As the climate crisis threatens
our very existence, youth across the globe are standing together today to demand immediate
action from the world’s leaders as part of the Global Climate Strike.

This youth-led movement started with the actions of one
Swedish teen, Greta
Thunberg, who began striking from school last year every Friday in front of
Swedish Parliament to focus attention on the growing crisis. What began
with Thunberg quickly grew, with Fridays for Future youth groups popping up in
communities all around the world and now a global day of action to kick off a
week of events at the United Nations
Climate Action Summit, including tomorrow’s Youth Climate Summit.

While schools
in New York City are allowing students to attend the Climate Strike march
(with their parents’ permission), many
school districts in California have been less supportive, issuing
statements about student safety and school funding impacts of a walk-out. Some
educators have found ways to allow their students to participate in local Climate
Strike events, like in Oakland where several classes are taking organized field
trips to a massive march in San Francisco.

While today’s Climate Strike is completely youth-led, there are many ways to support the movement for climate justice in classrooms, including tips on how to be an adult ally for this and other youth activism. The NEA has also compiled a variety of useful resources to help educators teach about climate change.

Click here for more
information on the Global Climate Strike.