Teach the Future

Teach the Future (TtF) is the UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN) and Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) joint campaign to repurpose the education system around the climate emergency and ecological crisis. It is formed by a volunteer base of students studying across the UK at all levels of education - from secondary to tertiary - who believe the majority of teaching and learning throughout the entirety of the education system is misaligned from the systemic changes urgently required to make to society sustainable.[1]

Teach the Future
Teach the Future Campaign
Named afterThe 2nd UKSCN Demand
Formation12 October 2019
TypeCampaign
PurposeClimate Crisis Education and Education System Reform
Region
United Kingdom
Parent organization
UK Student Climate Network and SOS-UK
SubsidiariesTeach the Future Scotland Teach the Future England
Staff
8
Volunteers
44 (as of May 2020)
Websitehttps://www.teachthefuture.uk

History

The Teach the Future campaign began as a demand of the UK Student Climate Network[2] and has been so since its formation in December 2018. From this, as it was a specialist area, the demand evolved intro an individual campaign with the support of its parent organisation, Student Organising for Sustainability - UK in addition to UKSCNs School Group Developmental working group.[3]

The campaign was unveiled on 12th October 2019 at National Education Union's Climate Emergency Conference, in front of a room full of educational specialists and campaigners.Two days after the campaign unveiling, TtF began it's petition and gathered 7413 signatories

In the lead up to the General Election of December 2019, Teach the Future launched a campaign to improve climate crisis education policy in political party manifestos. The outcome of this was the Labour Party including a curriculum review and the Green Party of England and Wales specifically mentioning TtF's English Climate Emergency Education Act in both of their respective manifestos.

In accordance to the third demand, the student volunteers and a professional legislative draftsperson drafted the first ever student written education Private Members Bill in history[4] which has been supported by many Parliamentarians. Nadia Whittome supported the students in hosting a parliamentary reception to unveil this legislation to the Government by being their Parliamentary Sponsor[5]; this reception was held in the Houses of Parliament's Terrace Pavilion[6] on 26th February 2020 and had an attendance of over 200 politicians, educators, student campaigners, union representatives and supporters. Following the parliamentary reception, three student campaigners (Charlie Sweetman, Karis McIntyre and Joe Brindle) met with Trudy Harrison, Boris Johnson's Private Parliamentary Secretary, to discuss how asks can be incorporated into governmental policy.

Asks

Teach the Future calls for six main asks from the government[7][8]

  1. A government commissioned review into how the English formal education system is preparing students for the climate emergency and ecological crisis
  2. The inclusion of the climate emergency and ecological crisis in English teaching standards and training
  3. The enactment of an English Climate Emergency Education Act - the first student written bill in history[9]
    1. The establishment of a national climate emergency youth voice grant
    2. The establishment of a national Youth Climate Endowment Fund
    3. For all new state-funded educational buildings to be built carbon net-zero from 2020 onwards and for all existing state-funded educational buildings to be converted to a carbon net-zero grid by 2030

Structure

Teach the Future is a non-hierarchal organisation currently run by a team of 44 volunteers - spread across the country; in addition the campaign secured funding and has just finished their recruitment process, with 5 part-time student campaign coordinators, 1 campaign manager from SOS-UK and 2 other SOS-UK staff members on small contract hours beginning on Monday 4th May 2020.

These volunteers organise through an online Slack workspace and aim to onboard new influxes of volunteers regularly.

Devolution

As the campaign's capacity increases, a main priority of Teach the Future is to expand into the nations under the umbrella of the same branding.

As of April 2020, this campaign of devolvement has begun with the formation of TtF Scotland with contacts from Scottish Youth Climate Strike and Save Our Seas Saturdays; once this has become slightly more established, outreach will be made into Wales and Northern Ireland with the support of the English team to create other co-groups.

