Sizzlin' Classrooms

This post doesn't offer any resources for you -- it's just an "old-fashioned" blog post that I hope will spark a little bit of discussion.

If you've read my "About" page, then you know that I'm currently a substitute for several local districts in an effort to keep my foot in education and to maybe gain a classroom of my own again next year.

While I would much rather be teaching in my own classroom this year, there are definite perks to substituting. Mainly, I love seeing what goes on in other classrooms. Substituting doesn't allow me to watch other teachers in action, but it does allow me to acquire many ideas on classroom setup, management methods, and lessons. I always leave at the end of the day with my brain buzzing with all the new things I learned. I try to write it all down as soon as I can so that I can apply it to my [future] classroom (when I get one again).

Anyway, I've been subbing a lot this semester, and I've noticed a definite trend in hot classrooms.

Source

I'm sure this probably has something to do with the budget cuts and the fact that schools are trying to save money in whatever ways possible at this point...right?

I'm naturally a pretty hot-natured person, so my body can find a way to sweat in the dead of winter (sorry if that's TMI). But when I encounter other teachers in the hallway whose hair has become stringy and their foreheads are glistening with beads of sweat, I know I'm not the only one who feels like she's in a furnace in some of those classrooms!

I am realizing just how lucky I was in my classroom last year, where I had free reign (to some extent) over the thermostat in my classroom. Teachers at my school last year could change their classroom temperature to anything between 65-80 degrees. The teachers I'm subbing for this year don't seem to be able to control the temperature of their classrooms at all. I even saw one smart-cookie teacher who was dealing with the heat by placing a lamp underneath the thermostat's temperature sensor; as the lamp's heat increased on the temperature on the sensor, the thermostat thought it was too hot in the room and kicked on a little cool air. Brilliant solution!

I was prompted to write this blog post after a subbing experience where the kids kept exclaiming over my red cheeks, and I could feel my glasses sliding down my face from the sweat. I ended up having to open the door to get some air circulating, but the teacher had written for her students to be doing some very social activities that afternoon, and I was afraid that our noise was going to disturb other classes. On the other hand, I knew it was way too hot in there to be able to keep the door closed....

This prompted me, again, to think about last year, when I had control over my thermostat.  Since I am naturally hot and I spent a lot of time moving around in my classroom, I kept the temperature at about 68 degrees. If my students spent a lot of time in their seats during class, I found that the girls would complain about the cold. But if I kept my students up and moving (which I wanted to do, anyway), they thought it was a good temperature, too. Upon entering, other teachers would comment on how "cold" it was, but then again, they weren't moving around and working up a sweat all hour, either...

If my college classrooms' temperatures weren't "just right," I considered them to be on the cool side. I have rarely ever been in a classroom that is too hot...until this year. It seems to be a common theme that most teachers agree that a chilly classroom is better than a warmer classroom. My college professors reasoned that a chilly classroom will keep students awake better than a warmer classroom will (although, if your lessons are really innovative and intriguing, the majority of students won't have a hard time staying awake, anyway!). I've also heard that a chilly classroom is healthier than a warmer classroom, since germs crave moisture and warmth. I don't want to freeze my students, but I do want everyone to be comfortable enough so that they can function with ease, myself included.

I find it very difficult to function in a hot environment because my mind can't seem to get over the fact that I'm sweating buckets (sorry again if that's TMI. I'm normally not this gross, I promise. :) ).

So I have a few questions for my bloggy friends:

1. Do you have the ability to control the thermostat in your classroom?
2. What temperature is your classroom normally?
3. What do you think is the best temperature for optimal learning? Why?

I'm anxious to know what you think!