Keeping vents clean and in good repair is one activity teachers can do.
It is difficult to teach a student who is suffering from allergies or asthma brought on by indoor air pollution. As a teacher, you can do much to improve the indoor air quality of your classroom. Doing this will help your students focus and learn better. Most of the activities can be done independently or with assistance from the school's maintenance or custodial staff.
Green Squad
Students can help while gaining practical experience.
Solicit student volunteers who would be interested in forming a green squad to monitor and improve indoor air quality. Talk to them about the dangers of indoor air pollution and ways that it can be fought. Share with them resources and checklists from such places as the National Resources Defense Council Green Squad. This site has developed a program for students who want to improve the air quality at their schools. Meet weekly to conduct an evaluation of the school and then to develop initiatives to improve indoor air quality.
Cleaning Products
The chemicals used to clean can cause skin irritations and breathing difficulties.
Obtain a list of cleaning products that the custodial staff uses to clean the school. Research each of the chemicals and the effect it has on indoor air pollution. If the chemicals are harsh ones that could be contributing to allergies, asthma and attention difficulties, start to research alternatives. Find out whether there are green cleaning products that could accomplish the same thing. Prepare a proposal to the building superintendent or the district superintendent on the benefits of switching to more eco-friendly cleaning products.
Indoor Air Pollution Control Initiatives
Communicating with stakeholders generates better ideas and solutions.
Spearhead the creation of a green newsletter. The newsletter can communicate what the school is doing to maintain high indoor air quality. Send it out quarterly to parents, teachers, staff and the media. Include tips for ways air quality can be improved in homes as well as at the school. The newsletter can be a vehicle for surveys and questionnaires to find out whether air quality efforts are improving the health of students.
Ventilation System
Find out how air is exchanged in your classroom.
Conduct an audit of the ventilation system in your classroom. Make sure that vents are free from obstructions and that air is flowing freely. Determine whether the outdoor vents are subjected to pollutants such as high-pollen plants, bus or car fumes or waste disposal bins. Check the filters and make sure vents are kept clean. Talk to the maintenance staff about what the recommended exchange of clean air is. Find out whether your room meets those standards and what can be done if it does not.
Tags: indoor quality, improve indoor, improve indoor quality, indoor pollution, your classroom, allergies asthma, cleaning products
