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During the heat wave, classrooms are turning into greenhouses.
Armin Weigel/dpa (Symbolbild)
Open windows, turn off devices, move classes outside: The cantons’ tips for dealing with the heat are met with skepticism by many teachers. Faced with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees in classrooms, the teachers’ umbrella organization is calling for concrete investments.
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“It’s not just a little warm in the classrooms. Some are literally turning into greenhouses. This is harmful to the health of both the children and the teachers,” says Beat A. Schwendimann, Head of Pedagogy at the Swiss Teachers’ Association (LCH).
There is no legally mandated upper limit for classroom temperatures. As a result, room temperatures aren’t measured across the board or inspected by health inspectors. However, measurements taken in the canton of Basel-Landschaft revealed that the temperature in every single classroom exceeded 35 degrees; in one, it was as high as 42 degrees.
“We’re experiencing a record-breaking heat wave, and it’s expected that such heat waves will become even longer and hotter in the future. The federal government, cantons, and municipalities must act now,” Schwendimann demands on behalf of the LCH. The organization had already published a position paper in May calling for measures to combat heat in schools.
The umbrella organization first recommends passive measures. These include unpaved and green playgrounds, shade-providing trees or sunshades in the recess area, blinds on classroom windows, and nightly ventilation of school buildings.
If that doesn’t help, air conditioning systems should be permitted, ideally powered by renewable energy. “Some cantons are restrictive when it comes to approving air conditioning in school buildings for climate protection reasons,” explains Schwendimann. Installation and operation are also expensive. “But if school authorities do nothing, it will not be possible to hold classes for several weeks every summer in the future.”
How a school deals with the heat is currently up to each individual principal. Some set up sprinkler systems and umbrellas in the playground; others make sure the children drink enough. At some schools, sports days or school festivals have already been canceled due to the heat.
The Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich has published a guide for teachers with tips on how to teach during heat waves. “Move classes to cooler rooms (e.g., the basement) or, if possible, outdoors,” it says. Or “Turn off heat-generating devices (electrical appliances, e.g., computers and projectors, etc.).”
“‘Move classes to cooler rooms’—sure! Our school has a shop and an auditorium in the basement. For 300 kids. Who, of course, aren’t going to be crammed together in there generating heat,” a teacher criticizes the guide on LinkedIn. She goes on to write: “‘Turn off heat sources’—turn off PCs and projectors. No problem. We’ll just teach the old-fashioned way.” Her post receives a flood of support from other teachers in the comments.
Beat A. Schwendimann also considers such guidelines—as issued by several cantons—to be largely ineffective. In his view, simply advising teachers to open the windows does not adequately address the problem.
He’s also bothered by the repeatedly suggested solution of moving classes to the woods or the public pool during heat waves. “You can do that once,” he says. “But we can’t go to the swimming pool every day for several weeks—then the students wouldn’t have regular classes anymore.” Moreover, it would be logistically impossible to take all 500 or 1,000 children out of the school building and into the woods at the same time.
Some schools provide fans on short notice. But that’s just a drop in the bucket, says Beat A. Schwendimann. “Conditions in many classrooms during severe heat waves are unacceptable. We demand that the departments of education, as employers, take action to protect children and teachers in the long term and ensure that schools can operate normally.”
