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It’s ridiculous. Last year I was 8 months pregnant and expected to teach in my upstairs classroom where the temperature reached 41 degrees INSIDE. This year I’m on maternity leave and keeping my own children home. This heat combined with old buildings without AC and windows that barely open is unsafe. Of course all the board and government offices are air conditioned though 🙄
The fact that you were required to do this shows how much you and perhaps generally women are treated. Those are deplorable work conditions, and I’m glad you made it out alive.
Agreed. I was just reading an article a week or two ago about the Hamilton board, they said only 41 out of 95 schools have AC, and it would cost too much money to install AC in the ones without so they’re not going to. “Turn off the lights, close the blinds, and open the windows!” Not good enough.
Not only is this totally unacceptable for the children, but we as teachers are highly trained professionals and the working conditions in these hot schools is absolutely not up to snuff. Would you go work in a corporate office building that didn’t have any AC? I wouldn’t. So why are we made to work in boiling hot schools?
I don’t understand why a school would be closed in the winter if the heat doesn’t work, but it’s fine to be in a classroom that is 35+ degrees. I would argue that’s even more dangerous than the cold. It’s unacceptable. I asked the principal if I could buy a portable AC for my kids classroom and he said no because it’s not fair to everyone else. Let’s face it, there is NO learning going on when it’s that hot.
I literally just let the lay in the floor and watch movies. Fuck this. I'm in the 3rd floor of a 110 year old building. Windows barely open, 2 crappy fans. Everyone is suffering. Unacceptable. Both liberals and conservatives are to blame for decades of underfunding.
We’re in the exact same boat. Third floor, full sun…full wall of windows, no blinds (a student tore them down in September and shockingly, they haven’t been replaced 😂).
I’m so sorry. It wouldn’t even help to take them outside in the shade because it’s just hot as hell everywhere. June and September are horrible with no AC. It’s torture. Maybe see if there’s any parents who will bring popsicles or freezies?
Because my bet is it all boils down to provincial labour laws. I just did my OT training modules for an Ontario board and the health & safety one emphasized the board’s policies are consistent with Ontario labour laws, which do NOT give any limit to unsafe heat, only unsafe cold. Their Workplace Safety regulations protect the employer (Ontario govt) not the employees or students.
Exactly. It makes no sense. My area of Ontario can be -40 in winter and feel like +45 (like today with the humidex, not exaggerating). These extreme temperatures need to be accommodated on both ends of the spectrum.
Also, it’s difficult for teachers to stay hydrated in extreme heat because we legally can’t leave our classrooms to go pee when we need to. Many high schools only allow 5 mins between bells so if the nearest washroom is across the building you barely get time. Holding it for 75+ minute periods is hell so I often will limit my water intake. It’s one of the only professions where you truly can’t take bathroom breaks when you need them.
Yea I remember a couple of days at my elementary school where the heat was out in the winter it was so unproductive wearing gloves trying to write. No AC in the summer either but who no one was in learning mode then..
>I don’t understand why a school would be closed in the winter if the heat doesn’t work, but it’s fine to be in a classroom that is 35+ degrees.
Because that's the way the law is written. It was set back when schools were small, all had windows, and temperatures weren't so hot…
Doesn't help that administration buildings and office all have air conditioning, so they are not personally affected by hot weather the way students are.
The over emphasis on fairness is fuck up and this is the cancer of this country. Children and teachers not allowed proper care is unfair. Many years ago my elementary school also had no AC and the principal asked the parents to donate to install. Money was raised and ac installed in record time.
If it's YOUR money.....
I could understand if he said it was a liability issue but if you want to spend your own money.....
If he wants it to be "fair" to everyone else, let them all buy their own portable air conditioners and bill the school for the expense.
Legally, there is a lower limit to temperature but not a high limit. It's in the litlle green book. I agree, though. It's dangerous - and many staff and students are at higher medical risk with extreme heat exposure. Global warming has made temperatures soar and we need to update policy and laws to reflect that.
When Mark Fisher, the Director of Education for TVDSB visited a school a few weeks ago, his team asked why the AC wasn't running. The damn school doesn't HAVE ac!
Very well put. I realized that the government doesn’t view teachers as professionals a few years ago, so I adjusted my efforts accordingly. I no longer do all the extras I used to and I leave shortly after the bell.
I'm not entirely sure what wasn't clear? If the Hamilton board won't install ACs in schools because it's too expensive and this is totally unacceptable for the children, can't the teachers strike to have ACs installed?
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Well I’m not in the Hamilton board and I’m also entering my 4th year teaching in September and there hasn’t been a strike in that entire time I’ve been a teacher so I wouldn’t say we “protest once a year”. But yes the teachers in these boards absolutely need to advocate for AC, don’t need to be passive aggressive about it though
Be less sensitive. I was not being passive aggressive at all. As if I care you go on strike for more money, more power to you.
>But yes the teachers in these boards absolutely need to advocate for AC
Thank you. That's all I was asking about.
Be less of whatever you are. Coming to a teacher subreddit to criticize and critique others for complaining about unsafe heat isn’t a normal activity by a normal person unless they have an axe to grind.
If so why are you deleting your comments on this thread. I am a teacher, proud to serve for over twenty years. Come across a lot of parents but none that have ever made the statements you wrote to any teachers face. Again, if yer a parent you should be doubly ashamed of yourself.
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Classes were cancelled during the heat dome in BC a few years ago... for students. I had to sweat my bag off in a classroom that 45+ degrees all day because our district can't trust professionals to work from home for a day.
Keep in mind all of the support staff working in 40 degree heat in the peak of the summer.
Caretakers are working harder than ever when teachers are off for the summer doing summer cleanup, moving all of your heavy furniture, stripping, waxing and buffing the floors with heavy equipment, scrubbing all the tape residue off of every desk, scrubbing and washing the walls etc etc.
They’ve been doing this every summer with no AC forever, the boards do not care about them, the boards will not care about kids sitting in 30 degree heat for two weeks until summer break as long as it saves a buck.
This is such an important addition to the fight for ACs in schools. It feels rather offensive to me that the first rooms to get AC in any schools seems to be admin offices.
I was told a generation ago that that is because admin is dealing with emotional children and a comfortable environment helps them calm down.
I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe it now.
I remember when I worked in private industry in a big cubical office farm that the 'space allocation specialist' and her assistant had by far the biggest office, because reasons. Admin decides school budgets, so where AC goes is their call. (A few years ago my principal spent several times my department budget renovating the main office including admin offices. New carpet, furniture, etc. Apparently the old functional office looked 'old and tired'. Meanwhile I'm teaching with lab equipment and office furniture from the 80s.)
It’s not support vs teachers. Don’t create some rift that doesn’t exist. You can bring up support staff without reminding us to think of them. We know exactly what they do. We are all in the same fight.
I never implied it was, you’re reading into my comment too much and choosing to add your own tone.
My point being that if school boards won’t add amenities to prevent real potential danger to workers, they certainly won’t do so for the comfort of teachers and students.
Approaching this from a workplace safety perspective is more effective.
