Some students complain about the temperature of their classrooms, but teachers said there’s a justification for temperature variation. 

“I think that when a classroom is too hot or too cold, I can’t focus properly to get my work done, and I feel like my peers are the same way on that,” senior Cole Padzoria said.

But some can argue the opposite: that the teachers need control over their environment for productivity reasons as well. 

“Students often took it upon themselves to adjust the temperature to their liking, which would make the room uncomfortable for me or for people who would be in the room later,” English teacher Sean Wheeler said.

Wheeler also said that while students complaining a lot can be tedious, taking it a step further and adjusting it themselves can be very troublesome. While students might have the occasional issue with classroom climates, teachers’ productivity can be affected by how comfortable the environment is. 

“I think for me, especially like I am, I easily get hot, and I pace around enough in my room that I want it to be cold. Not everybody likes that, I know, but I’m in here all day so I gotta make it work for me, too,” Wheeler said.

There aren’t many obvious solutions to the problem, besides simply meeting in the middle. 

“ I think that we should try to create a neutral environment to better support both students and teachers’ comfort,” Padzoria said.

But even this neutrality may not always be achievable. 

Teachers’ ability to teach can be affected by the temperature of the classroom as well.

“You know, being comfortable does impact your ability to focus. But also there’s, I think, a little entitlement to just kind of make the room the temperature you prefer without thinking about other people,” Wheeler said.