A Student Reflects on Her US Environmental Education

Abstract

The K–12 education system in the United States falls short on climate education. This chapter will contrast the shortcomings of my experiences learning about the climate as a student with my greater success in acquiring understanding through pursuing the topic on my own time. Students often lack a sense of personalized learning regarding climate change, which makes it hard for them to find a change within themselves. The underlying problem is that the education system shouldn’t be leaving it to the initiative of some students for other students to learn about climate change. I discuss measures that I have taken with younger students and lay out proposals for effective changes, including a national curriculum and attention to the effectiveness of voting for climate-aware candidates at all levels of government.