There was this song when I was a kid called Summer in the City that has been running through my head all day long. It's a more or less happy tune, talking about how hot it is during the day, but that if one waits till nighttime there's a lot of fun to be had. The song to which I am referring is by Loving Spoonful. You can still hear it on the oldies station once in a while.
Today was HOT. Even for a woman like me who loves the heat, it was almost too hot for me. But when I think about the implications of the heat wave in which we are in the middle of, there are some real concerns and issues that we need to address when it comes to urban communities. Even before the latest increase in gas and electricity costs, families in urban and impoverished communities suffer in weather extremes a lot more than those who don't. First, we have to remember that dwellings in cities are older. In some cases, they are a lot older. That means that central air is virtually non-existent. Add to that the fact that many of these buildings are not up to code on their wiring, and you have a recipe for disaster in a heat wave. The power goes out, and any one who has air conditioning (and that's not as many as you would think) gets to boil right along side those who don't. With the power out, the elevators don't work. Cooling centers, local supermarkets, libraries, movie theaters... all the places that people go to escape the heat are not viable options.
Other than 75,000 souls who suffered for a few hours today, we did pretty well in the area in terms of power outage. Even so, there is more to consider about the impact of the heat. For people who have serious health issues, the heat we experienced today can be a killer. 97 degree heat (or more) that we had today aggravates asthma, emphysema, heart issues, and a whole host of other health related issues. Couple that with no insurance (which means no primary care doctor who knows your history), and emergency rooms, many of which have been closed in urban centers, cannot handle the overflow. The heat also contributes to capturing smog and ozone, which makes it even harder to breathe. And let's not forget how asphalt and concrete absorbs heat.
Schools, too, suffer with this heat. Newark Public Schools, like many other districts, made the decision to close schools because of the excessive heat. You can read the Newark letter to parents and schools here. I applaud all the districts in the state who made this decision. At the same time, it also gives me pause because I have to wonder about the conditions under which students will be OUTSIDE of school. Will they able to find cool places?
My point in raising this issue is that the heat is one more thing that teachers need to think about as they prepare for teaching and learning. The classroom environment, whether too cold or too hot, will have an impact on student learning. And the last time I checked, humanity can't control the weather. They can really screw with it, but they don't control it.
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I completely agree with the decision to close the schools due to excessive heat. My mom went through the same drama today with her students. The classroom was about 89 degrees when they left. There is no way that anyone could teach, let alone learn in that type of environment.
ReplyDeleteThis is just a thought, but wouldn't it have made more sense to just close school before time? By having school close at 1 p.m., wouldn't parents have to leave work to come pick up their child(ren)? If the parent(s) or guardian(s) work jobs based on hourly wages, couldn't this have a negative impact? Although, I suppose a couple hours' pay won't cripple anyone, it sure can't make a bad financial situation any better.
-Ed
When I think about urban cities and the kids, I picture the fire hydrant open in the middle of the street. This is fun, but also convenient for those that do have air conditioning can save on electricity and for those that don't they have a way to stay refreshed. There are some bad decisions made in urban schools that are not good, but at least today they thought about the students’ best interest and let kids out early.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have the image of the open fire hydrant, too. Some fire companies will purposefully open them, but when others do it, it can lead to disaster. If there are a lot of hydrants open, it can reduce water pressure and if there's a bad fire (which can be so much worse in the summer), it's a recipe for disaster.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if schools can make these decisions to close school for the entire day, but there are legal issues involved. The schools went to 1PM so that they had legally clocked a full day of school. If they used up their snow days, they would have to do that or tack on an extra day at the end of the month.
I agree- humanity definitely can not control mother nature. One of the huge issues here is complete subjection to her wrath. Intense heat and frigidity recreate environments, and when you lose control of the environment, you are probably more likely to lose control of your objectives within that environment. At a time when every day is essential to be teaching, losing even one due to extreme weather is awful. There have been many towns without power today, namely in Essex County, and due to the storms last night many schools were out today. It's awful. I suppose as a teacher you kind of just have to roll with the punches, right?
ReplyDeleteflexibility is the key to life, as is knowing what you can and cannot control.
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