School is where students go to learn and to further their education, but the weather is one factor that can take away students’ energy or ability to concentrate if it becomes uncomfortable enough.
California weather from late May until mid October has its share of heatwaves, and this can put a huge damper on college life. A brutal heatwave can seriously damage a student’s quality of thinking and reasoning while learning.
One problem that a classroom full of tired and dehydrated students can face is the lack of or unavailability of proper air conditioning. I took a class during the summer term in hot weather, and the air-conditioning unit in the class didn’t work until close to the end of the session. It was difficult to listen to the professor lecturing while constantly thinking about how hot it was inside the classroom and how hot it would be outside. In a crowded classroom with little cool air, or none at all, a heatwave will win against even the most energetic of individuals.
If classes were canceled due to a heatwave on campus, the school could save a lot of money because little electricity would be used. Computers and electronic devices wouldn’t need to be on all the time and use up electrical energy on a hot day. Power failures or blackouts could occur due to all the electricity being used, and it can be bad for students who use computers or projectors for classwork. An outage costs a school more money because of the problems that staff and students may face from lack of power.
If classes were cancelled, there would be no need for students to take the time to drive or take the bus to campus. In extreme weather, they would be able to stay home instead of going the distance to their classes on such a hot day.
A student’s health can be jeopardized, and they might experience an awful feeling like they’re going to melt or a bad experience with fatigue due to the intense conditions of a heatwave. Heat exhaustion symptoms from excessive heatwaves are more common in Southern California, and the health of many can decline rapidly as the temperature increases throughout the day. Heatstroke can cause some students to seek medical attention if they go to class during a heatwave.
I accept the idea that classes should only be in session when students are able to think and focus on what is going on in a classroom environment. These intense heatwaves are the worst on the West Coast because California is a desert. Classes should be scheduled only when there are no possible chances that someone going to school can suffer undue trauma as they go about their day.
