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This was published 8 years ago
Kids Teaching Kids: Where kids are given fuel for pester power
By India Jermyn
Parents, get ready to be pestered.
Kids Teaching Kids week launched yesterday at the National Zoo and Aquarium, with 160 students from 16 schools participating in workshops aimed at tackling environmental issues.
Students, from left, Kiara Ryan-Mearse, of Turner Primary School, and Elizabeth McRae and Brianna Keys, both of St Francis Xavier College try out Brianna's educational snap game at Kids Teaching Kids week.Credit: jamila_toderas
The organisers hoped the event could stir up some "pester power" to drive cultural change in Canberra and across broader society.
Kids Teaching Kids director Arron Wood said he created the foundation to give children a voice on an issue he believed would be a critical part of their future.
Maribyrnong Primary School students present a play on renewable energy at Kids Teaching Kids week.Credit: jamila_toderas
"I think we too often dismiss how much young people understand if they're given the support and the skills," Mr Wood said.
He said he hoped the students would go home and talk to their parents about what they had learnt.
"There's also a thing called 'pester power'," he said.
"So if these kids know about these issues, they often then go home and present to other students or to their parents… so those workshops then drive change."
Brianna Keys, a year 12 student at St Francis Xavier College, said she would go home and "rant" to her parents about what she had learnt.
"I think it might educate them more so they realise the seriousness of this situation and how important it is to stand up and be passionate about this kind of topic," she said.
She said her favourite part was hearing what the younger students had to say about the environment.
"It's really interesting how passionate they are about it and all the fun facts they talk about," Brianna said.
The event included student-led activities on sustainable energy, the importance of native bees and endangered Australian plants and animals, among others.
Lachlan Braithwaite, a year six student at Maribyrnong Primary School, participated in a play dressed as a minion, a small yellow creature made famous by the film Despicable Me, to show how the processing of coal pollutes the environment.
"I think it's quite fun because the kids actually get interested and they don't have to have boring lectures from a really boring science teacher," Lachlan said.
Event Organiser Eliza Hopkins said the most important thing was to let the kids lead the way.
"So it's asking them what do they find interesting and how do they want to explore the topic," Ms Hopkins said.