AITAH for not taking my students to a cooler area despite the heat?
Hello! I am a teacher and as some of you know there has been a massive heatwave going through Florida right now (the state I work in). I will say this: our school is crappy. The AC doesn't work in most of the buildings (including mine), and it is just beyond miserable. The students hate it, the other teachers hate it, and I for sure hate it.
We were given the choice by administration to move our students to 3 locations: the cafeteria, the library, or the gymnasium. Today, my class was about 84 degrees by the end of the day, so very warm. I teach APUSH and AP World History, so my students' brains have to be turned on, which is hard in the heat.
Today, despite it only being the 2nd week of school, I already had 8 kids absent from my class of 23 during my 7th period, which is when it's the hottest. Some of my students kept asking me if we could go to the places they were offering to us, but I said no. A lot of them said that they had been down there the whole day, and it felt awesome. I still said no.
I finally had enough of everyone asking me, and I said no for what seemed like the millionth time. I don't have any way of knowing if there are desks, how many students and teachers there are, plus this is an AP class. The kids have work to do, heat or not. I was smart enough to bring 2 fans for my classroom, which is better than nothing. But the fans still don't do much.
I told my kids that the administration gave us a choice, but it would most likely be hotter in those designated rooms because of all the bodies and the body heat they would be producing. I was sweating a bit since I was in jeans, and I hated it.
I took my students on multiple walks around outside since there was kind of a breeze, so they weren't stuck inside the classroom. I've done this with all my periods, but 7th period had the most complaining. My colleagues said I was making the wrong choice for my kids, but I reiterated to them that we as the teachers had the choice.
None of us are expecting the AC to work tomorrow, and I'm still conflicted as to what I should do about this situation. AITAH, and WIBTAH if I kept the kids in the same room?