Reflections on my visit to the New York Times Climate Hub on Friday the 5th November 2021

5th November COP 26 @ NYT Climate Hub Reflections

Climate Technology - Aaron Cohen who led this talk was very engaging. Spoke about the important role educators have. We are CEOs - Chief Education Officers &amp; CIOs - Chief Inspiration Officers. History of Digital technologies from 1990's to present date. We have had 31 years of the World Wide Web. Tim Berners Lee invented the internet &amp; his brother Mike Berners Lee wrote the book No Planet B. Brothers who have had a massive impact on society in different ways. The largest tech companies at the moment FAANG - Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix &amp; Google will be dwarfed by the Climate Tech that is up &amp; coming. Big companies are ready &amp; have to make moves towards these new Climate Tech products for example electric vehicles, renewable energies etc. Education needs to work with other people including industry &amp; where there has been a focus on digital literacy we now need to focus on climate literacy.

Critical Thinking - Important for young people to be aware of bias. Can we enter into rational debates or are we too emotional? What are the power parameters in a classroom &amp; what impact does this have? The idea of not getting pupils opinions straight away, wait a few weeks until some research has been done &amp; then give opinions. When researching an idea think of falsification - who thinks or says different things to what you think or say. Researching this can help build rigour in your ideas. Social media is a major influence in today's society so it is important to teach &amp; learn about how social media works. When planning activities can teachers model/disclose how they choose a source? A good way of implementing this is by putting LFS &amp; Skills at the heart of the curriculum. Do pupils have positive passionate role models? When asking questions who is the best placed to answer them? It's not always teachers so try to involve partners whenever possible.

Circular Economy - I enjoyed the introduction video to this talk &amp; thought it could be used as an activity to use with pupils. You can view this at the start of most of the Think Tank sessions. Dame Ellen MacArthur spoke about life on a sail boat &amp; having to think carefully about what you pack &amp; how it will be used. This made me think about ways we can introduce the idea of reusing materials to pupils &amp; thinking carefully about how we can use items in different ways. Almost that idea of you are stuck on an island &amp; have 5 objects why have you chosen them &amp; what different ways can you use them? Representatives from Pepsi &amp; Nike spoke about how they are trying to make a move away from a linear economy model. Designing with the end in mind. Good to hear how big companies are trying to make these more sustainable changes. A take away idea I am planning on trying is the idea of circular materials boxes. Here a selection of materials is used for making a prototype but the same materials are used in the following session to create a prototype for a different theme.

I'm planning to watch more of the talks from the Think Tank &amp; Forum online as they are really informative. If I get the opportunity to attend guest speaker events like this again I will definitely go as I came away buzzing.

I am excited by what I heard today. I feel confident that within my LA &amp; school - shout out to Southdale PS we are making moves in the right direction. Ideas &amp; thoughts I have had for years were validated an this has given me an extra confidence boost to really try &amp; push joined up thinking with LFS forward.

Though the topics were different some of the key messages were the same. * LFS as an interdisciplinary driver provides real &amp; meaningful learning. *Old systems need to be re thought. How can we as teachers day to day create these changes now &amp; not wait to be told when to do it? * Work across sectors &amp; industries will help provide better experiences for learners &amp; businesses &amp; partners seem keen to do this so how can we facilitate it? *We are part of the planet so what happens to it happens to us. Through awareness of this connectedness we may be able to make changes for the better quicker &amp; easier. *Be brave &amp; make changes now

On Friday the 5th of November 2021 I was fortunate enough to attend the New York Times Climate Hub at SWG3. With my passport, COVID status, facemask, notebook, camera &amp; water bottle at the ready I headed to the train station.

I was lucky as the program for the 5th included talks at the Forum but also a special event for Education.  So whilst enjoying the Bathgate to Glasgow scenery I planned my agenda for the day ahead. 

The Think Tank was by far my favourite venue.  This was where the Educate on Climate sessions were being held. The room was designed to reflect the outdoors and hosted over 100 trees that after the event will be replanted across Scotland.

The sessions were amazing. With my trusty notebook at hand I scribbled some notes about each session.  My take aways are noted across the next few pages.

The New York Times Climate Hub | Program

Decade of the SDGs - Teaching subjects through a sustainability lens. Some issues prohibiting this can be linked to CLPL &amp; SMT training. It is very important to immerse pupils in nature to help develop the understanding of our interconnectedness. We are part of nature &amp; the more awareness we have of this the better our attitudes toward the earth may be.

Future Proofing Pupils - Or as one panellist suggested Now Proofing What we educate &amp; how we educate will drive the future. The pace of change is only going to get faster. Attributes such as confidence, vision, substance, resilience, adaptability &amp; humanity were seen as important. Instead of asking young people what do you want to be ask why do you want to be. The education system we have at the moment of working towards a written exam is not fit for purpose. Need to move away from subjects as silos to more of an ecosystem (IDL) approach so that subject areas are connected &amp; contextualised. There are political issues surrounding this so changes would need to be made here. Traditional timetabling has to be re thought. An idea I am taking away from this is instead of having phonics or maths could it be discovery &amp; learning but with a focus in an area so that the interconnectedness really comes through.

Educate on Climate at The New York Times Climate Hub

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New York Times Climate Hub Friday 5th November 2021

Arriving at SWG3 I went through security. I was delighted that the COVID check band was seeded paper that could be planted after the event. After being given my pass for the day I went for a look around.

I knew Glasgow would be busy but I wasn't prepared for just how busy it was going to be.  The subway was packed with lots of young climate activists making their way up to Glasgow university area for a march.  There was a real buzz in the air &amp; lots of placards &amp; banners. 

Thousands of young activist take part in climate march through Glasgow

Tartan breeks will get you a top seat at anyone's table

A talk with John Kerry US Climate Envoy - Well I somehow managed to get a second row prime position seat. I think it may have been to do with the fact that I am Scottish, have red hair &amp; was sporting some rather smashing tartan dungarees. I can't lie, it was exciting having so many members of the press &amp; media sitting behind you &amp; isn't something I imagine I will experience too often. Mr Kerry has been a busy man over the last few days &amp; has been at attendance to many previous COP summits. He spoke about big businesses and companies looking to move forward with climate technologies &amp; the need for it to be happening now. You can watch the video on the link given on page . I was impressed with how well Mr Kerry spoke especially after a long day over at the SECC.

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