Rising Temperatures in Classrooms
Otto Schweppe, overwhelmed by the oppressively hot season.
Citizens in the U.S. have been blasted by a hotter than normal early fall.
Statistics show that most of the U.S. is experiencing this heatwave. Heat is a huge conflict, especially during seasons when it is least expected by the people of New York state. Air conditioners have been used an exceedingly higher amount than previous years.
But schools do not often have air conditioners.
It’s important to take account of the temperature in classrooms and students’ ability to learn under these circumstances. Heat and humidity are difficult for most people, but for people with health conditions such as asthma, it can be the difference between breathing and struggling to breathe. — Mrs. Hahn, Special Ed. Teacher
According to Ms. Hahn, a Special Education Teaching Assistant at RHS, “Heat and humidity are difficult for most people, but for people with health conditions such as asthma, it can be the difference between breathing and struggling to breathe.”
If you’re sitting in a gym during finals in June scorching in heat that is at times up to 90 degrees, then you probably wouldn’t perform as well, right?
Well, according to the US News and World Report article “Hotter Classrooms Make it Harder for Students to Learn” by Gabrielle Levy, studies conducted by the College Board show that students do not work as well in overheated classrooms as they do in room temperature classrooms.
According to this research, in schools across the U.S, Black and Hispanic students will more than likely suffer up to three times more than white students due to their learning environment.
White students are apparently more likely to live in cooler temperatures and have air conditioners in classroom, while students of color are more likely to live in warmer temperatures with little to no air conditioning.
The racial achievement gap is partially due to the temperature of classrooms.
Installing an air conditioner could actually increase the amount of education a person gets and how much they make when they grow up.
So my question for all of you is: what’s one change you would make when it comes to overheated classrooms? Would you install air conditioners in the school if you were in charge?
Personally, I would change the way we operated by putting in money to have air conditioners in the rooms that are usually extremely hot, and have fans in the rooms that are room temperature or cooler.
