Michael Gove is facing a backlash from schools over the move to scale back climate change in the new national curriculum. Teachers tell us what impact they think the changes will have
With scientists blaming the dramatic melting of Arctic sea ice for the snowstorms and freezing weather conditions that have put the British spring on hold, the ommission of climate change from the geography curriculum for under 14s has drawn angry criticism from schools and educationalists.
The new draft guidelines for children in key stages 1 to 3 make no mention of climate change in the syllabus, with only a single reference to how carbon dioxide produced by humans affects the climate in the chemistry section. All references to sustainable development have also been dropped.
But how important are lessons on climate change for younger children? And what impact will these changes to the curriculum have on students' green education? We asked teachers and environmental education experts what they thought children should be taught about environmental issues.
David Rogers, curriculum leader for geography at Priory School in Portsmouth
On first reading the draft national curriculum, my initial reaction was relief and excitement. My advice to those complaining that climate change has been dropped from the syllabus is to look a little more closely, because it is still there. Teachers need to wrestle back control of the curriculum from government and Ofsted, subverting and twisting it to fit their own context. No curriculum will ever be fully comprehensive, creative or innovative. Teachers are the curriculum makers. Teachers are the professionals that decide what is being taught.
Why do we have to wait for permission to do anything? The national curriculum has always allowed wriggle room, so why wouldn't well trained, professional teachers take advantage of that?
Pupils should understand how geographical processes interact to create distinctive human and physical landscapes that change over time. For secondary teachers, this would include climate change and my department will continue to teach the topic as an issue that is relevant to our young people. An understanding of environmental issues is vital for young people. However, this shouldn't be greenwashing, but making young people aware of the issues, including any scientific uncertainty.
Miles Goland, head of geography at Godolphin and Latymer School, Hammersmith
As an independent school we are not required to teach the national curriculum and so opt to design our own geography key stage 3 curriculum. Nevertheless, our planning is informed by the national curriculum and so we are paying close attention to the proposals.
The new national curriculum presents a litany of topics, many of which are already present in our curriculum. The big topical issues such as climate change or sustainability are synoptic and so will inevitably crop up within several other units; meaning climate change will be studied as part of the weather and climate syllabus, as well as in topics including coasts, rivers, ecosystems, urban environments and so on.
A truly modern geography curriculum would recognise and identify climate change at every key stage and probably present it as an overarching theme. I fear that without explicit mention of climate change teachers will simply not teach it, meaning students who give up geography in year 9 could leave school without ever having studied it academically.
John Rutter, deputy headteacher, North Berwick High School
The move to drop climate change from the early years of the national curriculum is wrong on so many different levels, it's hard to know where to begin. Even if there are still some out there who do not believe we are changing the climate of the planet, despite all the scientific evidence available, removing the subject from the curriculum will not mean the debate goes away. As teachers, we have the responsibility to inform our pupils about all major current affairs and surely the inclusion of climate change in the syllabus is justified on this basis alone.
Apart from that, climate change gives us the opportunity to work with children exploring the nature of scientific inquiry, even at a very basic level, and to explain the way the planet works. It also introduces concepts of sustainability and global citizenship when looking at the effects our actions have on others. There are important lessons here that will be missed at a time when we need to look at reconnecting children with nature and the inherent mental and physical health benefits this brings.
And, finally, on an economic level, one of the biggest growth industries of the next 20 years will be in green technologies and, with the loss of this important area of study, we will simply closing off the opportunities available and we shall not be preparing our children for the world they are going to be living in.
Louise George, head of geography at St Andrews High School for Boys, Worthing
As a geography teacher involved in the eco side of the school, I'll certainly be wanting pupils to know about green issues, pollution, alternative energy, recycling, reusing and reducing landfill. Maybe the subject title of the topic could be changed to 'human interaction with Earth' or 'sustainable living' rather than climate change. This could cover the impacts of thinking about our environment and how we will cope with it.
All the topics linked with climate change should be covered but we have to look at both sides of the argument - let the young decide how they feel, get involved and take action based on a clear presentation of both sides of the debate. Pupils should also learn about development, money and power, which will always get in the way of living sustainably. I hope that at my school, whether climate change is removed from the curriculum or not, we'll still be educating the students and teachers about climate change and living sustainably. Let's hope that the consultation on the draft national curriculum will be positive for our future as leaving it out will be a crime against all of us.
Richard Baker, head of education and youth at Oxfam and former secondary head of geography
In some ways the concern over the apparent omission of climate change could be said to be misplaced. The proposed programme of study simply sticks to locational knowledge and key processes in physical and human geography, including weather and climate, without going into specific issues. It could also be reasonably argued that there are few areas of the geography curriculum that can be explored rigorously without at least some reference to climate change and its human as well as physical impacts. It's therefore important to note that the proposals do not necessarily exclude climate change.
However, the fact that climate change and the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are not explicitly included is a matter of real concern in a national curriculum for the 21st century. I accept that there is a serious discussion to be had about the importance of ensuring the relevant building blocks for understanding weather and climate are in place before pupils can truly get to grips with the science and impacts of climate change, but I think that to suggest that this means putting it off until GCSE is, in my view, too simplistic for three reasons.
Firstly, younger students are subjected to a lot of 'noise' about climate change outside of school and are assembling what is likely to be a confused and partial picture of the science and the issues - they are entitled to an education that helps them to begin to make sense of what they are hearing and experiencing. Secondly, the majority of students complete their geographical education at the end of key stage 3 and therefore risk leaving school having not had a basic grounding in the issue. Lastly, in my experience as a geography teacher, it is quite possible to introduce students at key stage 3 to the science and to where there is consensus and where there is debate and uncertainty.
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