Climate justice: A transformational education and engagement project

August 31, 2025 00:45:46
Climate justice: A transformational education and engagement project
Ethical Schools
Climate justice: A transformational education and engagement project

Aug 31 2025 | 00:45:46

/

Show Notes

We  speak with Tom Roderick, founding executive director of the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility; Jan Zuckerman, Co-founder of Sunnyside Environmental School in Portland, Oregon; and Graham Klag, an alumnus of Sunnyside Environmental School. We discuss Tom's book, Teach for Climate Justice: A Vision for Transforming Education. Tom explains that climate chaos and social justice are inextricably linked, and proposes a program for addressing both. He centers the concept of the beloved community.

Overview

00:00-01:07 Intros

01:07-03:57 Why “Climate Justice?’

03:57-06:00 Connection between climate change and social justice

06:00-07:34 The book’s primary audience

07:34-09:30 Teaching for climate justice and SEL

09:30-11:51 Sunnyside Environmental School

11:51-15:37 Meshing hands-on learning with Oregon’s state testing requirements

15:37-16:43 Storyline

16:43-19:24 Creating a “beloved community”

19:24-21:23 Impact on Graham Klag’s life as an alum

21:23-30:10 Wolf education project with ranchers’ families

30:10-34:37 Encouraging students to be hopeful

34:37-37:22 Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST, Brazil) and “contentious co-governance)

37:22-40:00 Teach for Climate Justice Project

40:00-41:27 Civil resistance

41:27-43:13 SEL in Phoenix Talent schools in Eastern Oregon

43:13- Outro

Transcript

Click here to see the full transcription of this episode.

References

Soundtrack by Poddington Bear

Photo teachforclimatejustice.org

Other Episodes

Episode 0

October 04, 2023 00:40:00
Episode Cover

Cultural responsiveness: is music optional? (Encore)

We speak with Dr. Anne Smith, longtime music teacher in Northern Virginia, about accommodating cultural differences. Dr. Smith created an alternate curriculum for students...

Listen

Episode 0

June 04, 2020 00:39:00
Episode Cover

Challenging hierarchies: The role of the social justice teacher educator

Dr. Sherry Deckman speaks about creating classroom environments that challenge cultural and social hierarchies. Teachers need to be aware of the lenses through which...

Listen

Episode 0

May 06, 2021 00:45:45
Episode Cover

Creative problem solving: Developing solutionary thinkers

We welcome back Zoe Weil, of the Institute for Humane Education, along with Laura Trongard, Oceanside (NY) High School teacher to discuss how teachers...

Listen