Regrettably, the lives of today’s children will be significantly impacted by global warming and climate change over the course of their lives—no matter where they live.

• And climate change will have severe economic and social justice implications that our children need to understand and prepare for, including choosing professions that will lead to solutions.

• 80% of parents in the United States support teaching climate change.

• 86% of teachers agree climate change should be taught, but many do not feel confident or knowledgeable enough to teach it.

• However, only 42% of teachers currently teach climate change, primarily in science classes.

For the past 18 months, I have been working with the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco to create an online nine-week course with 45 hours of instruction for K-12 teachers throughout the United States. The course uses the 2021 edition of my book, In Our Hands: A Handbook for Intergenerational Actions to Solve the Climate Crisis, as its primary text, and I will be one of two primary educators leading the program.

The teachers who participated in our pilot program this fall reported feeling not only knowledgeable about the climate crisis but also empowered to better teach their students about climate change and its solutions.

Our first official course begins April 12th, which we’re offering to 30 teachers, with more courses to follow. Our ambitious goal is to have 100,000 teachers take the course in the first year. The course costs less than $300. Scholarships are available, and 45 professional development hours or 4.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be awarded upon completion of the course.

Please go to https://www.presidio.edu/climate-change-k12/ for information on how to sign up, and please pass this information on to every teacher you know.

Be well, be safe, and be of service.

Wilford