There have been many student climate strikes during these past few months, with many teenagers showing off their protest signs on social media while they miss school. At first glance, you would think ‘educated teenagers caring for the environment!’ but how educated are today’s teenagers on the topic of climate change?


Many assemblies are carried out in schools where teachers attempt to raise awareness on these topics of global warming and climate change, or where students try to educate other students and teachers. Many schools have encouraged recycling, walking to place and using public transport to get to school rather than being driven by their parents amongst the students in order to reduce their carbon footprint. The students nod in response but then leave the assembly hall afterwards and immediately forget everything they have just been taught and proceed to throw their plastic water bottle into a normal bin rather than a recycling bin. 


When a teacher of Gumley House School was asked if she thinks if students are educated enough on the topic she replied "No. Definitely not." Other students were asked the same thing and many agreed that, no, students don't have a wide enough knowledge on this topic area. This information then leads to the question: How many students actually go to these climate strikes for a good cause and to protest, and how many go just to skip school and show off on social media? 


Overall, the issue of students not being educated enough on the environment and word they live in can be seen as a serious problem. One possible solution to this could be to have students more engaged on these topics in school. Some schools may have an 'eco club' but how many people actually know about it? Schools should do more to promote the idea of education about the environment which could be done through extra classes such as a possible 'environmental class' or clubs, and encourage students to attend so that this knowledge grows into a deeper understanding.


By Nicola Lapinska.