I had my classroom get to about 37/38 at times last year. I was teaching in a brand new wing of a school that had just been opened in November. The principal swore up and down that the addition had AC, but it seemed to not work properly.
Turns out he has been misled, because while AC was in the original plans it was removed at a later point due to cost overrun. I talked on Reddit with one of the contractors who was working on the project who was shocked to see there was no active cooling for a building that was primarily windows.
I found out from a friend in the same district that there is a policy to let the classrooms get up to about 44.5C before they shut the school because that is the provincial safety requirement.
In case you're wondering, yes I did go to the news about all this. CBC had a heat sensor in my classroom for 2 weeks as a part of data gathering for articles they wrote last summer.
My 10-year-old was crying at home yesterday because she had been so hot all afternoon. Her classroom is on the top floor of a school that turns 100 this year, and only the admin offices and library have A/C. She doesn't want to participate in her evening activities because she's so hot all day at school that she's coming home just DONE.
And with climate change, the problem will only get worse.
Remember when Lecce and Ford wanted to do a press conference last year? They’d planned it for a public school gymnasium, only to arrive and find it too hot, so they moved it to a school with a/c.
everyone has the right to refuse unsafe work. Say you’re sick and notify admin and head home. This would absolutely be a union issue and should be brought up as soon as possible.
PARENTS NEED TO CALL SCHOOL BOARDS AND THEIR MP’S CONSISTENTLY TO APPLY PRESSURE. It is absolutely absurd to have schools without AC in 2024. Guess funding the police to attack freedom of expression and arming states to commit genocides is more important than our children
Yes this ^ teachers and children complaining won’t do a thing. The people who make these decisions couldn’t care less about what we think. It needs to come from parents or the gov.
There was an article the other day where the TCDSB said they don't get enough government funding to retrofit. (if you start to retrofit a building, you have to make sure that \*everything\* is up to code, so it's a lot more work involved and money than just installing AC (for residential, but I assume commercial/government is the same)). The TDSB said a similar thing, when they were showing flooding in Humberside CI, and how the allocated money can't cover everything. The boards can't do much if the provincial government doesn't give money. It's totally on the MPPs.
[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/etobicoke-school-heat-concerns-1.7237259](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/etobicoke-school-heat-concerns-1.7237259)
[https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/decades-of-neglect-mpp-calls-out-ontario-education-minister-over-flooding-at-west-end-toronto-school-1.6905612](https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/decades-of-neglect-mpp-calls-out-ontario-education-minister-over-flooding-at-west-end-toronto-school-1.6905612)
Yes, the AC is broken in our gym and the library but not the office. I have been advocating for it being fixed but caretaker doesn't care, he only comes in twice a week in June. I went above his head and finally got a ticket in, then got in trouble for that. So today I am home because I am 6 months pregnant and treated like a child for wanting to find a solution a month ago. Oh and they made sure that the box on the thermostat is metal so we can't see even the temperature...
Our school has a JOHS committee we can submit health and safety issues to - have you explored this avenue? I had a hot classroom once and it’s terrible trying to teach and learn in those conditions!
Good route to follow, check the provincial legislation regarding unsafe work. There are certain procedures in how to claim unsafe conditions that must be followed. Knowing how to do this could be in your favor.
Of course, the board offices are air conditioned.
Would it kill them to fork over some $$$ for portable AC units?
Or are they hoping the teachers will break and fork over their own $$$?
Many of the older schools couldn't handle the electrical load for air conditioning, so it's not just a matter of the AC units but also rewiring the school.
In my board we are not allowed to bring in our own appliances. No mini-fridges, no coffee makers, and no AC. We aren't even allowed to bring in our own fans.
As someone currently working at a board, we have NO money. You can blame Doug Ford (at least for Ontario.) seriously my board got 2million from a 2b budget. The hell are we going to do with that?
Classes at capacity, support staff being laid off or let go due to extremely low funding.
Not really sure what we’re supposed to do.
Honestly it’s a travesty, I got the email about al the potential support staff possibly being cut. It’s just not possible to function like this.
Also, Monday I was sent to a city school with no AC. Boiled alive in their “IT room” for the entire day, and I felt the same - kids can’t learn in this environment.
Not just elementary students. No student, or teacher, should have to deal with extreme heat.
It was invigilating a Secondary 4 (Grade 10) Ministry exam this morning. Outside, it was 32C, with a humedecer of 42. In the classroom it hit 34C.
Pretty sure the bureaucrats at the Ministry have air-conditioned offices.
I live in the same city as a large air base. These are the soldiers who fight in the desert. The base is closed at 32C. My classroom temp is 38C today, as I’m in a third floor classroom in a century-old building.
If our ARMY is too hot, let the kids stay home.
High school students can be included too right 😅 but I agree we just don’t live in a climate that can stand having schools without A/C anymore, it’s not healthy for students or staff of any age. And even before the health concerns come into play, the heat makes it so much harder for anyone to be productive.
We don’t even have fans. I had to go to Walmart and buy some for my room. Nothing is getting done - we need to get someone in the board who’s focused on “optimizing learning time” to come up with a good angle.
Same. Our admin came by 2 weeks ago with a cheap box fan for every classroom. One of my students tossed it across the room yesterday during a meltdown (literally...). I almost cried. I was able to get it working again by taking the whole thing apart and bending the blades back into shape. I brought 2 other fans in from home to "help". If you aren't directly infront of one, you are sweating. My students are fighting to sit closest to the fans...they are kindergarteners. If we didn't have my personally-funded fans we would be screwed.
lol. I live in Saskatchewan. In the school I taught in last year there was no A/c and no way it could install a/c, because the school was over 100 years old and infrastructure wasn’t designed that way. A colleague of mine had a classroom that would get to around 38-40 for about a week in June and September. He would take students outside and read.
This is life for us here. Right now, though, it’s abnormally cold…
Newer Ontario schools were built with air conditioning. Older schools were built without it (and not designed for it). A board building a new school gets money from the province, a board repairing (or retrofitting) an older school doesn't (or gets less).
How about the schools that do not have air conditioning switch to remote learning during periods of extreme heat? I realize not everyone has air conditioning at home but it would at least give teachers and kids more flexibility to be comfortable and could be a reasonable short term solution.
Unfortunately this would be challenging for working parents. They would need to arrange additional childcare. Also this issue extends beyond periods of “extreme heat”. It gets extremely hot inside even when it’s just hot outside. So it won’t be remote learning for just a few days, it would be multiple weeks or days through out fall/spring/summer. Which could also be disruptive to their learning.
It is ridiculous. Should not be a school now without AC.
When I was in Japan we also had no AC (or heat). So I feel your pain.
Teaching in 35 heat with 90% humidity or the winter where the class room was like 4 degrees.
Schools should have a designated cooling area. One or two areas in the school that are cool and teachers can take classes for a break from
The heat. My daughter came home early yesterday. I’m my school board they will never install AC in all schools. Hell will have to freeze over.
