This year was the first time Christina Torres, Center coordinator and research associate,  attended AERA. She shared that it was amazing to attend this conference in person and meet people from all over the world working on climate change education. Oren Pizmony-Levy, Ann Rivet, Noa Urbach, and Christina, presented their paper “TikTok, Cheese Sticks, and Our Future: How Educators Perceive Students’ Engagement with Climate Change.” 

Together they examined how sustainability coordinators in New York City perceive their students’ knowledge, interest, and action with climate change in this mix-methods piece. They found a wide spectrum of perceptions: from teachers who perceive their students and engaged to teachers who are disengaged and those curious to learn more. Christina appreciated hearing from other TC presenters in her symposium, including Carine Verschueren from ITSF and Tasnim Aziz from MST. She also enjoyed listening to Kimberlé Crenshaw’s keynote address, outlining how extremists have weaponized critical race theory and erase American history. This was extremely relevant as the United States approaches another presidential election and how the field might respond to these social shifts in the country.