Students Strike for Climate Change

Today was the scheduled date for the student protest for climate change. Because of this, there were close to no students at school. There was pretty positive reactions and support from the faculty. Throughout the school week, teachers were encouraging students to go to the protest. This support from school staff was interesting in comparison to the nation-wide school walk out against gun violence in the US this past spring. I know at the school I student taught at, students were warned that they would be suspended and if any staff tried to participate or encourage it they would face repercussions and that was common for most schools across the states. Initially, I was really shocked that educators wouldn't support students getting involved and speaking out, but after experiencing the strike for climate change at Byron Bay, I made an important realization. The students at Byron Bay never came to school in the first place while students in the US wanted to walk out during the school day. This distinction is important because when students come to school, the school is liable for them. So if the school were to just let them walk out and something bad were to happen to them, they would be liable for it. Had the students in the US just not have gone to school at all and went straight to the protest, they wouldn't have faced suspension because it would just be an absence. Anyway, the strike was impressive. They walked from the center of town down to the main beach and spelled out a word with their bodies. Not sure what the word was and no one else seemed to be sure either. There were speakers and performances. I didn't realize until later, but one of Byron Bay's 8th graders was the main organizer for the event and was interviewed on the news as well.

For the students that were in school, classes combined to do an impromptu land art lesson. We went onto the beach and students had to create ephemeral, land art using the resources around them. Some of the sculptures turned out really neat! While we were at the lake, I noticed pumice stones everywhere. I asked Margo where they came from, and she said that any time there is volcanic activity in the ocean or neighboring islands, heaps of pumice stones will travel the currents and wash up along Tallow Beach. So I created my ephemeral art by tossing pumice stones into the water and snapping pictures of the different patterns they created as they floated along.