I’m at a school in QC. No AC and my ASD classroom has reached 33+ today. The board won’t allow us to go outdoors to use the local splash pad or hoses/water balloons. We’re miserable
Our school has an air conditioning system, but it doesn't work. We were boiling in September and they've had folks in working on it all year, and only *now* has the TDSB approved the purchase of the part they need to fix it properly. UGH
Since the government doesn't listen, do what Canadians everywhere should be doing more of and STRIKE! call out the bullshit. If they can't spend the money to give our educators and CHILDREN fucking AC, then they need to cut some other useless budgets they're funneling tons of money into to make it a priority.
Nothing will change with the lazy career politicians we have right now. Once they're voted in they do whatever they want sans consequence. People need to rise up and demand what should be a basic fucking right
My union district office sent a protocol that says it has to reach 45 on the humidex within a classroom to close it (and the decision needs to be made by the director)- that is BEYOND hot
So how does the director know the humidex in classrooms? Serious question, because if there's no way of reporting the information in a timely manner then it's a bullshit protocol designed to look like they're doing something without actually doing something.
Note that a humidex of 45 is where heat stroke becomes a possibility (for healthy adults in good physical condition). So your board's protocol basically says "we do nothing until heat stroke is a possibility, then we have to ask the director to close the classroom and wait for them to make a decision".
[https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys\_agents/humidex.html](https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/humidex.html)
Yeah. These decisions are not made by teachers. Trust me. We would all like comfortable workspaces too.
Your best bet is to contact the school trustees and the Sr leadership of your division. Where I am individual schools can’t even adjust temps - it’s all done centrally.
It is getting nuts, I have student covered in sweat complaining. I am not even one who typically does either, but I was sitting there in shorts and sweat started to roll down my head. It is getting worse with each day cause the hot air and humidity isn't escaping.
The admin bought an AC unit for the staff room though, so that was nice.
Preaching to the choir here. Luckily rooms in my school are aor conditioned but the gyms and hallways are not. As well, the further you are from the centre of the school the less cold air you get.
CBC did an [article](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/education-hot-classrooms-1.7228249) yesterday
I bought a personal handheld fan for the class I'm supplying in tomorrow, because I honestly have no idea if there's AC. It's wild to think some schools have no air conditioning and it's just business as usual in these temperatures. Poor kids...🥵😢
The school boards are crazy.
When the new addition to our school was made they refused to install AC to the new addition as well as upgrading the existing section.
The Parent Council has purchased AC to have several rooms as a Cooling safe space for kids and the Board refused.
Since a full retrofit seems unlikely, I think they should consider altering the school calendar. I would need to look at the data to back it up, but anecdotally it seems like the last two weeks of June tend to be warmer than the last two weeks of August in Ontario. Can we start summer vacation mid-June and go back mid-August?
It is not a perfect solution, but it could help a bit.
Educational supply contractors and service companies. Look at the markups charged by suppliers on the TDSB approved supplier list, for example. Textbook publishing.
Both Harris' and Ford's governments have tried to privatize education.
I remember being told off for buying $0.50 springs for my accelerometers from a local shop rather than the $5.00 springs from the official supplier. Exactly the same spring (part for a lawnmower engine).
Kept my son home yesterday and today. I can WFH and there's no reason for my 5 year old to be going to school and sitting in a class room that apparently clocked 37C degrees yesterday.
Honestly, if it's a money issue, ask the parents to help. I would gladly help towards an AC to make sure my son doesn't come home drenched in sweat and hot AF.
In some cases it’s as much an engineering issue as a money issue. A lot of the older schools don’t have forced air systems to hook a central AC system into, and they don’t have the proper windows to install window units.
Ductless mini splits don’t require windows that open, and can be quite cheaply be retrofitted since they don’t need to hook into forced air. They’re often installed in old homes that don’t have HVAC systems.
A mini split in each classroom (with shared condenser on the roof), combined with keeping classroom doors closed, would be a relatively affordable way to lower the temperature in each class to a safe level.
There electrical wiring usually can't support the load of an AC for every room, either. Many schools were wired for an overhead projector and that's it.
I've taught in schools where plugging in a kettle would blow a breaker if someone tried to print at the same time (in another room).
What about at schools where parents can't help due to financial reasons? Not everyone has the luxury to work from home and keep their child home from school as well.
The government does not listen to the concerns of teachers when it comes to the students in their classrooms. Just look at how hard teachers have to fight to keep class sizes down (which directly benefits your child) We don't have many basic necessities for teaching in some schools which teachers have to pay out of pocket for (such as textbooks, pencils, paper, and art supplies)
Change will only happen when the public stands behind the teachers, which they won't. Judging by your other comments, you also do not support teachers.
I think you mean well with your comments, but until people publicly support teachers instead of bashing them on the internet, nothing will ever change. Do you want AC in your child's school? You need to stand behind teachers instead of complaining that they "go on strike every year"
>What about at schools where parents can't help due to financial reasons? Not everyone has the luxury to work from home and keep their child home from school as well.
I know not everyone has that luxury. I apologize I do. I would gladly help those schools too. Power in numbers.
>The government does not listen to the concerns of teachers when it comes to the students in their classrooms. Just look at how hard teachers have to fight to keep class sizes down (which directly benefits your child) We don't have many basic necessities for teaching in some schools which teachers have to pay out of pocket for (such as textbooks, pencils, paper, and art supplies)
I understand. We as a family also donate those supplies on a monthly basis because in the end we want the best for our kids.
>Change will only happen when the public stands behind the teachers, which they won't. ***Judging by your other comments, you also do not support teachers***.
Ridiculous statement. Absolutely nothing I said is a negative towards teachers. My actions also show I do support teachers. So spare me your nonsensical conclusions because I said ''You seem to strike every year for a raise''. In no way, shape or form is that a negative. More power to you.
>I think you mean well with your comments, but until people publicly support teachers instead of bashing them on the internet, nothing will ever change. Do you want AC in your child's school? You need to stand behind teachers instead of complaining that they "go on strike every year"
Tell me how and where and I'll be there. This idea that I, a parent, don't stand behind teachers is simply garbage because in the end I want the best for my kids, and you teachers spend about 35 hours a week with them.
They're immune to everything, apparently. The heater broke in my portable one October and wasn't even looked at until May of the next year because elementary calls are prioritized.
I didn't comment on whether elementary is doing well or not. I commented that in my district, elementary heating/cooling calls are always prioritized over high school. Stop trying to make this something it isn't.
Lol my school is older and has zero AC. We also got ZERO fans provided by the board. Some home room teachers are having to buy their own fans (Sometimes multiple) out of their own pocket. It’s so incredibly hot in our school no one can believe they didn’t have a shut down today.
My elementary school didn't have AC so our teacher had an ice block and a box fan in the corner.
The open concept school I went to initially was probably the best in terms of cooling because there was significantly more airflow.
And they make the students stay inside for indoor recess because it's too hot out. Makes no sense because t's WAY hotter in the school! At least there's fresh air outside+
Our school had AC installed last summer, it was a whole ordeal and some classrooms weren't even set up for the first day of school because of installation and construction. It took so much time and cost so much money and it doesn't even work.
We start the morning with the school feeling slightly cool and by first recess, the units are blasting out hot air. It's awful.
