HOT MAN ON CAMPUS

By Dan Miller
August 14, 2007

Yes, I was a hot student.... but I don't want my daughter to be one.

I'm sure you'll agree that a comfortable learning environment is a big advantage for today's young people.
No student, anywhere, should have to suffer through these incredibly hot days in steamy classrooms without air conditioning.

But, having said that.... and at the risk of sounding like a relic from ancient times.... I can't help but wonder, were we just tougher and more resilient all those decades ago?
Or did we just never taste the liberating nectar of air conditioned classrooms?

Growing up in Georgia -- one of the hottest places you'll find -- we never had air conditioning in our classrooms. Never!
We didn't even have a fan.

As you can imagine, in the minds of teachers and principals, a fan conjured up images of severed fingers and worse.
And our school year lasted all the way into June, and resumed in the hot, early days of September.

From kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I never once sat in an air conditioned classroom.
And I never really thought much about it.

Oh, I do recall it being quite uncomfortable in many of the rooms....
And it was slightly helpful when a classroom was on the shady side of the building....
And I couldn't always concentrate on the lessons because I was too hot and sweaty....
And I was miserable.... and I'm certain my grades and disposition suffered!
Heck, if we'd had air conditioned classrooms, I might have occasionally been mistaken for a good student.

Wait a minute.... I'm back where I started.
We want this world to be better for our kids than it was for us.
Their grades, their attitudes about learning, and even their well being, are at stake.

So let's keep the phone number of the AC repairman handy!

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