In
this time of social distancing and wearing masks in public, it is important for
parents to encourage their teens to push forward and become the leaders we need
to survive in this crazy world.
The
recognition of this young activist by the National Education Association is an
important symbol. As parents, we need to listen to our teens and support them as
they surge forward to make this world a better place to live in.
The
National Education Association awarded its highest honor, the Friend of
Education Award, to 17-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg during
NEA’s virtual Representative Assembly this summer. Thunberg is a Swedish
environmental activist who gained international recognition for her efforts to
alert humanity to the existential crisis caused by climate change. Known for
both her youth and straightforward speaking manner, she has criticized world
leaders for their failure to take sufficient action to address the climate
crisis.
What
began in 2018 as a singular child skipping school on Fridays to sit outside the
Swedish Parliament to protest climate change has become a global movement. In
the past 18 months, she has addressed the United Nations, met with Pope
Francis, taken on President Donald Trump and inspired 4 million people to join
a global climate strike on September 20, 2019, which became the largest known
climate demonstration.
“We deserve a safe future. And we demand a safe future,” Thunberg said at the Global Climate Strike in New York last year. “Is that really too much too ask?”
To
NEA members, that question is not too much to ask. In fact, it’s the exactly
right question to ask as the world stares down real, tangible climate change
exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. In nominating Thunberg, NEA members
cited the Swedish teen’s ability to elevate the discussion about science —
climate science, in particular — like a next-generation Bill Nye.
“Greta
is an ordinary teen who has done something truly extraordinary: she has been
able to get people — the adults in charge — to pay attention and listen to her
message about climate change. Hopefully they’ll act because future generations,
Greta’s generation and others, depend on it,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen
García. “Greta is a rabble rouser, and she’s taking on the world for a better
tomorrow.”
The
NEA Friend of Education Award is presented during NEA’s annual convention and
recognizes a person or organization whose leadership, acts or support have
significantly contributed to the improvement of American public education.
Thunberg joins Nobel-prize winner Malala Yousafzai as the second-ever student
to receive NEA’s highest honor. Other past recipients include leaders of the
Public Broadcasting Service and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; U.S.
Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and William Jefferson Clinton; U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; Senator Edward “Ted” Kennedy
(D-Mass.); and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), among others.