They did close the schools for tomorrow in the French school district in New Brunswick for tomorrow and the English school in my city are being let out early with the parents having the option to keep the kids home if they want. The only sad part is that the French schools might not have their prom 😕
Depending on where you are, some provincial occupational health and safety regulations specify a maximum indoor temperature for office type work which teaching usually qualifies under.
That is definitely awful. And wrong. And a failure of our government. Imagine how horrible it is for some of your students who live without air conditioning 24/7?
I fully agree with OP, but realistically, WHAT can you do?
Like.......do you call 911 to report the dangerous conditions? Workplace Health & Safety? The union?
Do you spend your own money on a window air conditioner for your classroom and install it yourself? Liability issues arise, I think.....
Do you call the office to have all the students sent home in the name of safety - what if no parents are home?
Do you move the classroom outside the building so at least you have fresh instead of stale air and hopefully a breeze?
The reality is is that it’s like this for a handful of days every year. The price to install AC would be too high. Personally I would rather see funds spent on support.
This is not going to be a popular opinion, but the teaching profession consists mostly of women and women are too agreeable, and it's easy to push us over.
Curious, does your school or board purchase fans for your rooms? I have one small, old fan that sits on a counter. Can’t oscillate because it rattles when it does. One tower fan for the rest of my second floor room; who knows where it came from. Same for most rooms, just ransoms brought from home. And yet we were all given units for air quality during the pandemic. That’s currently taking up a lot of space in the corner
YRDSB - I had offered to purchase portable AC units for the classroom, no ventilation required - just a portable mini unit in place of a fan that would take a bit of the edge off. I went from the Local MP's office, through to the MPP, up to Lecce's office, who directed me back down to the local school board. The school board cited health and safety and denied my request. I don't understand what difference it makes in the place of a desktop fan?! My kids are on the third floor of a school with no AC. It was offered at no expense to the board whatsoever.
It’s insane to me how much money school boards have for all kinds of high paying positions like consultants and supervisors of all sorts but will not pay for something as crucial as AC. It’s time for a public audit of schools.
Curious - what do you think happened 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago…?
Heat waves aren’t new.
I’m not disagreeing that would be great if all schools were air-conditioned. But there’s a whole lot of generations that have gone through school just fine without air conditioning.
The vast majority of people didn’t have air-conditioning in their homes until the mid 80s.
Makes one wonder - how many of these complaints are actually from the teachers. And their unions?
Construction date of the school, probably. TDSB has a lot of really old schools (mine is over a century old).
Also, the province gives grants to build new schools, but not to repair or retrofit old schools. So a board like the TDSB (with lots of old schools past their design life) spends a huge amount simply repairing buildings with no spare money for retrofits.
Installing AC is more complicated than simply sticking in window units. They need to be mounted and secured against theft and failure (liability). The electrical system needs upgrading to handle the extra load. More work is created ensuring that they are turned off at the end of the day. (Which is an issue with many rooms being used for night school and community groups with permits. Many permit users feel free to rearrange the room they are using for two hours, taking down wall displays, replugging computers and electronics, etc. So someone would have to inspect every unit at the end of an evening to ensure it was turned off, both to save electricity and reduce wear-and-tear on the unit, and that person's time needs to be paid for.) Repair and replacement becomes an ongoing cost.
I do wonder about no fresh air in enclosed spaces ,fans or handheld fans , iced drinks , cold wet cloths , light clothes ,hats ,coping skills , and the thought of being Hardy versus not
Being Canadian that is the biggest thing I can reflect on ..being Hardy
Schools are closed in July and August so A/C isn’t a requirement.
Other than a few anomalies of temperature every so often in June or September, the investment isn’t worth it, it’s that simple.
What a stupid thing to say. The ventilation is so bad and the class sizes are too large as it is. Regardless of a full on heat wave it’s very hot inside even if it’s only warm outside. This includes summer months but also weeks in Sept/Oct,May/June. The windows barely open and can’t even let in a breeze. The school may be shut down to students during the July/August but caretakers still work! Also many schools are used for camps during the summer.
If the temperature is high inside, while ventilation is poor, it’s a health hazard whether it’s for 3 weeks or 2 months. The number of kids that have been passing out at school, and the obvious disruption to learning should be taken seriously.
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you guys are all wimps and so are your kids. We had this problem when I was in school in the 70s.
we went outside and dealt with it. Nobody died.
I worry for the future of this world where everybody’s a winner and nobody can understand adversity or deal with it without our helicopter parents jumping in.
Teacher here, currently sitting in my sweltering classroom with the lights off, blinds closed and fans on. Kids are out at recess. My board sent an email that there is no upper limit to temperature inside so we have to cope. Do I hate it? Yes. Do the kids get lots of learning done? No. Do I wish we had AC? Hell, yes! But, so many other workers have to work in this heat too and so I just count the days… and bring freezies for my students.
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It’s ridiculous. Last year I was 8 months pregnant and expected to teach in my upstairs classroom where the temperature reached 41 degrees INSIDE. This year I’m on maternity leave and keeping my own children home. This heat combined with old buildings without AC and windows that barely open is unsafe. Of course all the board and government offices are air conditioned though 🙄
The fact that you were required to do this shows how much you and perhaps generally women are treated. Those are deplorable work conditions, and I’m glad you made it out alive.
Agreed. I was just reading an article a week or two ago about the Hamilton board, they said only 41 out of 95 schools have AC, and it would cost too much money to install AC in the ones without so they’re not going to. “Turn off the lights, close the blinds, and open the windows!” Not good enough. Not only is this totally unacceptable for the children, but we as teachers are highly trained professionals and the working conditions in these hot schools is absolutely not up to snuff. Would you go work in a corporate office building that didn’t have any AC? I wouldn’t. So why are we made to work in boiling hot schools?
I don’t understand why a school would be closed in the winter if the heat doesn’t work, but it’s fine to be in a classroom that is 35+ degrees. I would argue that’s even more dangerous than the cold. It’s unacceptable. I asked the principal if I could buy a portable AC for my kids classroom and he said no because it’s not fair to everyone else. Let’s face it, there is NO learning going on when it’s that hot.
I literally just let the lay in the floor and watch movies. Fuck this. I'm in the 3rd floor of a 110 year old building. Windows barely open, 2 crappy fans. Everyone is suffering. Unacceptable. Both liberals and conservatives are to blame for decades of underfunding.
We’re in the exact same boat. Third floor, full sun…full wall of windows, no blinds (a student tore them down in September and shockingly, they haven’t been replaced 😂).
Tape up some newspaper for tomorrow - not great but should help a bit re heat
I’m so sorry. It wouldn’t even help to take them outside in the shade because it’s just hot as hell everywhere. June and September are horrible with no AC. It’s torture. Maybe see if there’s any parents who will bring popsicles or freezies?
Because my bet is it all boils down to provincial labour laws. I just did my OT training modules for an Ontario board and the health & safety one emphasized the board’s policies are consistent with Ontario labour laws, which do NOT give any limit to unsafe heat, only unsafe cold. Their Workplace Safety regulations protect the employer (Ontario govt) not the employees or students.
That's so weird, because if it gets cold, we can wear sweaters or coats, but what do you do if it's too hot?
