Since returning from Week 1 of COP, my reentry to the classroom has been simultaneously chaotic, wonderful, and anticlimactic.
Some students greeted me with shouts of “you’re back!” and questions about Dubai, while others walked into the class without acknowledging my 9 day absence.
I decided to dedicate my Thursday lessons to talking about COP. I invited my fellow Climate Generation COP28 delegate, Sabrina, to join me as I presented my experience. To my delight, she accepted. It turned out to be one of my most memorable days of the school year so far.
For each section of 9th grade English, Sabrina and I collaboratively taught a lesson on COP. I started each lesson by asking students to imagine the COP28 venue: “Picture the Minnesota State Fair, minus the livestock. Now cross it with the Mall of America but imagine each store is run by a different country or NGO.” I was met with wide eyes, nods, and a few puzzled looks. To elaborate, Sabrina and I took turns explaining COP logistics, showing photos, and talking about what we learned. Sabrina emphasized her connections with MENA youth while I highlighted my interactions with delegates from my students’ countries of origin. We then gave students time to peruse the spreadsheet of questions they had asked before I left, each question now complete with a crowd-sourced answer I compiled while at COP.
At the end of the lesson, I addressed a version of the question many students had asked: What was the ultimate outcome of COP? Sabrina and I both had deeply mixed reactions to COP’s conclusion on Wednesday, so we presented a CNN headline that seemed to encompass this mixture. It read: “World agrees to climate deal that makes unprecedented call to move away from fossil fuels, but ‘cavernous’ loopholes remain.” We then explained the context behind this headline, noting that it represents both a monumental success for international collaboration and a failure to meet the needs of the world’s most vulnerable people. As I looked out at my students, I was reminded of a lesson I had taught earlier in the semester about nuanced characterization. We had discussed the idea that characters are rarely completely “good” or “evil.” I decided to ask my students to apply this idea to a new context, one that extends beyond fictional character analysis.
“What does this COP28 outcome remind you of?” I asked. “The idea that things are rarely 100% good or bad is called…” I prompted.
In each class, a few students whispered, “nuance?”
“Exactly.”
The moment reminded me of why climate literacy education should take place not only in science classes, but also in English. What better way to learn about nuance than engage with complex global problems like climate change?
Abby is a Language and Literature and Leadership teacher at a Fridley High School, an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School located in Fridley, MN. She is passionate about teaching climate literacy through stories to empower youth with knowledge of climate change, climate justice, and creative solutions. She has participated in climate educator fellowships through the University of Minnesota Center for Climate Literacy and The Climate Initiative. In the classroom, Abby shares her love of community building, lively discussion, reading, and music with her students. Outside of the classroom, Abby enjoys baking, hiking, bicycling, and listening to audiobooks on neighborhood walks.
Abby is a Climate Generation Window Into COP delegate for COP28. To learn more, we encourage you to meet the full delegation and subscribe to the Window Into COP digest.