The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators

• About this resource

  As feelings of eco-grief and climate anxiety grow, educators are grappling with how to help students learn about the violent systems causing climate change while simultaneously navigating the emotions this knowledge elicits. This book provides resources for developing emotional and existential tenacity in college classrooms so that students can stay engaged.

  Featuring insights from scholars, educators, activists, artists, game designers, and others who are integrating emotional wisdom into climate justice education, this user-friendly guide offers a robust menu of interdisciplinary, plug-and-play teaching strategies, lesson plans, and activities to support student transformation and build resilience. The book also includes reflections from students who have taken classes that incorporate their emotions in the curricula. Galvanizing and practical, The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators will equip both educators and their students with tools for advancing climate justice.

• Testimonies from educators

  This resource was sourced by the research team, rather than being recommended by an educator taking part in the research. However, the action and justice-oriented stance of this book aligns with how many educators described their own stance on supporting students to speak out and take action on climate change (as seen, for example, in the testimony below).

  
  “I think we need to keep pushing and keep pushing as much as we can as educators. I suppose that's the only way we can do things, too, is by actually, physically, you know, educating the students. “This is what's going to happen if we don't do X, Y and Z, you know?” But again, like, you know, I can't stand in my classroom and say the governments are doing all they can for climate change when they're not, you know. That's just my perspective.” Dublin-based secondary educator

  This book may provide a vocabulary and a framework for encouraging conversations about climate justice in the classroom.

  It is widely endorsed by educators and others with experience of working with young people, for its practical activities, commitment and attention to justice, and capacity to engage with learner and educators’ emotions. For example, the following testimony is included on the book's website: 

  "This wide-ranging volume provides topics, perspectives, and tools to help educators in the vital project of teaching climate justice. It highlights the need to attend to social inequities and emphasizes the important role of emotions in enabling resilience and resistance in the face of climate change."—Susan Clayton, developer of the Climate Change Anxiety Scale.