We speak with Tom Roderick, founding executive director of the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility; Jan Zuckerman, Co-founder of Sunnyside Environmental School in Portland, Oregon; and Graham Klag, an alumnus of Sunnyside Environmental School. We discuss Tom’s book, Teach for Climate Justice: A Vision for Transforming Education. Tom explains that climate chaos and social justice are inextricably linked, and proposes a program for addressing both. He centers the concept of the beloved community.
Overview
00:00-01:07 Intros
01:07-03:57 Why “Climate Justice?’
03:57-06:00 Connection between climate change and social justice
06:00-07:34 The book’s primary audience
07:34-09:30 Teaching for climate justice and SEL
09:30-11:51 Sunnyside Environmental School
11:51-15:37 Meshing hands-on learning with Oregon’s state testing requirements
15:37-16:43 Storyline
16:43-19:24 Creating a “beloved community”
19:24-21:23 Impact on Graham Klag’s life as an alum
21:23-30:10 Wolf education project with ranchers’ families
30:10-34:37 Encouraging students to be hopeful
34:37-37:22 Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST, Brazil) and “contentious co-governance)
37:22-40:00 Teach for Climate Justice Project
40:00-41:27 Civil resistance
41:27-43:13 SEL in Phoenix Talent schools in Eastern Oregon
43:13- Outro
Transcript
Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.
References
Soundtrack by Poddington Bear
Photo teachforclimatejustice.org