Superheated classrooms can seriously harm students and their teachers

Weather forecasters predict that the Caribbean will experience blistering temperatures between now and the end of November. It’s incumbent on the relevant government authorities to urgently deliver a plan to schools, to mitigate the impact of high temperatures on our children and their teachers.

Have you ever considered how unbearable it must be for our children and their teachers in their primary and secondary school classrooms here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and throughout the Caribbean?

A follow-up consideration should be, how does a searing classroom, which is significantly hotter than the same classroom we occupied many moons ago, impact a student’s ability to concentrate and, by extension, to learn?

Of parallel importance, how is their teachers’ ability to impart knowledge likely to be compromised when the classroom temperature is consistently hovering around, or above, 90°F (32.2°C)?

The impact of overheated classrooms on learning, test performance, and teaching

Research shows that excessive classroom temperatures significantly compromises a student’s ability to concentrate, their test performance, and clouds their thinking.

Studies also confirm that high classroom temperatures compromise a teacher’s ability to impart instructions.

While excessive classroom heat negatively affects children’s academic performances across all subject areas, the impact is greatest on maths and maths-like subjects.

An excessively hot classroom often results in the students and their teachers becoming:

Irritable
Fatigued
Unmotivated
Distracted
Discouraged

While an ultra-hot classroom results in children being:
Cognitively compromised
Slower when performing tests and completing assignments.
More disruptive and aggressive.

This is not a tenable situation and needs to be addressed with ardour, urgency, compassion, and pragmatism, especially by those with genuine concerns for the biopsychosocial welfare of our children and their teachers.

The ideal classroom temperature for learning and teaching is 74°F (23.3°C). A temperature that is rarely experienced naturally in the Caribbean.

A study by the American Economic Association revealed that for every 1°F rise in classroom temperature, there is a corresponding 1% fall in marks. Conceptualize what is happening to the marks in a classroom whose temperature is 16-22°F higher than 74°F.

No one is immune to heat-related illnesses, however, some are at higher risk – for example:

Children

Young children
Those returning to their classroom after PE (physical education)
Asthmatics
Overweight
Sickle cell disease
Gastroenteritis
Febrile illness (e.g. Dengue)
Other

Teachers

Pregnant
Breastfeeding
Overweight
Those with major illnesses (e.g. heart disease, hyperthyroidism, kidney
disease, diabetes)
Those on certain medications (e.g. diuretics, benzodiazepines, laxatives, neuroleptics, L. thyroxine).
Other.

School factors contributing to heat-related illnesses:
Poor ventilation and airflow
Classrooms (including classrooms’ roofs) exposed to direct sunlight
Large gatherings – e.g. school assemblies.

Heat-related illnesses that can affect students and teachers:

Heat rash
Muscle cramps or spasms
Heat syncope (fainting)
Extreme heat exhaustion
Heatstroke

Mitigating the impact of high classroom temperatures
Facilitate easy access to drinking cool water.
Avoid caffeinated beverages.
Have short cool-down breaks between subjects.
Install blinds on sun-drenched windows.
Implement a dynamic classroom arrangement that changes over the day, so that no one inside is exposed to direct sunlight.
Consider outdoor teaching – in a shaded area.
Uniforms and physical education attire should be light-coloured cotton.
Schedule physical education and other outdoor activities to avoid the hotter times of day between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Educate the students on the importance of consuming lots of fluids.
Teachers should be trained in basic first aid.
Aim for classroom temperatures that are consistently less than 90°F/ 32°C. Fans help, however, if the temperature exceeds 95°F/ 35°C they are ineffective.
Look into installing (alternative-energy-powered) air-conditioning units.
Paint the rooftops of schools with sun-reflective paint. This reduces the rooftop temperature by 50°F (28°C) on average, translating into a much less hostile classroom environment for students and teachers.
Schools should close on excessively hot days (temperatures >100°F/ 37.8°C).
School assemblies should be rescheduled if the assembly room is excessively hot.

Students and teachers should seek medical attention if:

They faint
Agitated, confused
Unable to consume fluids
Not sweating
Skin dry or clammy
Body temperature is 102.2°F/ 39°C or higher
Pulse is fast or weak.
Vomiting
Having diarrhoea
Experiencing severe muscle cramps or spasms
Urine is dark or very concentrated.

Entities with the responsibility for facilitating a more enabling classroom environment:

Ministry of Education
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Transport and Works
National teachers’ unions
Teachers and administrative staff of each school, respectively.
Parents/ teachers associations
Alumni of the schools
UNICEF

There is no plausible reason why our children and their teachers should continue to suffer in their classroom furnaces. The authorities need to take the necessary steps to make classrooms endurable. Let us not wait until a student or a teacher dies from heatstroke to take action!

Author: Dr. C. Malcolm Grant – Family Physician, c/o Family Care Clinic, Arnos Vale. Former tutor, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados. Host of radio programme Physician on Call. For appointments: clinic@familycaresvg.com, 1(784)570-9300, (Office), 1(784)455-0376 (WhatsApp)
Disclaimer: The information provided in the above article is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you are seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. Dr. C. Malcolm Grant, Family Care Clinic or The Searchlight Newspaper or their associates, respectively, are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information provided above.