The middle school hallways buzzed with conversation during the seventh grade climate fair as parents, teachers and siblings walked between classrooms admiring poster boards. The climate fair took place after school on Feb. 11, starting with opening remarks in the Beit Midrash and then moving into the middle school hallways where students presented their projects.
Previously known as the climate summit, the climate fair was renamed and took on a new format. In prior years, the summit was modeled after a United Nations (U.N.) session. Students worked together to present and vote on mitigation strategies that would help their countries.
The climate fair is a seventh grade project where pairs of students are assigned to research a developing country. They spend time learning about climate change and how it affects their assigned country. Their research culminates with a presentation in which they talk about possible solutions for the climate-related problems in their country.
“I feel that it’s really important that kids our age understand what’s going on because it’s not going to go away, this problem; we can’t just ignore it,” seventh grade student Kayla Judah said. “It’s going to be there until we figure out a way to stop it.”
With this new format, students presented their countries using posters, and then voted on which ideas they liked the best and thought would help solve the climate change crises.
“We kind of developed the project again, where it’s more of that showcase, but it’s combining the aspects of the government, culture and economy,” middle school social studies teacher Matthew Jacobson said.
Seventh grade parent and high school executive assistant Melanie Rosenthal says she was proud of how her daughter and the entire grade performed.
“I was very impressed by the skills that she learned on how to take on the role, to be a delegate and to do the research for the country, learn diplomacy skills and debate skills and then put it all together and present it on her own,” Rosenthal said.
Judah and seventh grade student Naomi Werbin-Gradel presented about the climate change crisis in Chile. Their proposed solution was to direct money towards ending poverty, rather than climate change.
“[We learned about] mitigation and adaptation strategies, and how it just affects your country,” Judah said.
When they began researching, students were assigned different perspectives to analyze their country’s climate challenges. The first lens was that past carbon emitters should pay for their damage. The second option was that all carbon emitters should pay, and the third was that there are more pressing issues at the moment than climate change.
Some students, such as Judah, didn’t agree with the lens they were assigned. Despite this, for the sake of the assignment they still presented their country under that lens.
“It was hard, but at the same time, even though I already understood the position, it helped me, and it’s kind of grown on me and now I understand the position better,” Judah said.
Jacobson hopes this project will help students further their presenting and public speaking skills as they progress through school and beyond.
“I think it teaches them to have an appreciation of kind of the things that they have,” Jacobson said. “…And it kind of opens their eyes, and I hope that it gives them some additional perspective.”
