US EditionToo hot to study, say Italian teachers as school (finally) resumes
Only six percent of Italian schools have air conditioning, leading to unsafe study conditions during frequent heatwaves, with some schools adjusting schedules to cope, union leaders say.
- This past week, children across Italy returned to classrooms after a three-month break, with lessons starting between September 8 and September 16 amid near 30C heat in major cities.
- The education ministry warns that `summer-like conditions now occur earlier in spring and last longer into autumn,` Francesca Guglielmo told AFP, amid climate-driven heatwaves and only six percent of Italy's schools having air conditioning.
- Public pressure is visible as more than 76,000 sign a petition to shorten summer holidays, campaigners say penalising working families.
- In Sicily, regional schools have already announced midday finishes as 33C is expected next week, while Marcello Pacifico said, `We cannot continue with the same school calendar as 50 years ago when the climate has changed`.
- Campaigners say governments should invest in facilities so schools can stay open year-round, noting air conditioning's climate cost but its benefit in keeping classrooms cool for students sitting end-of-year exams, especially teenagers.
49 Articles
49 Articles
Like elsewhere, children in Italy are returning to school after the summer holidays. And although many parents are relieved, teachers warn that the conditions for learning are (too) demanding. Although we are well into September, temperatures are still extremely high in some places, which no longer allows for safe learning. "The sun, which is beating down on small classrooms, is creating a greenhouse effect," teachers warned, and some of them ev…
The children of Italy return to the classrooms after three traditional months of leave, the longest summer holidays in Europe. But just as the tired parents sighed with relief, the teachers say that climate change makes it too hot to study safely, and some have asked that the courses be postponed. [...]
Italian children go back to school, but returning to school is more difficult each year because of the heat, and the school calendar now appears unsuitable for change.
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