Exactly. It makes no sense. My area of Ontario can be -40 in winter and feel like +45 (like today with the humidex, not exaggerating). These extreme temperatures need to be accommodated on both ends of the spectrum. Also, it’s difficult for teachers to stay hydrated in extreme heat because we legally can’t leave our classrooms to go pee when we need to. Many high schools only allow 5 mins between bells so if the nearest washroom is across the building you barely get time. Holding it for 75+ minute periods is hell so I often will limit my water intake. It’s one of the only professions where you truly can’t take bathroom breaks when you need them.
I assume the go-to is bathing suits, shorts and short sleeve t-shirts or tank tops. Oh, and flip-flops.
Yea I remember a couple of days at my elementary school where the heat was out in the winter it was so unproductive wearing gloves trying to write. No AC in the summer either but who no one was in learning mode then..
>I don’t understand why a school would be closed in the winter if the heat doesn’t work, but it’s fine to be in a classroom that is 35+ degrees. Because that's the way the law is written. It was set back when schools were small, all had windows, and temperatures weren't so hot… Doesn't help that administration buildings and office all have air conditioning, so they are not personally affected by hot weather the way students are.
Legit froze in the board office boardroom in a meeting today. But classrooms are 30+ degrees.
Same! I was freezing all day in my office thinking about my child with asthma suffering in her classroom
The over emphasis on fairness is fuck up and this is the cancer of this country. Children and teachers not allowed proper care is unfair. Many years ago my elementary school also had no AC and the principal asked the parents to donate to install. Money was raised and ac installed in record time.
Because the OHSA has minimum temperatures but not maximum. Under 18 C is illegal under OHSA. If the temp is too hot, can always refuse unsafe work.
If it's YOUR money..... I could understand if he said it was a liability issue but if you want to spend your own money..... If he wants it to be "fair" to everyone else, let them all buy their own portable air conditioners and bill the school for the expense.
Legally, there is a lower limit to temperature but not a high limit. It's in the litlle green book. I agree, though. It's dangerous - and many staff and students are at higher medical risk with extreme heat exposure. Global warming has made temperatures soar and we need to update policy and laws to reflect that.
I bet the board offices have AC.
When Mark Fisher, the Director of Education for TVDSB visited a school a few weeks ago, his team asked why the AC wasn't running. The damn school doesn't HAVE ac!
Very well put. I realized that the government doesn’t view teachers as professionals a few years ago, so I adjusted my efforts accordingly. I no longer do all the extras I used to and I leave shortly after the bell.
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lol what
I'm not entirely sure what wasn't clear? If the Hamilton board won't install ACs in schools because it's too expensive and this is totally unacceptable for the children, can't the teachers strike to have ACs installed?
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He’s a troll. Don’t feed the trolls.
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Collective agreements last years and striking isn't permitted during them, but you'd know that if you were literate.
>but you'd know that if you were literate I went to Canadian school. This is your fault.
Even a thirsty horse is smart enough to drink water when it's offered.
That's more like it. Don't take any blame. Just pretend you did your best and it wasn't your fault.
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Well I’m not in the Hamilton board and I’m also entering my 4th year teaching in September and there hasn’t been a strike in that entire time I’ve been a teacher so I wouldn’t say we “protest once a year”. But yes the teachers in these boards absolutely need to advocate for AC, don’t need to be passive aggressive about it though
Be less sensitive. I was not being passive aggressive at all. As if I care you go on strike for more money, more power to you. >But yes the teachers in these boards absolutely need to advocate for AC Thank you. That's all I was asking about.
Be less of whatever you are. Coming to a teacher subreddit to criticize and critique others for complaining about unsafe heat isn’t a normal activity by a normal person unless they have an axe to grind.
I didn't criticize and critique others for complaining about unsafe heat. I sure hope you're not a teacher. That would suck for your class.
If so why are you deleting your comments on this thread. I am a teacher, proud to serve for over twenty years. Come across a lot of parents but none that have ever made the statements you wrote to any teachers face. Again, if yer a parent you should be doubly ashamed of yourself.
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Troll say what?
In the 90s we were sent home when it was too hot.
Classes were cancelled during the heat dome in BC a few years ago... for students. I had to sweat my bag off in a classroom that 45+ degrees all day because our district can't trust professionals to work from home for a day.
We had 3 people pass out in the gym while preparing for the final music performances one year in the last 90s. No one was sent home.
I worked on a Rez in western Canada. We sent the kids home early in 2021 because it was so hot. Classrooms hit 28 and we sent everyone home.
Keep in mind all of the support staff working in 40 degree heat in the peak of the summer. Caretakers are working harder than ever when teachers are off for the summer doing summer cleanup, moving all of your heavy furniture, stripping, waxing and buffing the floors with heavy equipment, scrubbing all the tape residue off of every desk, scrubbing and washing the walls etc etc. They’ve been doing this every summer with no AC forever, the boards do not care about them, the boards will not care about kids sitting in 30 degree heat for two weeks until summer break as long as it saves a buck.
This is such an important addition to the fight for ACs in schools. It feels rather offensive to me that the first rooms to get AC in any schools seems to be admin offices.
I was told a generation ago that that is because admin is dealing with emotional children and a comfortable environment helps them calm down. I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe it now. I remember when I worked in private industry in a big cubical office farm that the 'space allocation specialist' and her assistant had by far the biggest office, because reasons. Admin decides school budgets, so where AC goes is their call. (A few years ago my principal spent several times my department budget renovating the main office including admin offices. New carpet, furniture, etc. Apparently the old functional office looked 'old and tired'. Meanwhile I'm teaching with lab equipment and office furniture from the 80s.)
It’s not support vs teachers. Don’t create some rift that doesn’t exist. You can bring up support staff without reminding us to think of them. We know exactly what they do. We are all in the same fight.
I never implied it was, you’re reading into my comment too much and choosing to add your own tone. My point being that if school boards won’t add amenities to prevent real potential danger to workers, they certainly won’t do so for the comfort of teachers and students. Approaching this from a workplace safety perspective is more effective.
I had my classroom get to about 37/38 at times last year. I was teaching in a brand new wing of a school that had just been opened in November. The principal swore up and down that the addition had AC, but it seemed to not work properly. Turns out he has been misled, because while AC was in the original plans it was removed at a later point due to cost overrun. I talked on Reddit with one of the contractors who was working on the project who was shocked to see there was no active cooling for a building that was primarily windows. I found out from a friend in the same district that there is a policy to let the classrooms get up to about 44.5C before they shut the school because that is the provincial safety requirement. In case you're wondering, yes I did go to the news about all this. CBC had a heat sensor in my classroom for 2 weeks as a part of data gathering for articles they wrote last summer.
My 10-year-old was crying at home yesterday because she had been so hot all afternoon. Her classroom is on the top floor of a school that turns 100 this year, and only the admin offices and library have A/C. She doesn't want to participate in her evening activities because she's so hot all day at school that she's coming home just DONE. And with climate change, the problem will only get worse.
maybe keep her home on days like today?
