EndOfOrdinary Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 For the last three years my son has been heavily involved in activism and speaking out about Climate Change. His major focus is motivating kids to speak out for what they believe in. He has begun his own non-profit, led and MCed rallies, given federal testimony, and spoken to a lot of politicians. Crowds and events no longer phase him. However, today he booked his first school assembly for a K-5 on Earth Day 2015. (Schools book six months in advance, who knew).This is not legally allowed to be a political speech. It is an informational call to action. As such he asked me to ask you all:As parents, what information do you want your kids to hear about the environment, Earth Day, and speaking/acting for their beliefs?What information do your kids want to hear ?What messages do you feel are lacking from the current media and conversation regarding kids, the environment, and their personal power?Many Thanks!ETA: Many of you have already seen these, but to give you an idea of what my son does, here is footage from the rally he helped organize and lead:: Here is his speech:https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8TCjyxcC6-jdFFaN0Uwbms0WTg/edit?usp=docslist_api Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Wow. That was an amazing and inspiring speech. I'll show it to the girls when they wake up. Give your son a big hug for me! and tell him thank you for caring enough, and being brave enough, to speak. I work on sustainable farming and ecological restoration, and my work intersects with climate change stuff a fair amount. I have to say, I have a really hard time talking about it with my kids because I feel very discouraged, and it is important to me that they grow up with a sense of hope and power. I go to conferences all the time, look at the projection graphs, and think, "Well, at least I'll be dead by then." That is not a feeling I want to share with the next generation!! So I guess what I am looking for for my kids is an message about *what* they can do, *how* they can get involved - some specifics to go with the empowerment/hope that he clearly communicates. It's great to say kids have personal power, but what does that mean? What can they actually do? What's the first step, the second step, etc.? I think it would be great to have some visuals, or some info about how things could be different in the future if we do take action now. What would that look like? Give kids a vision of the things they are working toward, not just a fearful message of what they are trying to avoid. I think humans function much better if they are moving forward toward a positive place rather than just feeling the need to avoid something negative. Anyway, tell him to keep up the good work!! ETA: Morgan (8) wants to know: how can we stop climate change, and how can *I* participate in helping stop it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 :hurray: Wow! What an amazing young man you have in your family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I think that I would love to see a basic overview of the problem presented as concretely as possible and then a discussion, possibly engaging the audience, about what a child can do with or without the support of a parent. For example, rather than discussing the use of vehicles (parents need to lead this) he could discuss how children can turn out the lights when they leave a room. It bugs me to no end when schools or anything else pits children against their parents. It reminds me of Mao's China or the Nazis. I'm not suggesting that he's setting out to do this just hoping to encourage him not to do so inadvertently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 I think that I would love to see a basic overview of the problem presented as concretely as possible and then a discussion, possibly engaging the audience, about what a child can do with or without the support of a parent. For example, rather than discussing the use of vehicles (parents need to lead this) he could discuss how children can turn out the lights when they leave a room. It bugs me to no end when schools or anything else pits children against their parents. It reminds me of Mao's China or the Nazis. I'm not suggesting that he's setting out to do this just hoping to encourage him not to do so inadvertently. This is a big one for my son as well. His non-profit works with environmental organizations to link kids rather than try to use them to force change in their families. The website is currently in development (to be up around the turn of the year) where it shows what the various environmental organizations have available for kids, things kids are doing around the world, ways for kids to begin adding to my son's YouTube feed with their own 2 minute videos about what they care about. Mainly eliminating the need for kids to try and shift their families by talking directly to the kids about personal action. Ds had many frustrating conversations with adults. He wants to change the narrative we are telling our kids so that kids can grow up to enact a different way of looking at the world, rather than kids trying to make their households uncomfortable. I remember asking my father "Why do you want to die, Daddy" when I was in Kindergarten because my father smoked and so much anti-smoking stuff was going on. Granted, he shouldn't have smoked (and has now quit), but it was really rather unfair to turn me into a person who questioned my father's behavior and love for me at that age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Wow. That was an amazing and inspiring speech. I'll show it to the girls when they wake up. Give your son a big hug for me! and tell him thank you for caring enough, and being brave enough, to speak. I work on sustainable farming and ecological restoration, and my work intersects with climate change stuff a fair amount. I have to say, I have a really hard time talking about it with my kids because I feel very discouraged, and it is important to me that they grow up with a sense of hope and power. I go to conferences all the time, look at the projection graphs, and think, "Well, at least I'll be dead by then." That is not a feeling I want to share with the next generation!! So I guess what I am looking for for my kids is an message about *what* they can do, *how* they can get involved - some specifics to go with the empowerment/hope that he clearly communicates. It's great to say kids have personal power, but what does that mean? What can they actually do? What's the first step, the second step, etc.? I think it would be great to have some visuals, or some info about how things could be different in the future if we do take action now. What would that look like? Give kids a vision of the things they are working toward, not just a fearful message of what they are trying to avoid. I think humans function much better if they are moving forward toward a positive place rather than just feeling the need to avoid something negative. Anyway, tell him to keep up the good work!! ETA: Morgan (8) wants to know: how can we stop climate change, and how can *I* participate in helping stop it? This is great stuff! Thank You, Rose. As an adult it can be so overwhelming. Before finding organizations that would work with my back when he was about 5, he was getting really depressed with everything that was out there. I totally understand wanting to shield them from that level of anxiety! My husband is more doom and gloom (not in a nasty way, but more feeling cynical) and Ds is all filled with changing the impossible. It is an interesting dynamic to negotiate. Amazingly, the governor of a neighboring state told my son his speech and that rally was a major force in vetoing legislation. The barges were stopped. Four of the six proposed terminals for coal were stopped. He is actually winning battles and feeling stronger in his convictions. It is a nice thing to see (I was initially worried this whole activism thing was going to crash and burn.) One of the greatest parts is to watch other kids realize that our Constitution grants them power. They have SO much legal power. In many ways, they cannot be dismissed as their comments have to be treated like adult comments on the Federal level. The Internet has given them even more (with parents signing a very quick privacy release if they are under 13). It is a pretty cool part of our nation that I don't know if I would have seen before any of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Okay, got the YouTube video to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 :hurray: Wow! What an amazing young man you have in your family! We are very proud of him. When he first told me that he was going to take a carpool bus two hours away to speak at a Federal Hearing I wasn't going to let him go. I am very glad that I cleared our schedule so that I could go with him. It has been quite a wild ride since, but he is just dead set on trying to save the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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