15 year old Greta Thunberg helped launch an initiative by school-aged children to boycott school in response to the climate crisis. She made headlines last month through her uncompromising - and uncomfortable! - presentation to the United Nations' COP24 Climate Change conference in Poland. For Greta, it's as simple as this: climate change is a threat to our survival, and the world is not doing enough about it. Each Friday since August 2018, Greta has missed school to go on strike outside of the Swedish Parliament Building. She is demanding change, and has encouraged kids around the world to do the same until world leaders take serious action to reduce emissions and fulfill the mandates of the Paris Agreement.
Below is Greta's 3.5 minute address to world leaders at COP24 in Poland from December 2018. A longer 11 minute TED Talk is available here. Show these to your students, and ask them:
Do you agree with Greta's point of view?
Do you think her admission to being on the autism spectrum was an effective strategy?
What are the pros and cons of boycotting school?
What should students - and adults - be doing about the changing climate?
Do you think her presentation to the UN was effective?