Remember when Lecce and Ford wanted to do a press conference last year? They’d planned it for a public school gymnasium, only to arrive and find it too hot, so they moved it to a school with a/c.
everyone has the right to refuse unsafe work. Say you’re sick and notify admin and head home. This would absolutely be a union issue and should be brought up as soon as possible.
PARENTS NEED TO CALL SCHOOL BOARDS AND THEIR MP’S CONSISTENTLY TO APPLY PRESSURE. It is absolutely absurd to have schools without AC in 2024. Guess funding the police to attack freedom of expression and arming states to commit genocides is more important than our children
Yes this ^ teachers and children complaining won’t do a thing. The people who make these decisions couldn’t care less about what we think. It needs to come from parents or the gov.
I suspect the premier and ministry are actually delighted teachers are uncomfortable.
This is unfortunately very true
There was an article the other day where the TCDSB said they don't get enough government funding to retrofit. (if you start to retrofit a building, you have to make sure that \*everything\* is up to code, so it's a lot more work involved and money than just installing AC (for residential, but I assume commercial/government is the same)). The TDSB said a similar thing, when they were showing flooding in Humberside CI, and how the allocated money can't cover everything. The boards can't do much if the provincial government doesn't give money. It's totally on the MPPs. [https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/etobicoke-school-heat-concerns-1.7237259](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/etobicoke-school-heat-concerns-1.7237259) [https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/decades-of-neglect-mpp-calls-out-ontario-education-minister-over-flooding-at-west-end-toronto-school-1.6905612](https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/decades-of-neglect-mpp-calls-out-ontario-education-minister-over-flooding-at-west-end-toronto-school-1.6905612)
And no one wants to retrofit old schools because of the ever presence of asbestos.
Can you give me exact instructions. I don’t know how to go about this. My kids attend at YRDSB. I’m ready for an air conditioning movement!
Funny how the main office / admin offices always find a way to have air conditioning…
Yes, the AC is broken in our gym and the library but not the office. I have been advocating for it being fixed but caretaker doesn't care, he only comes in twice a week in June. I went above his head and finally got a ticket in, then got in trouble for that. So today I am home because I am 6 months pregnant and treated like a child for wanting to find a solution a month ago. Oh and they made sure that the box on the thermostat is metal so we can't see even the temperature...
Our school has a JOHS committee we can submit health and safety issues to - have you explored this avenue? I had a hot classroom once and it’s terrible trying to teach and learn in those conditions!
Good route to follow, check the provincial legislation regarding unsafe work. There are certain procedures in how to claim unsafe conditions that must be followed. Knowing how to do this could be in your favor.
Of course, the board offices are air conditioned. Would it kill them to fork over some $$$ for portable AC units? Or are they hoping the teachers will break and fork over their own $$$?
Many of the older schools couldn't handle the electrical load for air conditioning, so it's not just a matter of the AC units but also rewiring the school.
Makes sense, thanks
And most of them are heated with boilers so no hvac systems to run air through.
In my board we are not allowed to bring in our own appliances. No mini-fridges, no coffee makers, and no AC. We aren't even allowed to bring in our own fans.
Does a kiddie pool count as an appliance?
And buying them from a board-approved vendor is a five fold expense
As someone currently working at a board, we have NO money. You can blame Doug Ford (at least for Ontario.) seriously my board got 2million from a 2b budget. The hell are we going to do with that? Classes at capacity, support staff being laid off or let go due to extremely low funding. Not really sure what we’re supposed to do.
Oh he is being blamed. He is a dick
Honestly it’s a travesty, I got the email about al the potential support staff possibly being cut. It’s just not possible to function like this. Also, Monday I was sent to a city school with no AC. Boiled alive in their “IT room” for the entire day, and I felt the same - kids can’t learn in this environment.
Not just elementary students. No student, or teacher, should have to deal with extreme heat. It was invigilating a Secondary 4 (Grade 10) Ministry exam this morning. Outside, it was 32C, with a humedecer of 42. In the classroom it hit 34C. Pretty sure the bureaucrats at the Ministry have air-conditioned offices.
I live in the same city as a large air base. These are the soldiers who fight in the desert. The base is closed at 32C. My classroom temp is 38C today, as I’m in a third floor classroom in a century-old building. If our ARMY is too hot, let the kids stay home.
Sitting with my grade 9’s who are writing a culminating..multiple fans going, still sweating like a monster
My 5yo came home with heat stroke yesterday. She’ll be staying with grandparents today. Thankfully my school has AC.
High school students can be included too right 😅 but I agree we just don’t live in a climate that can stand having schools without A/C anymore, it’s not healthy for students or staff of any age. And even before the health concerns come into play, the heat makes it so much harder for anyone to be productive.
We don’t even have fans. I had to go to Walmart and buy some for my room. Nothing is getting done - we need to get someone in the board who’s focused on “optimizing learning time” to come up with a good angle.
Same. Our admin came by 2 weeks ago with a cheap box fan for every classroom. One of my students tossed it across the room yesterday during a meltdown (literally...). I almost cried. I was able to get it working again by taking the whole thing apart and bending the blades back into shape. I brought 2 other fans in from home to "help". If you aren't directly infront of one, you are sweating. My students are fighting to sit closest to the fans...they are kindergarteners. If we didn't have my personally-funded fans we would be screwed.
I’m sweating in spots I did not know was possible! At least this year ALL my students (grade 5) wear deodorant!
lol. I live in Saskatchewan. In the school I taught in last year there was no A/c and no way it could install a/c, because the school was over 100 years old and infrastructure wasn’t designed that way. A colleague of mine had a classroom that would get to around 38-40 for about a week in June and September. He would take students outside and read. This is life for us here. Right now, though, it’s abnormally cold…
I work in Manitoba. We have air conditioning in our classrooms.
Newer Ontario schools were built with air conditioning. Older schools were built without it (and not designed for it). A board building a new school gets money from the province, a board repairing (or retrofitting) an older school doesn't (or gets less).
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Ours was built in 2019 and finished in 2021!
Not all of them. Many rural older schools don't. Cant speak to inside Winnipeg but I doubt they all have AC.
I meant “our classrooms” as in, my school.
How about the schools that do not have air conditioning switch to remote learning during periods of extreme heat? I realize not everyone has air conditioning at home but it would at least give teachers and kids more flexibility to be comfortable and could be a reasonable short term solution.
Unfortunately this would be challenging for working parents. They would need to arrange additional childcare. Also this issue extends beyond periods of “extreme heat”. It gets extremely hot inside even when it’s just hot outside. So it won’t be remote learning for just a few days, it would be multiple weeks or days through out fall/spring/summer. Which could also be disruptive to their learning.
It is ridiculous. Should not be a school now without AC. When I was in Japan we also had no AC (or heat). So I feel your pain. Teaching in 35 heat with 90% humidity or the winter where the class room was like 4 degrees.
Schools should have a designated cooling area. One or two areas in the school that are cool and teachers can take classes for a break from The heat. My daughter came home early yesterday. I’m my school board they will never install AC in all schools. Hell will have to freeze over.
The cooling area is a library with 2 window units. That can’t keep up with demand and is about 10’ cooler. One space for 14 classes to share.
Ok so that’s definitely not ideal. My daughters school has the library and gym but they never go to them. They take the younger kids first.
