Pupil strike on Friday over climate change.

[justasking111]

DS said on Friday the pupils at his school might walk out on Friday over climate change. I did not realise at the time it was a national thing. Not impressed with this, what are the children going to do for three hours. We have had nothing official from the school. Has anyone?

www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/08/global-school-strikes-over-climate-change-head-to-the-uk

A difference would be made by the introduction of laws about car emissions, shopping bags, packaging, micro-beads and one-use plastic articles, for example. Laws which school children can neither vote for nor influence. You know, the laws that adults have debated, agreed and put into effect.

School children should go to school, learn and become thinking adults. They should not be woke parents’ surrogates.

I agree this is their future we are screwing up. And it does have an effect - the climate minister (or something like that) stepped down in Sweden after protests by young people. I applaud anything that isn't the epidemic of apathy our nation seems to be afflicted by.

Oh look, it's my old school.

This is depressing. I watched a few of the pupils interviewed on tv this morning and they were claiming it was democracy at work as they couldn’t vote but could raise awareness by going on strike. I can see their point as young people but I got really riled by the politicians who seized the opportunity to uphold this view. Democracy is not about allowing or encouraging children to mirror adults.

These kids are ultimately right that we should all be doing more to protect the environment but few of them have probably ever had the chance to properly interact with landscape and nature. We should be letting our children be children - give them time to enjoy nature and play rather than having to bloody worry about political issues and organised protests. Teenagers are children too. Yep the govt do need to do more to stop climate change and promote a more sustainable way of living but they also need to totally shake up our failing education system to give kids a proper childhood where they read, play, laugh, run about, dig, sing, create, imagine and care. I can’t believe that childhood is so empty now the only thing to do is be politically active. ☹️

It would be a stupid politician that ignored a mass movement of people who will become voters in a couple of years...

Laws get passed due to public pressure. Even if that pressure is coming from the under 18s.

It's entirely possible to enjoy nature and play, and go on political protests, gobbledegeek.

It would be a stupid politician that ignored a mass movement of people who will become voters in a couple of years...

Most of them won’t vote though. Whatever the skivers on the marches today (or those who never quite made it, despite their strenuous efforts) might say, they’re not interested in grown up politics.

That’s partly an effect of the gesture politics bullshit of the last twenty or so years.

Wow, Kissing , I am starting to think you are being wilfully disingenuous and purposely goady.
How can you not see that influence works like ripples on water?
Young people who have enjoyed their first taste of activism today are more likely to make positive changes in their personal lives, to challenge their families to make sacrifices and behave more responsibly, and are more likely to try to exert influence on politicians through further campaigning.
How can you not see that every small act for good counts? That it is an insult to good intention and personal sacrifice to belittle the positive choices these people make?
My city was brought to a stand still with the protest today and I am so relieved that it was a success and that it had such a huge turnout (and I am a teacher). The children who made the effort to go deserve to bask in the glow of being a part of what is a growing, global grass roots movement, and good on them.

It’s utter bollocks, I’m betting none of them would give up phones, lifts home or their nice clothes actually. It’s hard work living like a peasant hence the fact most people want cars, heating and on demand electricity.

It’s developing countries that need a word...Britain has done loads. My parents remember smog that passed out of counties down into Surrey

There has been five major world extinctions on planet Earth. If we wreck human life due to climate change that will solve it. Planet earth will carry on but without us. .

Why is it goady to disagree with this fatuous rubbish?

We all agree with the urgency for action over climate change and environmental insults like excessive use of plastics - at least I do - but this waste of childrens’ time and taxpayers’ money isn’t any sensible way of achieving this.

Huge taxes
Strict omission limits
More green energy
Less travel
More mend and make do
Eating seasonally, less imported food
Recycling
Walking
Better public transport
Less dependent on technology
Car shares

These things will help make a difference.
I think taking an afternoon off school and hanging out with their friends is a start but what are we all actually going to do about the issue?
I feel most of us are just to reliant on convenience and this is one issue where actions globally, rather than a school protest is required

OK, Kissing , perhaps I am reading you wrong; you sound so very dismissive I thought you were perhaps some sort of closet climate emergency denier.
Yes, many of us do agree on these points as you say, but just agreeing isn't getting things done. You may call it fatuous rubbish, I see the ball rolling, consciences pricked, minds changed, and hopefully policy created to reflect the urgency of the situation.
Honestly, the hundreds of pupils in my city who were still protesting at 5pm and cheerfully heckled me to 'get an electric' as I drove my car at snail's pace up a main road flooded by protesters were exhilarated and glowing with the fun and excitement of it, and I am so pleased that they were there, doing what I clearly was not.

