I took my kindergarten class to a protest.
By: Jessica Shea
Tags: Children, Education, Kindergarten, Teaching, Protest

In a pre-pandemic 2019, Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future protests were inspiring youth around the world to join forces and demand action for climate change. As the protests and school strikes joined traction, Global Climate Strikes were planned for September 2019 and my colleagues and I decided to make a field trip out of it for our five- and six-year old students. Here is my experience bringing my kindergarten class to their very first protest.

Lead-up

It was extremely important to me that my students could develop an understanding of why the protest was happening. Young children can comprehend a lot more than we give them credit for, and climate change is no exception. I knew that if they were to take part, they needed to know why they were there, and understand the issues enough to form their own opinions. The last thing I wanted was to string them along if they didn’t want to be there, or even worse, force adult opinions on them.

So we did a project about the environment for a few weeks leading up to it. Creating hands on activities to strengthen their bond with nature, develop a very basic understanding of climate change, and provide them with some actionable solutions to reduce their own environmental impact.

Take, for example, how we learned about plastic waste and microplastics in the ocean. Over the course of a week, we collected all the plastic waste we created in a pretend “ocean” in the classroom. We then did an experiment to watch how plastic did or did not break down as compared to organic waste. Through this hands-on approach, the kids understood the environmental impact of plastic, and how much they themselves used on a regular basis. How could they reduce their environmental impact when it came to plastic? First, by using less. Second, by reusing what we can. Third, we introduced recycling bins into the classroom. And even now, a year later, they are better at recycling than most adults I know!

But what about all the plastic in the actual ocean? Other than not personally throwing plastic into the ocean, the children were at a loss about how to reduce the amount of plastic in the ocean. That’s when we taught them about protesting. We read books about social justice movements throughout history, and discussed how the people “in charge” don’t always make the right decisions.

Protest Preparation

Actually attending the protest, of course, took some planning! First things first, each child painted their own protest sign, with a message of their own choosing on it. They knew a lot of the issues that the protest was about, so they were each able to choose a message that they felt connected to. The finished signs were a great product of autonomy, empowerment, and confidence!

From an organizational perspective, we had to make sure that we could attend the protest completely safely. We were lucky enough to have some amazing parent volunteers, in order to make sure that each child could walk hand in hand with an adult the entire time. Meeting points were decided upon, so that if we ever got separated, we could meet again at predefined locations. Each child wore a vest with the school’s contact information on it, and all adults had each other’s contact information. As there would be a very large crowd, the most important factor was making sure that each child and adult felt comfortable and confident. Once we were ready, we all piled into public transit on the way to the Brandenburg Gate, a sea of neon yellow safety vests and DIY protest signs.

And what about the younger children? Only the five- and six-year-olds attended the protest in person, but all the children had been part of the preparation and project work leading up to it. Those children who stayed behind watched a live stream of the protest, and knew that their cohorts were in attendance. Even though they didn’t physically attend, they still had the benefit of knowing that it was something they could also do one day.

At the event itself, the children had an absolutely amazing time. They danced, shouted, and took in all the sights and sounds of the protest. Sat on the shoulders of their parents and teachers, they had a chance to be part of a greater movement, and had the chance to fight for what they believe in. One child, however, did need a brief explanation that no, he was not there to punch people who throw plastic in the ocean. But hey, I appreciate the sentiment! By chance, our group was beside an “Omas against Climate Change” group. Our neighbours kept a watchful eye out and made sure all our little ones were safe and happy. It was an amazing moment of intergenerational solidarity!

After some time, our little activists were ready to head back to school. We made our way back to the train station through the crowds, and took the train back. Some parents took their children directly home, to continue the school strike. Those who came back to school did so with huge smiles, telling stories of their experiences at the protest. The most common feedback we received? “It was SO COOL!!!”

Why does it matter?

By the age of five or six, children are beginning to get a sense of their place in the world. They begin to understand hierarchy and power structures, and start to develop more of an awareness of current events. In the case of climate change, the issues we currently face will not go away by the time they grow up. In fact, they will likely only worsen. For this reason, it is extremely important that children realize that adults and people in charge don’t always make the right decisions.

The climate change project and associated field trip to the Global Climate Strike showed children first hand that decisions were being made that they don’t agree with. It then empowered them to make their voices heard and protest. The closest adults in their life (their parents and teachers) supported them in doing so, by being physically and emotionally present for the process. Through doing so, our young students now have the knowledge that they can disagree with those in power, and they can take concrete steps to fight for what they want. Their critical thinking skills are strengthened, and their confidence is greatly increased. These children will hopefully take this empowerment with them into adulthood.

Another great by-product of this project was the normalization of protesting. With news reports generally portraying protesters as looters and rioters, young children do not always comprehend that there can be peaceful protests, and that protests can be extremely important movements. The young children in my class have experienced first hand that protests can be full of kind people, great music, and great power for change.

Follow-Up

In the year since we took my young students to a protest, there is a clear impact in their day-to-day lives, at least at school. We still have continued conversations about environmental and social issues, and they are still extremely proud to have taken part in a protest.

In fact, my students often organize their own protests. Just recently, it was time to go to the gym for some physical activity. At first, I heard some groans and complaints that they didn’t want to go. A few seconds later I realized they had all started marching in circles around the room chanting that they didn’t want to go to sport class. They had organized their own protest together to fight for what they believed in (not going to sport, in this case). Trying to hide my smile, I gave them that small victory with pride. Not only do my students feel empowered to make themselves heard, they also know that their voices are respected.

We also have had many continued conversations surrounding social justice and protests. In the year since the last protest, there have been many global and local events that we have been able to discuss together through the lens of our protest experience. From the local level, like when public transportation was shut down. Several children did not attend school that day, and one child expressed annoyance and asked why the train drivers didn’t want to drive that day. We discussed how it was a form of protest, and that they were asking to be treated better and paid more money. My student’s annoyance quickly faded, and he replied, “Oh, that’s good then!”

We have also had more difficult conversations. I take care not to bring up any topics that could be too much for my students, but occasionally they will bring them up themselves and we need to navigate them carefully. This past year, one child in my class had seen the George Floyd video, and told the others about it. When they came to me to ask more about it, we had an honest yet age-appropriate conversation about it. We discussed how sad it was, how the police should be there to help and protect people, and how nobody deserves to be treated badly based on the colour of their skin. I was thankful for our experience at a protest a year prior, because I was able to then tell them about the Black Lives Matter protests happening around the world. In a moment when they felt overwhelmed and powerless, I was able to remind them that they weren’t. I told them about how many people were standing up against injustice, just like we did.