Education Disruption: Extreme Weather Events (Research Paper Sample)

Education Disruption: Extreme Weather Events Student’s First Name, Middle Initial(s), Last Name Institution Affiliation Course Number and Name Instructor’s Name and Title Assignment Due Date Education Disruption: Extreme Weather Events Climate change has triggered uttermost weather conditions that can potentially interrupt education. These extreme weather conditions include floods, snowfalls, hurricanes, and tsunamis. Climate-related disasters have become a reality across continents and have proven a major threat to the overall school system. These harsh and extreme weather events can potentially destroy property and lives, which places the school infrastructure and students’ lives at risk (Groppo & Kraehnert, 2017). When these events occur, they cause a major disruption to education in the form of school closures and increased absenteeism. Therefore, it is imperative to develop unique solutions to address climate change while relying on other approaches to enhance learning despite the closure of schools. Society should demonstrate more responsibility in combating climate change while adopting virtual learning can ensure that students do not experience long-term losses in learning. Discussion In recent years, climate change effects have become apparent in different parts of the globe. The reality of climate change has presented itself in the form of extreme weather events that destroy infrastructure, lives, and property. When these events occur, affected school districts face the compulsion of an indefinite school closure. These school closures adversely affect and interrupt the learning process and may further explain why students in those school districts lag in standardized tests (Conerly et al., 2021). Most of these extreme weather events are unpredictable, making it difficult for the school districts to adopt a proactive approach to ensure that learners do not dawdle (Call & Coleman, 2014). For instance, extreme snowstorms in recent years have translated into extended snow days when the schools face a compulsory closure. In such a scenario, affected states resort to school closures to ensure that children and students remain safe with their parents. Unfortunately, students in unaffected states continue learning, which introduces instability in the learning system. These events are beyond human control but continue to affect the school calendar. School closures during unfavorable weather events can disrupt the entire learning schedule. Specifically, life-threatening weather events pose a danger to students and their teachers. When this happens, the affected school districts make informed decisions and opt for emergency closure. While the decision-making process places the health and safety of students as precedence, interrupted learning can have long-term unwanted effects. The lack of continuity in learning may compromise performance because students take time to catch up with learning when schools reopen (Call & Coleman, 2014; Groppo & Kraehnert, 2017). In other situations, students are less likely to carry out focused learning while at home, which renders individual learning efforts less practicable. Such disruptions can potentially register an impact on overall performance in different tests. In the worst-case scenario, such disruptions compromise students’ literacy and significantly reduce competencies in different subjects (Conerly et al., 2021). It is inconceivable for school administrators to determine how such closures will last. For this reason, students resume schooling when weather conditions become endurable. Recognizing that weather conditions are becoming prevalent causes of education disruption calls for collective action in battling such events. Students deserve undisrupted learning to maximize the benefits of being in school. Moreover, students need a stable schedule that makes learning more foreseeable and enjoyable. Unforeseen disruptions due to intolerable weather conditions can interrupt all the learning processes and significantly drop performance if schools do not embrace efficacious measures for counterbalancing for the lost time. Addressing climate change and introducing virtual learning can help foster continuity in the education system. Combating climate change involves both community and individual responsibility. At the national level, sustainable goals exist that govern the efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. Individuals can act more responsibly by planting trees and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The use of renewable energy sources can also reduce the long-term effects of climate change. In the short term, the adoption of online learning can help in reducing the adverse effects of extended school closures (Conerly et al., 2021). T...