Too Hot To Learn?

It seems that there are no lengths that those pushing the climate change narrative will not go to further their agenda.

The latest example is contained in this article in The Los Angeles Times that cites a study that claims that extended exposure to heat significantly impairs students' academic performance.

Source: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-07-31/rising-heat-consequences-for-students-new-study

It raises the question as to whether there is anything that climate change cannot be blamed for?

This study is particularly useful for progressives as it also provides an argument that the heat also disproportionately disadvantages people of color or those with lower incomes.

According to the paper, students from lower-income families often have less access to air-conditioned classrooms and homes, making them more vulnerable to the harmful effects of heat. Racial disparities were also evident in the data, with Black and Latino students in the U.S. seeing up to three times greater cognitive losses due to heat compared with their white peers.

“There are larger numbers of Black and Hispanic people living in poorer areas where the conditions are worse, temperatures higher, and air conditioning and ventilation often lacking,” Vasilakopoulou said.

It is also convenient to absolve public schools and parents for any responsibility for student academic underperformance.

Of course, if heat is causing students to underperform you wonder how anyone learned anything in the past?

That is particularly true in the United States when in the 1930's and earlier periods temperatures were much higher than we have today.

The 1930's was also a time in which air conditioning was almost non-existent.

The only place you would typically find it was in movie theaters and department stores.

In fact, as late as 1960, only 12% of U.S. households had air conditioning.

Even in the hot southern states, less than 20% had it.

88% of U.S. households now have AC.

Source: https://64parishes.org/suddenly-less-summer-how-air-conditioning-transformed-the-south

Electric fans were not even introduced to the public at large until the early 1900's.

Credit: https://familytreemagazine.com/history/timelines/electric-fans-timeline/

Self-contained window fans were not introduced until 1934.

It makes you wonder how human beings had any cognitive abilities or learned anything at all due to the heat in earlier years.

Beyond all of this, it is interesting to look at academic performance in the United States over the last decade.

No state has improved more significantly in the education of its students than the state of Mississippi.

Yes, Mississippi.

Many in education are referring to it as the "Mississippi Miracle".

Mississippi ranked 48th in the country in education in a widely-recognized national ranking in 2014 but improved to 16th last year.

Source: https://www.supertalk.fm/report-mississippi-earns-no-16-national-ranking-in-education/

This is the same state where the temperatures can be very, very hot.

Mississippi is also the poorest state in the country.

Mississippi had the lowest per capita income in the nation in 2024.

However, its students are outperforming California and New York that have a lot more money and a lot less heat than Mississippi.

Credit: https://x.com/amuse/status/1916885709224595810

Students in hot Mississippi are also reading better than students in colder Wisconsin and Michigan.

Mississippi is also the state with the highest percentage of African Americans (37%) in its population.

Based on the study cited in the LA Times, Mississippi should have horrendous student performance due to "climate change".

In fact, adjusted for its demographics, Mississippi actually just finished ranked first in the nation on NAEP scores.

Source: https://www.stevesailer.net/p/naep-test-scores-mississippi-miracle

Do you notice who was dead last on this score?

Oregon which holds the following view about education.

Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/10/oregon-again-says-students-dont-need-to-prove-mastery-of-reading-writing-or-math-to-graduate-citing-harm-to-students-of-color.html

How has Mississippi transformed its public eduction system?

It went back to basics like focusing on reading, writing and arithmetic.

It placed particular emphasis on literacy in K-3 focusing on phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

Students who do not meet standards in the 3rd grade face retention. This accountability has resulted in gains in English Language Arts and math achievement into middle school.

Since reading is such a foundational ability to everything else, paying attention to this early skill has compounding benefits for all education that follows.

Why is it that liberals seem to have an excuse for almost everything?

They look to racism, income inequality, lack of tax dollars or climate change for excuses but never want to confront what the real problem might be.

Students are underperforming because of climate change?

Seriously?

Who would have thought that just focusing on what schools are supposed to be doing and holding students accountable would bring results?

This is a lesson that ought to be taught more widely.