If ds were still at school, I'd have been impressed if he wanted to do this (and would've been ok with him participating).

As it is, he turned 18 in September and is in 1st year at Uni. He is also very angry about the lack of urgency about dealing with climate change, so I know he'd have been interested with this protest. He reads a lot around the subject (even though it's not the subject that he's studying).

I was impressed with the reporting of all these engaged young people who care about the future. Must have been scary for politicians though, who rely on uninformed, unengaged voters who will vote for whichever politician is the "correct" colour for their power

'but few of them have probably ever had the chance to properly interact with landscape and nature.’
‘...I can’t believe that childhood is so empty now the only thing to do is be politically active. ☹️’

A couple of sweeping statements there @Gobbledegeek

My ds’ school actively encouraged the pupils to take part. DS is a contrary type, and attended his lessons .

My dd’s school had a training day, but a fair amount of their pupils did attend the protest - and their school was not in one of the towns where a protest was taking place.

The negatives on here are right in that one protest will not change anything and it certainly won’t change anything today, but young people getting behind a cause will create momentum. These are the people who will change the future and if just a small percentage of them take these messages into industry and make discoveries that make a difference the. It’s worth it.

I applaud the kids and it will be their generation that makes the biggest differences here so even those who went for the lols and to skive may take something from it and 10 years down the line look back on it say I was there and have it impact on their decisions.

Just an excuse to take the day off school. I felt that would have been the case for many of them.

I also agree that they need to learn to be less 'throw away' in their mindset about everything.

I applaud the kids and it will be their generation that makes the biggest differences here so even those who went for the lols and to skive may take something from it and 10 years down the line look back on it say I was there and have it impact on their decisions

I agree and good for those who protested! Kids can't win. Either they do nothing and are called apathetic or they do something and are told they should be in school like good little bricks in the wall.

Just an excuse to take the day off school. I felt that would have been the case for many of them

Really? Did you watch any of the marches/see them on TV? The kids were passionate and engaged. In fact what was noticeable was how few could be bothered to get up and join them, most of them sitting there in their classrooms in preference. Schools wouldn't let children out without explicit permission so they couldn't just 'bunk off'. You can't just 'bunk off' these days endlessly without attracting attention or getting your parents in to school/even prosecuted!

I don't see why they can't have a conversation about consumerism and constantly needing new things as well- that's what we've been doing in our house all week. Their generation didn't invent mobile phones or sell them the idea they need the newest the best, to constantly replace. Adults who wanted to make a hell of a lot of money have fucked them over, quite frankly.

I take your point RockingMyFiftiesNot but I just don’t like the way education and the environment are being so narrowly politicised at the moment. I also don’t like the way that children are being put through these type of stresses before they have chance to explore things for themselves before being caught up with a grassroots political machine (whatever political colour that might be).

In my view for what it’s worth, all kids should have half a day at school timetabled in to get out into the environment. I know it’ll never happen for £ and targets but we would be a happier and healthier nation if we could get things like that going.

I agree with democracy. I agree with change. I agree with equality. Perhaps my idealism doesn’t quite fit with what’s happened here but there have been some pretty sweeping statements from everyone on this.

I am very proud of all the children involved in this. Greta Thronberg is an absolute inspiration.
It is depressing to see some people on this thread have such a low opinion of young people in general and are totally missing the point.
Sure some kids like anyone else can be lazy at times, but this is clearly not the case here.
No-one in power is doing anything to combat climate change, we are destroying our own children's futures through our inaction.

KissingInTheRain your statement that there should be more environmental laws completely misses the point of the protests.

The government isn't making the right laws; as our children don't have a vote the only way they can express their political will is by marching on the streets. Which is why there was a big rally at parliament yesterday.

I found the images of the protest and it's nationwide stretch quite moving

DS and I went to the demo in Glasgow, I ended up with a huge lump in my throat and watery eyes. Technically DS was on half term so he wasn't skiving but he says he'll come to the next one.
It reminded me of the CND marches I went on as a teen in the eighties, no they did not change things directly but they kept the issues in the news and made me feel a little less helpless.