At Riverside Brookfield High School the air conditioning is not turned on over the weekend, leading to hot Mondays. This affects students’ learning and makes everyone in the building uncomfortable.
The reason the AC is turned off on weekends is to be eco-friendly, which seems like a good idea, but it comes with the side effect of Mondays being really warm. So the question is should the AC be turned off over the weekend? My personal opinion is no, the AC should not be turned off over the weekend.
Starting with the eco-friendly approach: the AC is turned off at most areas in the building unless there is an event, which helps conserve energy and power. Turning off the AC seems like it would be a great thing to do because it saves power and is good for the environment, and if we turn it on over the weekend it could be hurtful to the ecosystem. According to an article from Carrier.com, when electricity production increases, more carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a cause of climate change, so it is a good thing to try and limit it as much as we can. Because of this, many may think that the best thing to do is keep the AC off over weekends.
Even though being eco-friendly is a great thing, the AC being turned off has many side effects for students and faculty on Mondays. Going back to school after the weekend can already be tiring for most, and trying to focus on learning in a muggy classroom can make it even more difficult. Walking into a hot classroom is definitely not the way to start your first class of the week. Schoolwork itself is already pretty stressful for most, and RB should make sure that the school is a comfortable working environment for students. Every Monday I hear a teacher or student comment on how hot the classroom and school is, and it can be a pretty big distraction for a lot of people. Especially in the beginning of the year when the weather is hot and everyone is still adjusting to going back to school after summer break, it just makes walking into a hot classroom 10 times worse.
To end, I personally think that the AC should not be turned off over the weekends. Even though it is helpful to the environment, it can be too uncomfortable for students coming back from the weekend and trying to learn. I also believe that it doesn’t need to be on the whole weekend. If they just turn it on Sunday night to cool the school down a little, I think it could make a huge difference. There are also many other ways RB can be eco-friendly, such as recycling more, so they don’t solely rely on the AC being off. I think that being environmentally friendly is a great thing, but I also think that students’ learning and comfortability in school is more important.
