It’s been a ferocious summer in most parts of Australia. Every time I drop my kids off to school, and the forecast is for 38 or 40 degrees, I feel grateful that their classrooms have air conditioning. But not everyone is so lucky.
Around Australia, parents are busily fundraising to pay for air conditioning for their schools so their kids can learn in comfort. They’ve set themselves targets of $100,000, or even more.
Brooke Patterson is the president of the P&C at Benowa State School on the Gold Coast. She has two children at the school, in Year One and Year Four, and their classrooms aren’t air-conditioned.
“It’s difficult for them,” Patterson tells Mamamia. “They get sleepy, they get distracted. But I honestly feel as much for the teachers as for the students, if not more, because trying to keep kids on point and refreshed and focused when they’re in 30-degree heat is almost impossible.
“If I was doing my work in there, I would be going a lot slower.”
Top Comments
Because of global warming we are experiencing more frequent and longer heat waves then we were 20 or 30 years ago. I think it's a health and safety issue for both teachers and students. I also read today in the Australian that academically Australia is falling significantly behind the rest of the world. We need to value education more than we do. Making our classrooms and schools a more comfortable temperature to facilitate concentration is a start. As for electricity, couldn't we harness solar energy for our schools? As for cost, investing in infrastructure is always going to have a cost. It's worth it though. We need to find a way.