Democratism Blog

I’m starting a list of public issues, big and small, that we can’t do much about now, but that we should be deciding and addressing together democratically. It’s to be in the way of examples, not an exclusive list, and it can include anything that comes up in the news or conversation or anywhere. So far, we’ve posted about these:

• affordable housing
• union membership, higher pay for workers, job stability
• income inequality
• toxic work environments

Today I’ll add a smaller one, although maybe it’s really not so small:

Better classroom ventilation and temperature control “could significantly improve academic achievement of students,” the authors of a recent study conclude. In particular, they found that for “each liter per second per person” increase in ventilation rate, math test scores rose 0.5%. Scores went up a bit more than that for each 1.8°F decrease in temperature. Reading and science scores showed similar effects.

Assuming the science on this holds up and causality can be shown (it hasn’t been yet, so the authors’ conclusion is really still a hypothesis), this raises a question that might matter to many of us: Is somewhat better learning worth the cost of improving the air in classrooms? Right now, that’s a judgment call for school administrators, and for them it’s a question of the best use of a school budget. That’s an accident of practicalities. In principle, we should also count the views of parents, employers (who might hire former classroom-educated students), and everyone else who cares about school kids and the adults they’ll become. And if better air is worth the price, there’s no special reason we should pay for it with money that would otherwise go to new textbooks or art supplies, or anything else for schools. The money has to come from somewhere, but it could just as well come from, say, raising the price of air conditioning private mansions. At the same time, ventilation and temperature control might have downsides beyond the financial cost: they might cause environmental damage, for example. There, too, it’s a question of public value, not one for school principals in particular.

We ought to decide the value question here together. (And don’t worry: we can do it in a way that doesn’t require everyone to take a position on every issue, or even be aware of them. We’ll post about that sort of thing separately.)

I’ll add to this list, but it’s ultimately everyone’s list to create. Leave a comment, or tweet or email us about what issues matter to you.