Jul 1, 2022 2 min read

Recently, I had some discussions with a public school superintendent and a school board president, during which I shared one of my favorite Carl Jung (a father of psychology) quotes. I stated, “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” The superintendent, also a Jung fan, agreed, stating, “You are a product of your environment.”

Therefore, since the students of a school are the products of their environment, shouldn’t the schools do everything they can to create the best environmental conditions? In fact, at another school board meeting, I stated that a chief responsibility of a school board is (in their own words) is “to provide and maintain educationally efficient school facilities.”

Don’t we all agree that everyone in a school environment would benefit and perform at their very best if the air that they breathe is the very best a school can provide and maintain? Yes, this is a given, and we need to do what we say, as well. We need to do radon testing in our most vulnerable school facilities, for our most vulnerable students.

I guarantee that everyone will feel better and do better, including the school officials, the community, our economy, the construction industry, and the gas and oil industry, as well.

This is not complicated and this is easily mitigated, if necessary. Everyone will benefit, so let’s do the right thing, before the necessary becomes necessary.

Dennis Smiddle 

Canonsburg