Kit Marie Rackley has produced a very timely Coffee and Geography podcast reflecting on some events that happened over the last week or so following the unprecedented June temperatures that we experienced, which led to some schools (including some fairly local to me) to close for a day.
They explain the story and the background, ably assisted by Alistair Hamill.
It may be worth watching it here first before reading the rest of the post.
The podcast came about following Kit's appearance on a Teachers Talk Radio discussion about heatwaves.
That programme is here.
1976 was the benchmark many returned to in the newspapers and elsewhere.. which also means they have to be of a certain age to have remembered that... and this is where the anecdotes came back of how "we coped back then"... I remember it as well as anyone can remember anything after 50 years. It was hot, but last week was so much more uncomfortable...
George Monbiot also picked up on Kit's words.
As Kit says, in a very well written section of the post:
A heatwave is the hazard. A pupil sitting in a top-floor classroom at 35–39°C is exposed. A child with asthma, sensory needs, medication that affects thermoregulation, poor sleep, dehydration, poverty, poor housing, or limited self-advocacy may be more vulnerable.
Geographers often frame risk as a relationship between:
Risk = Hazard × Vulnerability × Exposure
So the heat itself is only one part of the equation. Two children can experience the same heatwave, but not the same risk. One child may go home to a cool house, a parent present, fans, water, shade and quiet. Another may go home to a top-floor flat, poor ventilation, no adult available, or an unsafe home environment made worse by heat-related stress. One school may have shaded grounds, cross-ventilation, cool rooms and flexible routines. Another may have sealed windows, glass-heavy classrooms, no shade and overheating corridors.
It's no point having set temperatures as different schools are set up differently. I was fortunate that my room stayed relatively cool but other parts of the school were stifling. Did learning get done?
The post ends with some ideas for helping to make schools safer for young people. All useful for a Year 6 unit we do in the Summer term on adapting to hotter temperatures.
A final thought is some words from the England manager which I read this morning, ahead of their next match in Mexico City which kicks off at 1am...
"Write an excuse for school and let them watch.
"There's so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch.
"There will be a big match in four days, and we need the support of everyone, especially the children."
So it's OK to miss a day of school and important learning because you stayed up to watch a football match... but not to keep you (and all the teaching and support staff with their differing physiology and underlying health issues) safe? Good to know...
Some of the comments on the BBC story are amusing though :)
Comments