Upper School Welcomes Congressman

Parker was fortunate this week to welcome Congressman Mike Quigley, who took time out of his busy schedule to speak to the Upper School Climate Science and Environmental Justice class. This class—co-taught by History teacher Andrew Bigelow and Science teacher Xiao Zhang—combines climate science with a corresponding focus on the history and politics, involving two days that are science-focused and two days that are history- or politics-focused, with a lab or a guest speaker set for the fifth day of each week.

Bigelow and Zhang asked Quigley, who represents Illinois’ 5th District, to visit because they “wanted the ‘greenest’ (in terms of the environment) member of Congress to talk to our kids about getting climate change legislation passed.” Previously, class members studied the Inflation Reduction Act as well as Illinois’ progressive climate change legislation, which the legislature recently passed. Students also read a great deal about Quigley’s life as a social and environmental justice advocate long before he ran for office, preparing them well to have a variety of questions for Quigley. In addition to environmental justice issues, Quigley also spoke on his work in aiding Ukraine, combating racism and ways to help keep our communities safe from gun violence.

“The kids loved him,” Bigelow said. “His energy, tangents, passion and storytelling were riveting. The students were extremely appreciative to have him here.” And Zhang shared, “Especially considering that this curriculum has a call-to-action component, Congressman Quigley’s talk foreshadowed the action component and has gotten the students to start to think outside the classroom.”

Parker is extremely honored to have Congressmen Quigley spend time with students. His expertise and real-life example as a leader in environmental justice act as a sterling example as Parker seeks to educate students as responsible citizens and leaders in our world.

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