"The a/c may or may not work."
Those words were scrawled in the margin of the lesson plan. And all I could think was, "Oh no!!!"
The weather has been changeable lately. This day we were back on the warm side. We were projected to have a high of 82°. I hoped for the best, but as the day warmed and I went to try the air conditioning unit, I discovered it was a "may not work" kind of day.
The students were not pleased.
Middle school math. Sixth period. As they walked in, everyone whined about the temperature. Once the bell rang and I had their attention, I explained the situation to them.
"The air conditioner does not work. I have tried everything I know how to do. If I could get it working, I would. I'm as warm as you." At this point I held up my arms so that they could see the pools of sweat there. "The doors are open. The fan is on. That's the best I can do. I've been here all day. You're going to be here an hour. So, I don't want to hear any more about it. If anyone else complains, I am going to lose it."
After that, I did not hear another "I'm hot" or "why won't the a/c work?" So, I could focus on the other issues, namely that the class was very, very loud.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
3 comments:
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Ha! I knew there was a downfall to living in sunny California!
ReplyDeleteIt sucks that you suffered, though. I hope you don't get stuck in the heat again.
I don't think I can focus on my work either when the temperature's hot and the AC is broken. What's worse is that in your case, you have to deal with children complaining about the same situation too. Until your air conditioning unit is fixed, the best thing you could do is to keep your cool and focus on your job.
ReplyDeleteDarryl Iorio
Yeah, that's what I tried to do. At least I don't have to work in that room every day.
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