Almost 400 primary school students gathered outside the Dail on Wednesday 13th February 2019, to demand immediate action on climate change.
The protest was organised as a result of a discussion held in Sixth Class at Donabate Portrane ETNS. Last November, sixth class teacher Jenny Stanley attended Educate Together’s Ethical Education Conference – Changing our Ways, Changing Our World. Says Jenny:
“I was, to say the least, shaken by the cold harsh realities of the fate of our planet. The message that immediate action is needed was clearly received and so I left the conference with a need to share this with my students.”
This led to a debate on what students could do. Inspired by Greta Thunberg, the students decided to organise a protest and to invite other primary school students to join them. Jenny continues:
“If we want our students to become active global citizens, we need to empower them to put their knowledge of sustainability and active citizenship into practice. We need to truly listen to their voice and value their opinions, because they certainly have a lot to say and we, as teachers, have the privileged opportunity to facilitate this.”
