Bridging Worlds, Healing Scars: A Student-Teacher Journey Toward Climate-Just Education

Abstract

Our paper is a collaborative autoethnography exploring the intersection of environmental crises, personal experiences, and education through the narratives of two educators, Maha Shoaib and Sarah Kistner. Reflecting on the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan and the 2021 Texas Freeze, we explore how systemic inequities and inadequate preparedness exacerbate the impacts of disasters on marginalized communities, disproportionately disrupting educational systems. We argue for climate-just education as a restorative and healing approach, addressing inequities at the school, community, and individual levels. Climate-just education proposes a holistic framework for trauma-informed and climate-responsive education, emphasizing preparedness, mutual support, and the creation of open spaces for teachers and students to share, heal, and rebuild. At the individual level, practices such as the Butterfly Hug Technique, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), and Yoga Nidra are presented as tools for fostering self-healing and mutual healing among students and teachers. Concluding with a vision for climate-just education, we advocate for reimagining schools as transformative spaces that empower communities to adapt to and recover from environmental crises while fostering emotional resilience, equity, and sustainability.