Teaching hope during the climate crisis
Headlines about severe climate events can make the future seem bleak. A聽聽at 91社区 is helping students find enough hope to be inspired to act. As a final assignment, students were asked to draw on what they learned in the course, as well as their own personal experiences and interests, to create a climate action plan. 鈥淲e want students to see that there鈥檚 a place for them to take on climate action, so that they can have hope and agency, even if they don鈥檛 come into the course with that idea,鈥� said Marcy Slapcoff, Director of the Office of Science Education (OSE) and co-lead of the course, which featured a panel of five instructors of diverse backgrounds each week. The cross-disciplinary format modeled a space for respectful listening and dialogue, allowing students to observe their instructors discussing and debating the material. 鈥淚t鈥檚 empowering for students to see an instructional team work together and listen to each other,鈥� said co-lead instructor and Faculty Lecturer at the OSE Diane Dechief. 鈥淚t makes them feel that they can engage in a similar, respectful way with their peers.鈥� In October of last year, former MP and NHL goaltender Ken Dryden 鈥� who helped develop the course 鈥撀犅爓ith a lecture on how solving big, hard problems requires excitement and outrage. 鈥淚 hope deep, deep down you understand, you聽appreciate, just what an amazing, incredible聽something聽we are all a part of,鈥� said Dryden.
