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The good old days
The first few days of school have passed. It’s been hot in our house. It’s been hot on the street. It’s been hot in the backyard. It’s hot in those classrooms. Not many of the windows in our local public schools have blinds or curtains on them. Indeed, in some classrooms at PECI, the windows face west and the folks inside are treated to a roasting. Very few schools are equipped with air conditioners or even fans. In spite of this, I’ve heard many of my friends and contemporaries say, “Well, back in my day we didn’t have air conditioners in our school and we survived.”
Yeah, you’re nodding because you’ve heard it or you’ve said it. Y’all didn’t have seatbelts in your family car “in your day” either and one too many deaths changed that. You probably drank from the garden hose and played outside until the street lights came on and you walked two miles, uphill both ways, to school in all kinds of weather. I’ve been there, too. Heck, I even rode my bicycle without wearing a helmet and survived. Just because you and I survived those “good old days” without safety devices doesn’t make it right. Lots of people didn’t survive.
The issue of air conditioning, or even ceiling fans and curtains, in a school is a big deal. We’ve just experienced one of the hottest summers in recorded weather history (and it’s still summer until midweek). We seem to believe that students and educators are whiners when the classroom temperature creeps up to hellish levels. But think about it, a large amount time, for students and educators, is spent in a hot classroom.
The classroom is where the bulk of the learning happens. It stands to reason the conditions should be as close to safe and ideal as possible. And yes, I said safe. I do remember my days as a student, back in the olden days. I remember June and September, sitting in a classroom and seeing students become nauseated, fainting or complaining of headaches. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke is what it’s called, old timers.
The good thing is that students and teachers are now encouraged to have filled water bottles within easy reach. In the good old days, if a kid wanted to go for a drink of water it was a request that could get you a whack on the knuckles or a detention for being sneaky or lazy. We know better. We know that prolonged exposure to heat and humidity cause problems that manifest in odd ways. Muscle cramps, heat edema, blisters and rashes, sometimes a body stops producing sweat altogether. In extreme heat, confusion and exhaustion occur. I didn’t then (in the good old days) and I don’t now, see those conditions as something a teacher or student should stop whining about.
Our children deserve the best learning environment we can provide for them. Our teachers deserve the best teaching environment we can provide for them. Don’t go tricking yourself into believing that if little Cameron or Shania come home feeling ill, it must be the flu.
I know. I know. The case for installation of air-conditioning in our public schools could not be made, based on the age of the buildings and the current lack of infrastructure to support the changes. However, ceiling fans and/or curtains or blinds have to be considered, if not now, then soon. Without cooling, or at least air circulation, during the hottest of days, students, educators and support staff have to cope with conditions that will result in declining performance and could cause serious health problems. And climate change is only going to increase the risk of extreme heat and for longer periods of time.
Yeah, yeah. We survived the good old days but that doesn’t make it right.
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