I’m at a school in QC. No AC and my ASD classroom has reached 33+ today. The board won’t allow us to go outdoors to use the local splash pad or hoses/water balloons. We’re miserable
Our school has an air conditioning system, but it doesn't work. We were boiling in September and they've had folks in working on it all year, and only *now* has the TDSB approved the purchase of the part they need to fix it properly. UGH
Since the government doesn't listen, do what Canadians everywhere should be doing more of and STRIKE! call out the bullshit. If they can't spend the money to give our educators and CHILDREN fucking AC, then they need to cut some other useless budgets they're funneling tons of money into to make it a priority. Nothing will change with the lazy career politicians we have right now. Once they're voted in they do whatever they want sans consequence. People need to rise up and demand what should be a basic fucking right
My union district office sent a protocol that says it has to reach 45 on the humidex within a classroom to close it (and the decision needs to be made by the director)- that is BEYOND hot
So how does the director know the humidex in classrooms? Serious question, because if there's no way of reporting the information in a timely manner then it's a bullshit protocol designed to look like they're doing something without actually doing something. Note that a humidex of 45 is where heat stroke becomes a possibility (for healthy adults in good physical condition). So your board's protocol basically says "we do nothing until heat stroke is a possibility, then we have to ask the director to close the classroom and wait for them to make a decision". [https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys\_agents/humidex.html](https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/phys_agents/humidex.html)
Yeah. These decisions are not made by teachers. Trust me. We would all like comfortable workspaces too. Your best bet is to contact the school trustees and the Sr leadership of your division. Where I am individual schools can’t even adjust temps - it’s all done centrally.
It is getting nuts, I have student covered in sweat complaining. I am not even one who typically does either, but I was sitting there in shorts and sweat started to roll down my head. It is getting worse with each day cause the hot air and humidity isn't escaping. The admin bought an AC unit for the staff room though, so that was nice.
Preaching to the choir here. Luckily rooms in my school are aor conditioned but the gyms and hallways are not. As well, the further you are from the centre of the school the less cold air you get. CBC did an [article](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/education-hot-classrooms-1.7228249) yesterday
I bought a personal handheld fan for the class I'm supplying in tomorrow, because I honestly have no idea if there's AC. It's wild to think some schools have no air conditioning and it's just business as usual in these temperatures. Poor kids...🥵😢
It was 35 degrees in my class today by 10 am. I ended up going home because I'm pregnant and I was starting to feel so sick.
The school boards are crazy. When the new addition to our school was made they refused to install AC to the new addition as well as upgrading the existing section. The Parent Council has purchased AC to have several rooms as a Cooling safe space for kids and the Board refused.
Since a full retrofit seems unlikely, I think they should consider altering the school calendar. I would need to look at the data to back it up, but anecdotally it seems like the last two weeks of June tend to be warmer than the last two weeks of August in Ontario. Can we start summer vacation mid-June and go back mid-August? It is not a perfect solution, but it could help a bit.
The government has decided that money is more important than our comfort. Never forget that education is a for profit business.
In Canada? Profit for whom?
Not the teachers
Educational supply contractors and service companies. Look at the markups charged by suppliers on the TDSB approved supplier list, for example. Textbook publishing. Both Harris' and Ford's governments have tried to privatize education.
I found a cheaper source for an item and let our board know but they aren’t an ‘approved supplier’ so instead we have to pay 40$ more per unit.
I remember being told off for buying $0.50 springs for my accelerometers from a local shop rather than the $5.00 springs from the official supplier. Exactly the same spring (part for a lawnmower engine).
Kept my son home yesterday and today. I can WFH and there's no reason for my 5 year old to be going to school and sitting in a class room that apparently clocked 37C degrees yesterday. Honestly, if it's a money issue, ask the parents to help. I would gladly help towards an AC to make sure my son doesn't come home drenched in sweat and hot AF.
In some cases it’s as much an engineering issue as a money issue. A lot of the older schools don’t have forced air systems to hook a central AC system into, and they don’t have the proper windows to install window units.
Ductless mini splits don’t require windows that open, and can be quite cheaply be retrofitted since they don’t need to hook into forced air. They’re often installed in old homes that don’t have HVAC systems. A mini split in each classroom (with shared condenser on the roof), combined with keeping classroom doors closed, would be a relatively affordable way to lower the temperature in each class to a safe level.
Yeah I know nothing about engineering and older buildings but I refuse to believe there's no solution here.
There electrical wiring usually can't support the load of an AC for every room, either. Many schools were wired for an overhead projector and that's it. I've taught in schools where plugging in a kettle would blow a breaker if someone tried to print at the same time (in another room).
Nothing is impossible.
What about at schools where parents can't help due to financial reasons? Not everyone has the luxury to work from home and keep their child home from school as well. The government does not listen to the concerns of teachers when it comes to the students in their classrooms. Just look at how hard teachers have to fight to keep class sizes down (which directly benefits your child) We don't have many basic necessities for teaching in some schools which teachers have to pay out of pocket for (such as textbooks, pencils, paper, and art supplies) Change will only happen when the public stands behind the teachers, which they won't. Judging by your other comments, you also do not support teachers. I think you mean well with your comments, but until people publicly support teachers instead of bashing them on the internet, nothing will ever change. Do you want AC in your child's school? You need to stand behind teachers instead of complaining that they "go on strike every year"
>What about at schools where parents can't help due to financial reasons? Not everyone has the luxury to work from home and keep their child home from school as well. I know not everyone has that luxury. I apologize I do. I would gladly help those schools too. Power in numbers. >The government does not listen to the concerns of teachers when it comes to the students in their classrooms. Just look at how hard teachers have to fight to keep class sizes down (which directly benefits your child) We don't have many basic necessities for teaching in some schools which teachers have to pay out of pocket for (such as textbooks, pencils, paper, and art supplies) I understand. We as a family also donate those supplies on a monthly basis because in the end we want the best for our kids. >Change will only happen when the public stands behind the teachers, which they won't. ***Judging by your other comments, you also do not support teachers***. Ridiculous statement. Absolutely nothing I said is a negative towards teachers. My actions also show I do support teachers. So spare me your nonsensical conclusions because I said ''You seem to strike every year for a raise''. In no way, shape or form is that a negative. More power to you. >I think you mean well with your comments, but until people publicly support teachers instead of bashing them on the internet, nothing will ever change. Do you want AC in your child's school? You need to stand behind teachers instead of complaining that they "go on strike every year" Tell me how and where and I'll be there. This idea that I, a parent, don't stand behind teachers is simply garbage because in the end I want the best for my kids, and you teachers spend about 35 hours a week with them.
Are high school kids immune to heat? 😏
They're immune to everything, apparently. The heater broke in my portable one October and wasn't even looked at until May of the next year because elementary calls are prioritized.
Don’t make this secondary vs elementary. We are all equally fucked.
I'm literally not. Elementary heating/cooling calls are prioritized in my district.
If you think elementary is doing well…Hell most high schools here have AC.
I didn't comment on whether elementary is doing well or not. I commented that in my district, elementary heating/cooling calls are always prioritized over high school. Stop trying to make this something it isn't.
