Teachers and students in the middle of preparations for the end-of-year exams are already having to endure the “unbearable” in their classroom where it was 29°C or more last week, a problem that is becoming increasingly common.
“I’m happy. I’m the one who has the “cold” class at school,” says Magalie* (fictitious name), who teaches elementary school in Montreal, seriously.
It was 29°C in his building on Wednesday. And this, even though the month of May is not over yet.
“For my colleagues on the floor above, it rose to 34°C,” she emphasizes.
Thanks to new CO sensors2 installed in all schools, teachers can see the temperature and humidity in their classrooms in real time.
Several teachers have published photos of their sensor on social networks in recent days to illustrate the hellish conditions they find themselves in due to the dilapidated state of their building.
Most of these buildings were built in the early 1920se century, at a time when heat episodes in May, June or September were exceptional.
Temperatures clearly exceeded the normal temperature of 21°C last week, with the mercury in Montreal reaching 31.3°C, reports Kevin Cloutier of MétéoMédia.
The sensor of a classroom at a high school, photographed on Wednesday.
Courtesy photo
However, these episodes are likely to become increasingly common as a result of climate change. Worldwide, April 2024 was the 11the the warmest consecutive month in history, the meteorologist illustrates.
“Awful”
It was so humid in Antoine*’s class on Wednesday that the 29°C must have felt almost 45°C, he estimates.
“It’s disgusting (…) As for me, it’s negligence” on the part of the school, he is outraged.
The teachers interviewed see the symptoms blatantly in their students: they are slumped over their desks, physically unable to pay attention, not to mention absenteeism.
In certain buildings, even opening windows or installing fans can’t lower the perceived temperature, teachers report.
“There are literally times when I stop teaching and go to the park (with the young people) because there is just no point,” Magalie* admits.
Equal opportunities for exams?
Some see this as an issue of equality between young people studying in an old building and those working in the private sector or in a new school. “Do all students have the same chance to succeed?” asks Xavier*, who is busy preparing for the ministry’s history exams.
All young people from 4 years olde The secondary school will be subjected to the same three-hour test at the same time, but its students risk suffering from the heat, while elsewhere the youngsters will do it in comfort in the air conditioning.
Teachers are denied installation of their own air conditioner
The problems of stifling heat in classrooms are not taken seriously by school leaders; they deplore teachers who are denied installation of air conditioning in their classrooms, even at their own expense.
“We control the heat with Mister Freeze,” jokes Magalie*.
“Except for distribution popsiclesNot much is being done,” complains Éliane*, a primary school teacher whose sensor showed a humidity of more than 60% on Thursday.
The mercury exceeded 27°C in Éliane’s primary school class* on Wednesday. Conditions were just as unbearable on Thursday, she reports.
Courtesy photo
“All that remains is to endure the unbearable,” sighs the one who was already sweating before the children arrived in her classroom.
In recent years, several teachers have been denied installation of an air conditioner even when they offered to pay for it out of pocket, notes Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre, president of the Alliance of Teachers of Montreal.
Antoine* wanted to bring his own device and was told no under the pretext that he needed a device approved by the Montreal School Service Center (CSSDM).
“So I asked for an approved device. We refused and they never explained to me why,” he reports.
Even with a medical certificate
Mme Beauvais-St-Pierre reports the case of a person who had a certain medical problem, with a doctor’s certificate, and who was nevertheless denied these solutions.
“The argument given was that installing and maintaining the device would be expensive and require staff,” she says.
By email, the CSSDM explained that it must take into account the “architectural features” of each school, some of which do not allow for a complete ventilation system. “Great importance is attached to regular hydration,” says Alain Perron, from the communications department.
The CNESST, in turn, indicates that there are no temperature standards specific to school environments. “It is up to the employer to take the necessary measures to (…) protect the physical and psychological integrity of the employee,” we respond by email.
Broken fans
Magalie* doesn’t even have a fan as most of the ones bought by the caretaker last year are already broken.
Meanwhile, almost all teachers interviewed report that there is indeed air conditioning… in their principal or vice principal’s office.
*Fictitious names: The teachers interviewed requested anonymity to avoid retaliation from their school service center.