Supporting organisations

The Teach the Future campaign is supported and endorsed by multiple national organisations focussing on areas such as youth representation, conservation and education system reform. They are[10][11][12]:

Ask for Evidence Action for Conservation AndBeyond ArboriCultural Association Architects Climate Action Network Ashden Trust Association of Colleges
The Association for Science Education Bioregional Black Environment Network British Youth Council Campaign Against Climate Change Carbon Free Group Carbon Literacy Project
Chartered Institute of Building Chartered Institute of Waste Management Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management Chester Zoo Climate Outreach Climate Stewards Country Trust
Campaign to Protect Rural England Earthwatch Europe Alliance For Sustainable Leadership in Education Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland Force of Nature FutureBuild Global Action Plan
Green Building Council UK Green Christian Green Schools Project Greenpeace UK HubBub Hard Rain Project The Harmony Project
Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment We Are IVE Institution of Civil Engineers International Tree Foundation Landscape Institution Leadership in Global Change Maintenant
Marine Conservation Society UK National Association fo Environmental Education National Education Union National Union of Students Place Alliance PlanBee Primary Engineer Programmes
Project Earth Rock Quakers Reboot the Future Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Royal Institute of British Architects Royal Society of Arts Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Save our Seas Saturdays SEEd Society for the Environment Solvos Sustainable Food Trust Statwars Swop It Up
Target4Green The Edge Thoughtbox Trees and Design Action Group University and College Union Urban Design Group Values Based Education
We Have the Power The Wildlife Trusts Woodcraft Folk Word Forest Organisation World's Largest Lesson XR Educators Young Climate Warriors
Young People's Trust for the Environment Operation Noah Student Christian Movement The Institution of Engineering and Technology #IWill

Key media

References
  1. "Who we are". Teach the Future. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  2. "Our demands". UK Student Climate Network. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  3. "Schools". UK Student Climate Network. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  4. "Climate Emergency Education Act - Teach the Future @ Sustainability". sustainability.nus.org.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  5. Team, NAEE Web (24 February 2020). "February 24th 2020". UK NAEE. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  6. Abel, Daniel (26 February 2020). "Educated people harms the environment, declares a student activist". English Forward. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  7. "Asks". Teach the Future. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  8. "UK Teens Tired Of Waiting For Climate Education, So They Drafted A Law To Require It". Wonkette. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  9. Tickle, Louise (11 February 2020). "Pupils draft their own climate bill as anxiety grows over lack of guidance for schools". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  10. Skuodas (UKSCN), Mary (29 February 2020). ""Young people deserve opportunities to make a difference and have their voices heard"". Teach the Future. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  11. Sweetman (UKSCN), Charlie (21 February 2020). "Supporting the Future with BYC". Teach the Future. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  12. member, N. E. U. (25 February 2020). "Teachers for climate crisis education reform". Teach the Future. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  13. Tickle, Louise (11 February 2020). "Pupils draft their own climate bill as anxiety grows over lack of guidance for schools". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  14. "Devizes eco teen takes on Westminster". This Is Wiltshire. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  15. "Interview: Teach the Future". The Word Forest Organisation. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  16. Burns, Judith (24 February 2020). "Prepare us for climate change, say pupils". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  17. "6 ways to bring climate change to the curriculum". Tes. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  18. "Young Quakers want climate crisis education". Quakers. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  19. Power, Amanda. "To prepare climate strikers for the future, we need to rewrite the history books". The Conversation. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  20. Moore, Becca (26 February 2020). "A Curriculum for the Climate Crisis". British Youth Council. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  21. "TEACH THE FUTURE ON CLIMATE CRISIS | Caroline Lucas". www.carolinelucas.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  22. Munn, Jonah. ""Education is key to tackling climate change" says city MP as he joins students in Parliament for Teach the Future". Stephen Morgan. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  23. "Students ask parliament to teach climate change issues in schools | The Student Room". www.thestudentroom.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  24. "'Unfit for Purpose': Students Seek to Take Climate Education Into Their Own Hands". DeSmog UK. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  25. "BBC One - Points West, Evening News, 26/02/2020". BBC. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  26. Power, Amanda. "Why we need to change the way we teach climate change". Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  27. Elks, Sonia (27 February 2020). "Schools challenged to teach climate change as students join Greta Thunberg's strikes". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  28. Foundation, Thomson Reuters. "Schools challenged to teach climate change as Greta strikes grow". news.trust.org. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  29. "Teenage climate activists Scarlett Westbrook and Joe Brindle go live on BBC Breakfast to talk about the Teach the Future campain". Vimeo. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
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