Teaching Against
Climate Despair
A Climate Justice Teach-in
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Monday, May 23, 2022
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm PT
Join us online, as teachers from around Portland share how they creatively incorporate climate justice topics into their classrooms, from art and activism to Indigenous knowledge to the science and economics of a green future.
Let’s share how we equip our students to recognize the breadth of the climate emergency, to probe its social and economic causes, and to come to see themselves as activists for a just society and a stable climate.
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Panelists
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Erika Alabarca, Roseway Heights Middle School
- Christina Aucutt, Grant High School
- Caitlin Blood, MITCH Charter School
- Treothe Bullock, McDaniel High School
- Joe Ferguson, Alliance High School
- Rachel Hanes, Glencoe Elementary
- Jesse Hunter, Woodstock Elementary
- Suzie Kassouf, Grant High School
- Cat Phung, Growing Gardens
- Gerald Scrutchions, Grant High School
- Tim Swinehart, Lincoln High School
Moderator: Jacque Dixon, PAT Vice-President-elect, Language Arts teacher, Portland DART School
Hosted by the Portland Public Schools Energy & Sustainability Team,
co-sponsored by the PPS Climate Justice Committee and
the Portland Association of Teachers
Panelist Bios
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Erika Alabarca, Roseway Heights Middle School — Erika is a 7th-grade social studies teacher. She helps organize an after-school ECO club and incorporates soil regeneration into her classes. She is an active member of the PPS Climate Justice Committee.
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Christina Aucutt, Grant High School — Christina teaches a Climate Justice elective. She brings speakers from across Portland to tie climate justice education to real world issues and grassroots initiatives.
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Caitlin Blood, MITCH Charter School — Caitlin is a former farmer and agricultural advisor. She is the Director of Sustainability at MITCH, where she works to root classroom content in an agricultural framework. Her students explore math, language arts, science, and history through hands-on agricultural observation and practice.
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Treothe Bullock, McDaniel High School — “Tre” teaches Climate Justice and Chemistry and is an active member of the PPS Climate Justice Committee.
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Joe Ferguson, Alliance High School — Joe is a Natural Resources, Science, and Instructional Facilitator. He incorporates climate science and sustainability lessons into his classrooms, setting up wildlife cameras at Whitaker Ponds and partnering with Community Cycling Center for bike mechanic lessons.
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Rachel Hanes, Glencoe Elementary — Rachel is a 2nd-grade teacher, member of the PPS Climate Justice Committee, and active in the Portland Association of Teachers. Her teaching aims to connect students’ lives to climate issues, such as oil pipelines and forests.
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Jesse Hunter, Woodstock Elementary — Jesse is a 2nd-grade teacher. He has led efforts to establish school gardens and garden education programs.
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Suzie Kassouf, Grant High School — Suzie has a deep background in grassroots climate justice organizing. She is focused on turning her classroom into a place for connection, community, justice, and love.
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Cat Phung, Growing Gardens — Cat is the North Portland Youth Grow Educator and Community Organizer for Growing Gardens. She is a first-generation Vietnamese American, gardener and cook, with a background in environmental science and outreach.
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Gerald Scrutchions, Grant High School — “Scutch” teaches Human Rights and Environmental Justice. He has been a mentor, educator, and advocate for many of the student climate activists from Tubman Middle School protesting the I-5 freeway expansion.
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Tim Swinehart, Lincoln High School — Tim teaches environmental justice and is a member of the PPS Climate Justice Committee. He works with district staff to devise and implement policies to spread climate justice education across Portland Public Schools.
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A People’s Curriculum
for the Earth
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Rethinking Schools’ A People’s Curriculum for the Earth features classroom-friendly readings and lessons on climate change, energy, water, food, and pollution — as well as on people who are working to make things better.
As Naomi Klein says, “A People's Curriculum for the Earth is an educator's toolkit for our times.”
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Will You Pledge to
Teach Climate Justice?
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Pledge to teach climate justice this year. Share why you will teach climate justice and read other teachers' reasons for pledging to teach it. |
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Teach Climate Justice?
Tell Your Story and Receive a Book
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PO BOX 73038, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20056
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