Climate Change

Climate change is the one subject that everyone worldwide is talking about right now, we are surrounded by stories on social media, newspapers and TV which made this input very interesting for me. The lecture allowed me to gain some insight in what climate change is, the evidence for it and how it is affecting our world. Nasa (2019) stated that the temperature of the world has increased by 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit since the 19th century which has been caused by a rise in CO2 and other emissions. We discussed this evidence for climate change in the lecture and my group went on to further discuss this change in temperature has had drastic knock on effects to the world’s agriculture, weather, plants and animals and sea level. My peers and I also discussed what we thought this meant for our future and how things will only become worse. Nasa (2019) states that in the future there will be an increase in droughts and heat waves, the sea level will rise between one to four feet in eighty years and the artic is likely to become ice free. When I was reading more into the future effects of climate change it was clear just how vital my role as a student teacher is. I must educate children about their future and the consequences that follow if we do not become more environmentally and socially aware of the detrimental actions we are having on our world. Gaining this understanding will benefit me a lot in the future when I am a teacher as I now know the incredible importance of sustainable living.
In our first seminar we discussed how as student teachers we must be educated so that we can empower the young people we work with to live a more sustainable life. Our job as future teachers is to give children all the knowledge we can and let them form their own opinion and view, in the hope that they do good with what they have learnt. The General Teaching Council (2019) highlights the importance of having a deep and critical professional knowledge and understanding, I believe I have been furthering this skill by reading more into climate change thus allowing myself to deepen my existing understanding and knowledge on the topic. By deepening my self-education, I am allowing myself to give children greater understanding of this issue.
In our second seminar we began to explore the different skills that are developed when teaching science such as problem solving, collaboration, analytical, and research. We took part in different science experiments and activities that link in with climate change. One activity that I enjoyed taking part in and would use in a classroom setting was the Blome Survival Activity. (The worksheet below)
  
This was an enjoyable activity to take part in and allowed the group to use skills listed above. This task Is a great way for children to broaden their knowledge about different parts of the world and develop their skills. This could be linked with climate change by adding questions to the worksheet like: How will climate change affect this country/rain forest/desert? What are some of the ways we can stop this from happening?
I was shocked by my carbon footprint quiz results as they were much higher than I had anticipated. My carbon footprint was around double what the average persons should be in all aspects. Regarding my food consumption I have decided to take on the recommendations and reduce my meat and dairy consumption to around half of my existing habits. This has been something I have always considered and after reading the large affect it has on the environment, I will be putting a new plan into action. It is crucial that if I am teaching my future classroom ways that they can reduce their carbon footprint that I too also make changes within my lifestyle. The documentary educated me a lot on the different ways that they test how climate change is affecting the Antarctic it was also very interesting to see the impact that it is having on the air, sea life and the glaciers.
References
General Teaching Council for Scotland. (2019) Overview of the Standards. Available: https://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-standards/engaging-with-the-standards/overview-of-the-standards.aspx [Accessed: 10 October 2019]
Nasa. (2019) Climate Change: How Do We Know? [Online] Available: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/ [Accessed: 10 October 2019].
Nasa. (2019) The Effects of Climate Change. [Online] Available: https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ [Accessed: 10 October 2019].