It is with great pride that I acknowledge the Marymount, Paris Mini COP 21 conference scheduled for early December. But more than a few days of concentrated discussion, we, here, at Marymount, acknowledge our responsibility for bringing this topic further into our classrooms and integrated throughout our school life, as part of our commitment to education! From the life of Saint Francis to Pope Francis’ message, most recently, we have heard the message clearly: We must take full responsibility for our earth and it must happen quickly!
We feel strongly that young people should be given every opportunity to understand climate change now. This will help them deal not only with the immediate challenges facing us, but the longer term ones. For example, this knowledge may assist them in making career choices, for some businesses will expand greatly while others will decline. It will also assist them with consumer choices, because as their understanding of climate change grows, individuals will develop new attitudes about what is appropriate and moral. Young people may even grow up in a world where the relationships between nations will shift. This may occur in part because the tropical rainforests offer a great way of drawing carbon pollution from the air, so the poorest farmers on our planet may become crucial partners to the wealthy nations as they seek to stabilize their climate.
For all of these reasons and more, Marymount believes that the study of climate change is relevant to a great many of the subjects our children undertake, and that by increasing their understanding of the issue they will see the relevance of such disciplines anew. Indeed, as their understanding of the issue develops I believe that they will start seeing the world in a new way, a way that most of us have not possessed. That may seem like a large claim, but as we move to address climate change, so many aspects of our world will alter that it will be little short of a revolution.
Marymount, Paris wishes to sincerely thank Mr. Adrian Scarlett, Curriculum Director, for his inspiration and commitment in bringing this conference to our community and ensuring that teachers and students have access to reliable information about climate change.
Join us for a wonderful conference!
Sincerely,
Johanna Bambridge
Head of School