This activity can last multiple days or through an entire week. Believe in your vision, believe in yourself and have faith that you will overcome all obstacles. Yet few young people are more internationally recognized for their work. In this passionate call to action, 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg explains why, in August 2018, she walked out of school and organized a strike to raise awareness of global warming, protesting outside the Swedish parliament and grabbing the world's attention.

We can be fearless future shapers when we set out our own ambitions and when we have to confront inevitable setbacks and challenges along the way. We enable strictly necessary cookies to give you the best possible experience on Education.com. If it were, everyone who ever visited a DMV would have grounds to sue. The most high profile children’s lawsuit was rejected in January by the Ninth Circuit of all Courts. That’s wildly inaccurate. In her passionate 2018 TED Talk call to action, she explained why, in August 2018, she walked out of school and organized a strike to raise awareness of global warming, protesting outside the Swedish parliament and grabbing the world's attention: "When I was about eight years old, I first heard about something called climate change or global warming. All of which prevents us from moving forward in a constructive way. Most curious is the omission of China, the world’s biggest emitter of CO2, at a whopping 9.3GT. Of course, the children are probably ignorant of the facts about China, which is understandable—they’re children.

Challenge your child by inviting them to find quotes by Greta that resonate with them. Take inspiration from Greta Thunberg as your contemporary example of a future shaper leader.

It was too unreal… “. ). She wants the world to know that Asperger’s is her superpower and that in times of crisis we need people who can think outside of the box. Greta and her litigious bunch filed suit against Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey, what they regard as “some of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters,” based on the metric gigatons (GT) they emit. Consider her zero power and zero reputation as a schoolchild and look at what she achieved within 12 months. With zero power, no corporate title, no brand and no followership (yet), Greta had a vision of a better future for everybody and took her first leadership step. On one side, have your child write “How Greta Takes Action” and on the other write “How I Can Take Action.” Invite your child to create an illustration of Greta and the way she takes action on one side, and an illustration of themselves and how they wish to take action to help the Earth on the other. To switch between accounts click on the account below. And that ignorance benefits two groups: the countries who pollute (like China), and the agenda-driven adults behind Greta. Consider her zero power and zero reputation as a schoolchild and look at what she achieved within 12 months. Greta, along with 15 children from various nations, including the United States, filed this lawsuit under the 1989 UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, which guarantees children the rights of life, health, and peace, and allows children to file lawsuits against countries who violate these rights. Courage is about feeling the fear and going for it anyway. Adults do. Then send your curated collection to your children, or put together your own custom lesson plan. They have violated her rights as a child. The ignorance of children is a perfect foil for activist adults pursuing climate change policies.

Because if we were, and if it was really happening, we wouldn't be talking about anything else. Fearlessness is one step beyond courage. In this inspiring activity, children will read Our House Is on Fire by Jeanette Winter and conduct research using reliable online resources to learn more about Greta. Alternatively, have them create other text features by bolding key words and writing definitions on the side of their informational text, or creating “Did You Know?” fact boxes with interesting/surprising information. The future shaper leader understands the importance of resilience and is willing to push aside their detractors and their fear of the unknown and keep moving forward. Copyright © 2020 Education.com, Inc, a division of IXL Learning • All Rights Reserved. How do you know? Greta-the-climate-activist is the product of adults who manipulate her to push their own agenda—her parents and the adults, who are derelict in their role, and who use her for political gain. Explain to your child that they will find out some more information about Greta by using reliable online resources (see suggestion above). All of which stop us from being great leaders. Greta Thunberg offers a great example of a contemporary iconic fearless future shaper - someone who has combined purpose and imperative in setting out her vision for a better world and urging action in service of achieving her desired outcome. Why wasn't it made illegal?

She is an ideologue. It is, however, a lot more accepting of ignorance. Your eight-year-old was probably figuring out subtraction of three-digit numbers, but not these kids.

What are some ways you stand up for what you believe in (e.g., treating animals with kindness, standing up for friends when people aren’t kind, treating others with respect, etc.)? If you decide to create an account with us in the future, you will need to enable cookies before doing so. But no one ever talked about it. We already have all the facts and solutions," Thunberg says. Encourage your child to use the information to write a short, informational paragraph that includes an introduction, 2–5 facts, and a concluding sentence. Now, I am very aware of the enormous advantage each and every adult has over Greta, myself included. More than 1,300 legal actions have been brought around the world to try to force governments to confront the climate crisis; almost 1,000 of those have been in the US. Driven by authentic personal purpose, and speaking her truth, the world sat up and paid attention. We would be better decision-makers if fear was not clouding our judgment. After reading, provide your child with access to an online device and the Biography Research worksheet. If burning fossil fuels was so bad that it threatened our very existence, how could we just continue like before? In a way, she’s the perfect spokesperson—she is untouchable. Greta Thunberg has not referred to herself as disabled. In our own leadership lives, we can take inspiration from Thunberg. Which set of standards are you looking for? Greta Thunberg has met with world leaders, led climate strikes, sailed the Atlantic, and been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. It is truly liberating for leadership decision-making. She just turned 17. The fearless future shaper is ready to take risks and stand behind difficult decisions, which may be as drastic as “if we don’t do this, the business may not survive”. The 16 children in the landmark climate change lawsuit claim these countries are not doing enough to prevent climate change and keep CO2 emissions from rising, thus violating their rights by jeopardizing their future—a tremendous amount of legal expertise and bureaucratic machinations for young children. Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. The huge stage on Capitol Hill, the sound system, jumbotrons, diesel generators to power them (darn fossil fuels! What child did all this leg work—not to mention floated the cost? Funny story starters, like this one, switch on imagination, and it doesn't feel like the great writing practice that it is! If a public figure said, “we need medicare for all because medicare for all is needed by everyone,” he’d rightfully get laughed off the campaign trail. Greta and friends are not suing China, but they are suing France for their 0.3GT, which is 1/30th of China’s contribution to the “existential threat” of climate change. The designation of “expertise” is generally conferred because of someone’s education, training, or experience. Children can be smart, can be idealistic, can be motivated and full of leadership skills—all while still being very clearly ignorant. Thunberg decided to take a personal stand. When we gaze into the future, there is excitement about possibilities but in truth, most of us are fear-led.