Climate Strike, Jennifer Johnson

Dekin, S. (2021, May 26). Why teenages need to start discussing their emotions. Mission Harbor Behavioral Health. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://sbtreatment.com/blog/teenagers-discussing-emotions/

Climate Strike

Jennifer Johnson

Definition: climate strike: “a protest motivated by opposition to inaction toward climate change. Climate strikes usually involve young people and have been motivated by climate activists like Greta Thunberg” (Dictionary.com, 2021) On August 20, 2018, 15 year old Greta Thunberg began a protest outside the Swedish parliament with a sign that said School Strike for Climate in an effort to raise awareness about the climate crisis; a problem that will impact all youth in the coming decades. She protested peacefully until the Swedish election on September 9, 2018 ( Fridays For Future,n.d.; David Crouch, 2018). By standing up for what she believed, Greta was showing a kind of learning characteristic of adolescents, “beginning to think for oneself” (Waddell, 2002, p. 105). When people told her she should be in school not protesting, she pointed to her backpack to show she was doing homework, demonstrating that she could hold both the identity of a social activist and a good student at the same time (Crouch, 2018;Dupuis-Déri; 2021;Leysen,2019;Stapleton, 2019;Waddell, 2002). After the election Greta decided to continue to strike until the Swedish government fulfilled its Paris Agreement commitments and she urged students around the globe to join her. Fridays For Future, “a global strike movement” was started (Fridays For Future, n.d.). On Friday, November 30, 2018, students in Australia held a climate strike, in part, to stop the construction of a coal mine (Albeck-Ripka, 2018). However, as often happens when youth use their agency and attempt to have their voices heard, adults reacted negatively. The Australian Prime Minister stated publicly that he did not support the climate strike and the Minister of Resources stated, “I want kids to be at school to learn about how you build a mine, how you do geology, how you drill for oil and gas,” (Albeck-Ripka, 2018). These adults were projecting identities onto these youth, viewing them as troublemakers, and rule breakers when in fact the

youth were striking to bring attention to adults’ behaviour that was ruining their future (Waddell, 2002).

In 2019 the climate strikes became global and youth were using social media1 to help share the work of organizing. On March 15, 2019, youth from 112 countries participated in a global climate strike. Greta tweeted, “Tomorrow we school strike for the climate in 1769 places in 112 countries around the world. And counting. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is needed. Let’s change history. And let’s never stop for as long as it takes” (Thunberg, 2019). The invitation to take up the identity of a global citizen and activist was being made available to all youth (Waddell, 2002). On November 29, 2019, a few days before COP25 started, another climate strike was held. Over 2 million people participated (Climate Change Trust; Fridays For Future,n.d.). There are many reasons why youth came out in the millions. For some, it may have been a needed day off, for others they may have been trying on a social activist identity (Waddell, 2002). Other youth may have participated due to peer pressure, eco-anxiety, and many likely believed in the climate strike. Youth realize the impact that climate change is having on food security, access to clean water, air quality, and mental and physical health (Ogunbode et. al., 2022; Sanson & Bellemo, 2012). In 2022 climate strikes continue. The climate crisis is real. I think Greta sums up why the youth are striking, “adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house is on fire. Because it is” (Thunberg, 2019)

1 Definitely not something adults in positions of power would do.

References

Albeck-Ripka, L. (2018, November 30). Climate Change Protest Draws Thousands of Australian

Students. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/world/australia/studentstrike-climate-change.html Climate Change Trust. (2021). Schools Strike for Climate. http://www.changeclimate.com/Protests_Climate_Change_Demonstrators_Protestors/Greta_Thunberg/Youth_Sc hools_Strike_For_Climate_Change_Students_International_Movement.htm Crouch, D. (2018, September 1). The Swedish 15-year-old who's cutting class to fight the climate crisis. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/sep/01/swedish-15year-old-cutting-class-to-fight-the-climate-crisis Dictionary.com, 2021. Climate Strike The Words You Need To Know To Talk About Climate

Change Today. In Dictionary.com https://www.dictionary.com/e/climate-changeterms/#:~:text=climate%20strike%3A%20a%20protest%20motivated,to%20inaction%20towa rd%20climate%20change. Dupuis-Déri, F. (2021). Youth Strike for Climate: Resistance of School Administrations,

Conflicts Among Students, and Legitimacy of Autonomous Civil Disobedience—The Case of

Québec. Frontiers in Political Science. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2021.634538 Fridays For Future. (n.d.) Who We Are. https://fridaysforfuture.se/en/about-us/ Leysen, S. (2019 March 20). Critics of The Climate School Strikes: Who’s The Child And

