Editor:
I was somewhat surprised over John Gleeson characterizing local grade 5’s concern over climate change as “political indoctrination.”
According to Google, “Indoctrination (is) the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.” Ironically, a number of the concerns voiced by the children – “We have 11 or 12 years to change” and “adults aren’t doing enough to change” – almost exactly paraphrases the latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is a body that includes the world’s top climate scientists whose job is to critically examine peer-reviewed literature relating to climate change. In other words, the very optima of critical thinking.
Hardly “political indoctrination.” A good example of political indoctrination is the view of the federal administration south of our border which doesn’t accept the science.
If teachers are preparing our students with the latest knowledge as to the source of climate change, our window of opportunity to enact change, and are helping kids target those who need to be influenced to make these changes that will affect their future, then they should be supported.
Steve Giltrow, Hopkins Landing
