a shared effort to defend the public’s right to learn history. Learn more and RSVP.
On Wednesday, June 24, join Science Teaching for Social Justice editors and contributors for a Rethinking Schools book launch and celebration! Science Teaching for Social Justice shares stories of educators and students who explore how social and political systems shape science.
From preschool to graduate studies and across disciplines, this new book contains lessons that empower students to use science as a tool for equity and justice.
On July 21–22, join the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian education initiative Native Knowledge 360° and featured speakers for an online look at the newest classroom-ready resource for middle school teachers and students — American Revolution: Haudenosaunee Perseverance, which explores how the Haudenosaunee Confederacy persevered during and after the American Revolution.
Photo by Alex Hamer. A march commemorating the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua in New York.
ASL interpretation and PD certificates are provided.
On Monday, October 26, join Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian in conversation with journalist Howard Bryant to discuss his book Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. ASL interpretation and PD certificates are provided.
Teachers are under attack for teaching truthfully about U.S. history. Please donate so we can continue to offer free people’s history lessons and resources, and defend teachers’ right to use them.
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