Too Cool For School!

Summer is well and truly upon us and New York city seems to be oozing heat from every stifling corner. Yet while office workers get pleasantly relieved by the refreshing breeze of modern air conditioning units, it seems that New York students have to sit and put up with nature’s sizzle!
Believe it or not, roughly 30% of public classrooms in New York do not have air conditioning systems installed! Even worse, the figures are even lower in poorer areas! Even though research shows that cognitive and concentration abilities decline after a room reaches 77 degrees, a third of New York students are still sweltering and arguable unproductive at their desks!
Of course, when it comes to academic performance, this certainly begs the question of whether classrooms with air conditioning give children an unfair advantage over those without it. There is also the argument that previous generations did not have the luxury of air conditioning in schools; and that parents, grandparents and great-grandparents (you get the picture) seemed academically unaffected by the New York summer heat! But in a city where air conditioning has become more of a necessity than a luxury, should all public schools be fitted with an AC system?
Let us know your thoughts…