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On their website, The Ministry of Education in Poland has released teaching materials for a lesson concerning global warming and its anthropogenic causes .
A significant part of this lesson comprises a short film that caused our greatest indignation. The whole narrative of the video dramatically depreciates the scale of the crisis, not to mention its incompatibility with the scientific consensus. This clearly does not represent a serious attempt to the matter; neither the unnaturalness of the changes in the climate structure, caused by human activity, nor the urgency to cut our greenhouse gas emissions have been mentioned.
The amount of key aspects connected with climate change that have not been mentioned in this material is unacceptable. Global warming, that even today causes great damage, is portrayed as a positive phenomenon that is favorable in long-term perspective. The video represents an example of extreme information manipulation and the value of its content is shameful. Crucial issues stemming from climate change have been omitted, including intensified refugee crisis and mass extinction of species. Instead, they were replaced by statements concerning lower electricity costs in winter, new sea routes and new oil extraction sites, created by melting glaciers.
The Ministry of Education by its very definition should convey thorough, real and objective knowledge. Its comprehension enables development and self-improvement, as well as prepares for independent functioning in the society. The Ministry of Education has an obligation to share pieces of information that will prepare, us, young people, for conscious, responsible adult life. The right to education is a human right and the Ministry of Education’s job is to respect that law. The official educational materials released by the government need to be especially reliable, valuable and accessible for everybody. We should be able to use those materials in order to acquire verified and comprehensive information. We are facing the climate crisis, the greatest danger humanity has ever had to deal with.
There is no place for manipulation and understatements when it comes to the climate catastrophe. As young people we demand that our right to knowledge is respected. By providing us with incomplete, manipulated information, you show us no respect. Don’t conceal from us, what we need in order to survive. The most basic thing you can do for your children and grandchildren is prepare them for the challenge we have known about for such a long time.
From the core of its activity, Młodzieżowy Strajk Klimatyczny has demanded the provision of thorough, up-to-date knowledge on the mechanisms and effects of climate change to students in order to raise awareness about the scale of the problem from a very young age. However, The Ministry of Education, in an attempt to face the issue,has presented a video that dramatically deviates from the scientific statement on the issue. The content of the material published on epodreczniki.pl, full uff understatements and manipulation, create an erroneous impression that climate change is a phenomenon that has nearly a 100 percent positive impact on our planet. This way it contributes to the spreading of misconceptions. We do not give our consent to that.
The film posted by the Ministry of Education in Poland does not present the climate crisis as a serious threat at all. The words used to describe climate change fail to convey the importance of the upcoming disaster. It is essential to use appropriate vocabulary. Focusing only on the positive sides of the crisis and potential benefits resulting from them is an extremely harmful and irresponsible approach. We do not agree to the dissemination of a content that underestimates the seriousness of the climate catastrophe. We must approach it with determination equal to the one with which we fight the coronavirus pandemic. Every crisis must be treated like a crisis.
Therefore, as the MSK (Fridays for Future Poland) activists, we demand that the Ministry of Education immediately remove the manipulated and biased material. Simultaneously, we call that they create a reliable and publicly available alternative, for the benefit of the whole society. It is Ministry of Education’s responsibility to officially and publicly rectify this matter. We hope that the Ministry of Education approaches this issue with seriousness adequate for such an important topic as the climate crisis. We do not give our consent to such public manipulation of facts.
Sincerely,
Młodzieżowy Strajk Klimatyczny