Letting Teach: Gen Z as Socio-Political Educators in an Overheated World

Abstract

In this article, the author begins by grasping the present crisis through the social anthropological description of overheating. She then locates “Generation Z (Gen Z)” as a generation born into an overheated era and distinguishes their socio-political struggle for intergenerational climate justice from preceding generations. Following that, the author presents an analysis of the oppressive adultist dimensions of the challenges confronted by Gen Z activists like Greta Thunberg. She does so by engaging with examples from the German context. The objective of the discussion on adultism faced by Gen Z activists consequently establishes that young activists demonstrate relentless courage and hence their contribution deserves a legitimate place in rethinking socio-political “education.” Her reading reveals that young activists are simultaneously resisting adult opposition and contributing to educating older generations about the intergenerational dimensions of the climate crisis. Therefrom, the author proposes that one may re-think the matter at hand from a childist standpoint which implies a re-cognition of pupils' agency within education i.e., intergenerational relating, as something that adults can also learn from. She suggests that an integral dimension of reflexivity in further developing childist educational theory and praxis, entails a conscious commitment to letting children and youth teach adult educators too.

Arriving at a question: Retrospections on post-qualitative slow research with children

“…In research areas directly related to children’s lives for example, education, the pressure to publish, even in relatively well-funded Nordic universities, adds to structural adultism given that researchers might be highly restricted in terms of the time they can spend getting to know children and the knowledges that can emerge through the process of getting to know. Saying something too fast for the sake of publication points, might come with the risk of having to reproduce and recycle what is already known, from perspectives which they are known for example, children as default addressees of pedagogy (Biswas 2020; 2021b), and adults as their default teachers. Shifts in perspectives that occur as a result of taking time to get to know, and to keep on knowing someone in different ways over an extended period of time, cannot belong to speedy knowledge production.…”

“…which they are known for example, children as default addressees of pedagogy (Biswas 2020;2021b), and adults as their default teachers. Shifts in perspectives that occur as a result of taking time to get to know, and to keep on knowing someone in different ways over an extended period of time, cannot belong to speedy knowledge production.…”

Visões de educadoras de educação ambiental para o desenvolvimento sustentável: Entre o empoderamento e a orientação de crianças e jovens

“…http://doi.org/10.21814/rpe.22175 "eu ecológico" (Wilson, 1996), do sentido de comunidade (Mayer & Frantz, 2004;Adams & Savahl, 2015) e de competências de literacia ambiental (Gruenewald, 2003;Malone, 2007) desafiantes de conceções antropocêntricas da natureza (Almeida, 2005;Hwang, 2009), implicando as crianças e os jovens em experiências reais e na resolução de problemas reais (Breiting, et al, 2006;Maynard, 2007;Tapan, 2001;Uhrmacher, 1995) e promovendo a adoção de práticas sustentáveis na esfera privada e na esfera pública, com implicações locais e globais (Boeve- de-Pauw & Petegem, 2013;Mackey, 2012;Williams & Brown, 2012;Malone, 2008). Mais recentemente, a investigação tem-se focado nos movimentos de ativismo juvenil pela ação climática, pelo reconhecimento da agência juvenil na educação e na sociedade em favor da justiça intergeracional, social e ambiental (Biswas, 2021;Biswas & Mattheis, 2021;Budziszewska & Głód, 2021;Rios, Neilson & Menezes, 2021).…”

Making kin, not babies? Towards childist kinship in the “Anthropocene”

“…ethnomethodology). Shifting Haraway's suggestion to 'make kin not babies' and in line with ideas of letting children teach adults (Biswas, 2021), in closing, then, I want to tentatively call to witness babies (and older children) make kin. 16…”