Table 2 Sample learning reflections from both groups of students. [The texts were originally in French and have been translated. Copies in the original French available on request from authors]
From: A participatory student workshop on climate change and sustainability: a comparative case study
Reflections of the high school students | |
|---|---|
C. wrote: I think that understanding the climate is especially important because it’s a major factor of our present and our future. If we want to find lasting solutions, and we want youths to mobilize rapidly and effectively, in my opinion it’s useful to give them at least a minimum understanding of the climate. We can’t swing into action and have an effect on a problem about which we don’t really understand the causes. So, the climate is a truly necessary topic to learn in our curriculum. | |
J: We should focus on the origin and consequences of the greenhouse effect on the climate, especially effects such as loss of biodiversity. Too few people understand how one or two degrees C impacts biodiversity. | |
E: It was very interesting to investigate the solutions suggested in the COP21 agreement for slowing down climate warming, and to better understand future life-choices, like what individual daily actions would be beneficial in (partly) preserving biodiversity. | |
L: The meeting with the primary students was amazing; they had prepared a collection of materials and they already knew a lot [about CC]. They were very invested in finding solutions for global warming. | |
A: When we learn about sustainable development and climate, we aren’t only learning from books. We also work at the same time with French, math, history, geography, and the sciences applied to real life. We think about the past and the future. We meet people outside of school and discuss climate issues. They take us seriously. | |
L: We learned that we have to act fast because if we wait to take action on the problem of climate change, it will be too late. Kids should explain to their parents that we have to change our habits, use the car less, and not buy products that aren’t locally made. | |
H: Working on this project didn’t feel like work because we went outside of the school, met people, and we worked on a subject we hear talked about on television which concerns us all. | |
M: It was great going to work with the high schoolers, because we saw that we’re all interested in the issues of CC. They also had more material, and that helped us understand it better. |