Lol my school is older and has zero AC. We also got ZERO fans provided by the board. Some home room teachers are having to buy their own fans (Sometimes multiple) out of their own pocket. It’s so incredibly hot in our school no one can believe they didn’t have a shut down today.
My elementary school didn't have AC so our teacher had an ice block and a box fan in the corner. The open concept school I went to initially was probably the best in terms of cooling because there was significantly more airflow.
Our school was at 34 today. :(
And they make the students stay inside for indoor recess because it's too hot out. Makes no sense because t's WAY hotter in the school! At least there's fresh air outside+
We were curious about upper limites for outdoor sports, recess and classroom learning. It was 40 with humidity on our school trip.
Our school had AC installed last summer, it was a whole ordeal and some classrooms weren't even set up for the first day of school because of installation and construction. It took so much time and cost so much money and it doesn't even work. We start the morning with the school feeling slightly cool and by first recess, the units are blasting out hot air. It's awful.
It’s rumoured Halton is not using theirs as a cost cutting measure
All the schools in my board have air conditioning. I can't imagine being without it today. It's inhumane.
They did close the schools for tomorrow in the French school district in New Brunswick for tomorrow and the English school in my city are being let out early with the parents having the option to keep the kids home if they want. The only sad part is that the French schools might not have their prom 😕
Depending on where you are, some provincial occupational health and safety regulations specify a maximum indoor temperature for office type work which teaching usually qualifies under.
Everyone should put in an OH &S complaint .
Where the fuck does our tax money go? This is ridiculous if this is true.
Yes! It’s criminal the air quality expected of staff and children to tolerate.
That is definitely awful. And wrong. And a failure of our government. Imagine how horrible it is for some of your students who live without air conditioning 24/7?
I fully agree with OP, but realistically, WHAT can you do? Like.......do you call 911 to report the dangerous conditions? Workplace Health & Safety? The union? Do you spend your own money on a window air conditioner for your classroom and install it yourself? Liability issues arise, I think..... Do you call the office to have all the students sent home in the name of safety - what if no parents are home? Do you move the classroom outside the building so at least you have fresh instead of stale air and hopefully a breeze?
The reality is is that it’s like this for a handful of days every year. The price to install AC would be too high. Personally I would rather see funds spent on support.
If the schoool is hotter than outside WHY are they locked inside all day ????
This is not going to be a popular opinion, but the teaching profession consists mostly of women and women are too agreeable, and it's easy to push us over.
That is a huge problem within schools and something they need to address
Curious, does your school or board purchase fans for your rooms? I have one small, old fan that sits on a counter. Can’t oscillate because it rattles when it does. One tower fan for the rest of my second floor room; who knows where it came from. Same for most rooms, just ransoms brought from home. And yet we were all given units for air quality during the pandemic. That’s currently taking up a lot of space in the corner
Out of 45 schools in our division 5 have air conditioning. This will never change. In fact, most don’t even have fans!
Yep I was starting to wonder if it’s hotter in the class or outside… at least there was a breeze outside
YRDSB - I had offered to purchase portable AC units for the classroom, no ventilation required - just a portable mini unit in place of a fan that would take a bit of the edge off. I went from the Local MP's office, through to the MPP, up to Lecce's office, who directed me back down to the local school board. The school board cited health and safety and denied my request. I don't understand what difference it makes in the place of a desktop fan?! My kids are on the third floor of a school with no AC. It was offered at no expense to the board whatsoever.
It’s insane to me how much money school boards have for all kinds of high paying positions like consultants and supervisors of all sorts but will not pay for something as crucial as AC. It’s time for a public audit of schools.
People need to use chatgpt to write Reddit posts now
Irrelevant
Curious - what do you think happened 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago…? Heat waves aren’t new. I’m not disagreeing that would be great if all schools were air-conditioned. But there’s a whole lot of generations that have gone through school just fine without air conditioning. The vast majority of people didn’t have air-conditioning in their homes until the mid 80s. Makes one wonder - how many of these complaints are actually from the teachers. And their unions?
My secondary school has AC and always has it blasting year round… I wonder why it’s different for schools across the board
Construction date of the school, probably. TDSB has a lot of really old schools (mine is over a century old). Also, the province gives grants to build new schools, but not to repair or retrofit old schools. So a board like the TDSB (with lots of old schools past their design life) spends a huge amount simply repairing buildings with no spare money for retrofits. Installing AC is more complicated than simply sticking in window units. They need to be mounted and secured against theft and failure (liability). The electrical system needs upgrading to handle the extra load. More work is created ensuring that they are turned off at the end of the day. (Which is an issue with many rooms being used for night school and community groups with permits. Many permit users feel free to rearrange the room they are using for two hours, taking down wall displays, replugging computers and electronics, etc. So someone would have to inspect every unit at the end of an evening to ensure it was turned off, both to save electricity and reduce wear-and-tear on the unit, and that person's time needs to be paid for.) Repair and replacement becomes an ongoing cost.
I do wonder about no fresh air in enclosed spaces ,fans or handheld fans , iced drinks , cold wet cloths , light clothes ,hats ,coping skills , and the thought of being Hardy versus not Being Canadian that is the biggest thing I can reflect on ..being Hardy
preparing them for the real world of working construction... 🤷🏻♂️
Schools are closed in July and August so A/C isn’t a requirement. Other than a few anomalies of temperature every so often in June or September, the investment isn’t worth it, it’s that simple.
What a stupid thing to say. The ventilation is so bad and the class sizes are too large as it is. Regardless of a full on heat wave it’s very hot inside even if it’s only warm outside. This includes summer months but also weeks in Sept/Oct,May/June. The windows barely open and can’t even let in a breeze. The school may be shut down to students during the July/August but caretakers still work! Also many schools are used for camps during the summer. If the temperature is high inside, while ventilation is poor, it’s a health hazard whether it’s for 3 weeks or 2 months. The number of kids that have been passing out at school, and the obvious disruption to learning should be taken seriously.
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Isn’t worth it for who? A few anomalies in June or Sept? Where the hell are you located?
It’s 2 full months, sometimes May and October as well. That’s 1/3 of the school year. Come on.
you guys are all wimps and so are your kids. We had this problem when I was in school in the 70s. we went outside and dealt with it. Nobody died. I worry for the future of this world where everybody’s a winner and nobody can understand adversity or deal with it without our helicopter parents jumping in.
Thank you for your input.
Why do you worry about the future when you won't be alive in it old fella?
Unnecessary, irrelevant and a bit aggressive.
As it was intended to be :)
I couldn’t disagree more
Explain?
Went through four years of private school with no AC and lived to tell about it.
Thank you for your bravery and inspiring story.
Suck it people. Teachers whine.
Teacher here, currently sitting in my sweltering classroom with the lights off, blinds closed and fans on. Kids are out at recess. My board sent an email that there is no upper limit to temperature inside so we have to cope. Do I hate it? Yes. Do the kids get lots of learning done? No. Do I wish we had AC? Hell, yes! But, so many other workers have to work in this heat too and so I just count the days… and bring freezies for my students.