Who’s The Adult? Vocal Europe. https://www.vocaleurope.eu/critics-of-the-climate-schoolstrikes-whos-the-child-and-whos-the-adult/

Ogunbode, C., Doran, R., Hanss, D., Ojala, M., Salmela-Aro, K., van den Broek, K., Bhullar, N.,

Aquino, S., Marot, T., Schermer, A.J., Wlodarczyk, A., Lu, S., Jiang, F., Maran, D. A.,

Yadav, R., Ardi, R., Chegeni, R., Ghanbarian, E.,...Karasu, M. (2022). Climate anxiety, wellbeing and pro-environmental action: correlates of negative emotional responses to climate change in 32 countries. Journal of Environmental Psychology. 84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101887. Sanson, A, and Bellemo, M. (2021).“Children and Youth in the Climate Crisis.” BJPsych

Bulletin 45(4): 205–209. Stapleton, P. (2019 March, 15). Climate Strike Hong Kong: Gov’t reaction to class boycott is ironic, short-sighted and dangerous. Hong Kong Free Press. https://hongkongfp.com/2019/03/15/climate-strike-hong-kong-govt-reaction-class-boycottironic-short-sighted-dangerous/ Thunberg, G (2018, November 26). I'm striking from school to protest inaction on climate change – you should too. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/26/im-striking-from-school-forclimate-change-too-save-the-world-australians-students-should-too Thunberg, G (2019, January 25). Address at World Economic Forum: Our House Is On Fire. https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2019/12/02/address-at-davos-our-house-is-on-fire-jan-252019/

Thunberg, G. @GretaThunberg. (2019, March 14). Tomorrow we school strike for the climate in 1769 places in 112 countries around the world. And counting.Everyone is welcome. [Tweet].

Twitter. https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1106256344586375168 Waddell M. (2002). Inside lives : psychoanalysis and the growth of the personality (Rev.).

Karnac.

Consent

Sydney Clarke

The word consent is an important one to understand when it comes to the study of adolescent development. In its simplest form consent means to give assent or approval for something. When talking about consent and what it means to adolescents however, it should be defined in relation to sexual consent. Sexual consent is when approval has been provided to proceed with the sexual act that is being proposed by someone to another. Discussion around consent has been amplified in the recent years as people are becoming more aware of their rights. In Canada, when the first criminal code was consolidated in 1892, provisions were put in place detailing the age of consent for girls. That code was not amended until 1987, when provisions were added to be more gender neutral. This code means that people can be found criminally responsible for assault or rape if they were not given consent by the victim. Since the rise of the “Me Too” movement, there has been more discourse about consent and why this word is so important for both girls and boys to understand. The word consent can help us in better understanding the experiences of young people because their idea of what the word means can vary. Some adolescents do not even know what the word consent means. Knowing this helps us in learning how to better prepare young people for instances they may find themselves in. By discussing with them what consent is, when it should be asked for and given, we can ensure that they know their bodily rights, as well as when something bad has happened to them. Consent also provides us with insight into the maturity and awareness that a young person has when it comes to sex. The word consent is an important one when it comes to youth’s health and well-being because it can help in preventing a wide range of issues that can arise from sex. In talking to them about what it means to consent young people learn about their right to say no, and their right to

withdraw consent even after it has been given. This discussion will prepare them for the sexual relationships they will be having as they grow through adolescence. It also prepares them to have mature conversations with their partners, where they can set boundaries and ensure all parties are comfortable and feel safe with each other. Comprehending what consent means can help in the prevention of sexual assault, as well as protect both participants from criminal charges. When adolescents know that they should ask for consent as well as provide or withdraw it, they can be sure that their partner is comfortable with what is being done or asked. This leads young people to making and maintaining healthy relationships beyond just sexual ones. Some sources to learn more about consent are;

Birtles, B. (2022). On Sexual Consent in Canada: The Balance Between Protecting and Respecting Sexual Autonomy. Western Journal of Legal Studies. Retrieved from https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2020CanLIIDocs1902#!fragment/zoupio_Tocpdf_bk_1/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zhoBMAz ZgI1TMAjAEoANMmylCEAIqJCuAJ7QA5KrERCYXAnmKV6zdt0gAynlIAhFQCUAogBl7ANQCCAOQD C9saTB80KTsIiJAA

Kids Helpline. (2018, 10 15). What is Consent? Retrieved from Kids Helpline: https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/what-consent