Every year during the months of September and October, high temperatures can reach up to triple digits in Southern California. We all know this time of year, when our classrooms become an ovenand trying to focus becomes impossible. This seems to be the case for students in the Palos Verdes Peninsula School District, where air conditioning seems to be nonexistent. On October 3rd, we finally hit our breaking point. At approximately 8:38am, the district-wide announcement was made that school would be let out early due to extreme heat. Even though this happens around the same time every year, why haven’t our conditions improved?
One of the main reasons our conditions have not ameliorated is because of the cost. Although air conditioning is not cheap, it may be worth our money in the long run to have it installed. Canceling school is certainly not the answer for hot days, especially if our classrooms are at a comfortable temperature. Commenting on the matter, one Ridgecrest Middle School teacher said, “The district sent someone to my room yesterday and the thermometer temperature was 89 degrees so they documented it… I’m envisioning a classroom where every day the environment is pleasant and we can focus on the excitement of learning without students sweating and exhausted and overwhelmed by the dry heat.” The heat seems to be a reoccurring problem, given we do live Southern California. Unless we make a change, the future doesn’t seem very bright.
Students are not the only ones here who are not able to focus in these conditions, teachers can feel the heat too. Some took to social media to express how this may affect their classes. Palos Verdes High School English teacher, Ms. Roth captioned a photo on Instagram saying, “Kids need to learn in comfortable environments … Teachers need to teach in the same.” A student of Ms. Roth, junior, Paula Knickrehm, said, “I can tell you her classroom is frequently too warm for a comfortable learning environment. With only one self-provided fan to cool down her classroom, it’s clear tostate that it does not do the job.”
Many of the classrooms at PV High are already equipped for air conditioning or even have personal air conditioning units. At certain high schools, such as Redondo Union, they use solar panels as an alternative for power – a silent and pollution free energy solution. PV High teacher Ms. Varela, who is one of the few teachers with air conditioning in her classroom, said, “What we need to look at is modernizing our campus.”
Half-days are nice but air conditioning is better. Although those few extra hours at home or at the beach may have been fun, sweating in class the weeks prior was not. Asking the question we all ponder, Ms. Varela concluded, “We added it [air conditioning] to the 400 wing during construction, so if we could do it to those rooms couldn’t we do it district-wide?”
