Polluters in the Classroom

Targeting children as a marketing strategy has long been a corporate go to, and often these initiatives aimed at swaying the ideas and behaviours of children do not have the best of motivations.

Programs like dollarmites have been discredited and confined to the dustbin of history, but that doesn’t mean the strategy has disappeared and a sector that continuingly looks to influence what is being taught is fossil fuel producers.

Wherever your politics might lie, the idea that corporations should actively be meddling in how education works and what is being taught is questionable.

Simon Copland, Conservation Council ACT Executive Director says, "In the ACT there are clear examples of other industries who have done this in the past. When I was a kid, for example, I was encouraged to open a bank account through Commonwealth Bank - this was a clever way for that bank to get new customers who would often stick around for life. The ACT Government recently banned that practice in schools, which was a good move.

“Children deserve to go to class and not be bombarded by a wealth of marketing materials. Fossil fuels simply don’t belong in Australia’s schools. We already have seen many schools around the country banning sponsorships from companies that are dangerous to kids, like tobacco, alcohol and weapons manufacturers - it’s hard to believe coal, oil and gas companies haven’t already been added to this list."

Pro fossil fuel resources find their way into the classroom often because of a lack of resources and underfunding. A quick google reveals that most if not all the fossil fuel producing companies have extensive school outreach programs.

Copland says, "Fossil fuel companies are trying to fix their image as they are rightly seen as polluting our planet and destroying our climate. Around the country they are creating sponsorships in a range of different areas - schools, sports, the arts and more. Many schools are often looking for money as they are grossly underfunded by Governments (who should be paying for these activities instead). So, we understand that when offered this money many schools are willing to take it on."

A full discussion including of all the players and factors involved in the fossil fuel debate and all points of view should be encouraged but Copland says that it is propaganda rather than conversation that is being introduced to the education setting.

"Inviting fossil fuel companies into schools to engage in blatant propaganda around their pollution isn't the same as having a full discussion. The science on climate change is settled, and the research on the  health impacts is very clear. What fossil fuel companies are trying to do is to sow distrust in this science so they can continue operating. Inviting fossil fuel companies into the classroom is the equivalent of inviting tobacco companies into the classroom to sell the message that cigarettes really aren't that bad for your health. We would never allow that to happen anymore, and so we shouldn't allow fossil fuel companies to do the same."

Teachers have a very important role in editing what kinds of materials their students will work on.

"Teachers have plenty of power when it comes to supporting parents and kids through their climate education. We would advise them to write to their heads of school, the Education Department and their Education Minister and tell them how and why you don’t want fossil fuels taking up space in your school. Collectively applying pressure on these decision makers will boost our chances that they ban these dodgy sponsorships. Teachers can also join the Fossil Free campaign to add to this pressure.”

There’s also lots of great online resources to help teach about climate change - but be careful to go through reputable scientists or organisations, like the UN or Climate Council.

“We owe it to our kids to keep school as a safe space for learning, without the influence of companies that are actively harming our planet, and especially our kids’ health,” he says.