When I turned on the news this morning the first thing I heard discussed was the unusually warm weather we have been having. I am not complaining about it that much is for sure. The annual Polar Bear Plunge was held adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and the air temperature was fifty degrees. The warmest it has ever been since this event has taken place. A follow up to that story was the need for air conditioning in the school. I was only half listening to this story but a lady was saying how the children were falling asleep in class due to the heat. A school administrator said, it may be a safety hazard as well ! There was an appeal for funds to air condition this school before April. Window units were an option.
Being from a older generation of students my immediate reaction was, sissies ! We didn't have air conditioning when I went to school. We didn't fall asleep because of the heat and it certainly wasn't considered a safety hazard. What is the deal with that ? The school bus wasn't air conditioned either for that matter. I know that from the few times I rode it. Most of the time I walked uphill in the snow to get there. Three miles at least. But that's a different story.
I can remember sitting in English class and the windows were wide open. The high school had those big double hung windows. They would be opened at the teachers discretion. There were no screens in those windows or safety bars to keep you from jumping either. When the wind was right quite a nice breeze would come in. Sure we would occasionally doze off but it had nothing to do with heat. We were kids in school and not terribly enraptured with the idea ! A warm breeze and the birds singing could be a bit of a distraction.
In my senior year they had built a new school. We moved to that one. No double hung windows in that one. I only spent the one year in that building and don't recall if you could open the windows. I don't believe so. I don't recall if it was air conditioned . I would think that it was.
All that got me to thinking. A lot has changed since I went to school. I expect the windows now are bullet proof glass and sealed in place. The doors are locked and security is tight. A lot of schools deploy metal detectors to scan the students while they enter. I expect you would need air conditioning in these new sealed environments. Going to school now is more like entering a prison. I.D. tags required and screening. A controlled environment. It is a sad thing. When I was in school we got fresh air and sunshine even in the classroom. Now they have to schedule time for that. Everyone must be kept comfortable as well. We just had to deal with the conditions as presented. In the winter it was cold in those classrooms. I tried to sit close to the radiator ! The whole thing was a learning experience.
I hope they find the funds to provide air conditioning for the students. I'm sure it is needed. The lottery was supposed to provide funding for education perhaps they can donate just a little. In the end it will come down to a tax ! Then there will be the increase in the electric bill to deal with. And maintenance on the units. Sure would be easier to just open the windows ! I'm just sayin'.
Being from a older generation of students my immediate reaction was, sissies ! We didn't have air conditioning when I went to school. We didn't fall asleep because of the heat and it certainly wasn't considered a safety hazard. What is the deal with that ? The school bus wasn't air conditioned either for that matter. I know that from the few times I rode it. Most of the time I walked uphill in the snow to get there. Three miles at least. But that's a different story.
I can remember sitting in English class and the windows were wide open. The high school had those big double hung windows. They would be opened at the teachers discretion. There were no screens in those windows or safety bars to keep you from jumping either. When the wind was right quite a nice breeze would come in. Sure we would occasionally doze off but it had nothing to do with heat. We were kids in school and not terribly enraptured with the idea ! A warm breeze and the birds singing could be a bit of a distraction.
In my senior year they had built a new school. We moved to that one. No double hung windows in that one. I only spent the one year in that building and don't recall if you could open the windows. I don't believe so. I don't recall if it was air conditioned . I would think that it was.
All that got me to thinking. A lot has changed since I went to school. I expect the windows now are bullet proof glass and sealed in place. The doors are locked and security is tight. A lot of schools deploy metal detectors to scan the students while they enter. I expect you would need air conditioning in these new sealed environments. Going to school now is more like entering a prison. I.D. tags required and screening. A controlled environment. It is a sad thing. When I was in school we got fresh air and sunshine even in the classroom. Now they have to schedule time for that. Everyone must be kept comfortable as well. We just had to deal with the conditions as presented. In the winter it was cold in those classrooms. I tried to sit close to the radiator ! The whole thing was a learning experience.
I hope they find the funds to provide air conditioning for the students. I'm sure it is needed. The lottery was supposed to provide funding for education perhaps they can donate just a little. In the end it will come down to a tax ! Then there will be the increase in the electric bill to deal with. And maintenance on the units. Sure would be easier to just open the windows ! I'm just sayin'.
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