H1N1- in my face.

What do Snow Monkeys have to do with Swine Flu? Look carefully at their expressions.



I found out at our faculty meeting today that our district, and more specifically our building is the hardest hit by the Swine Flu in the County. I really didn't need to be told though. My classes sound like a TB ward. My hands are raw and chapped from hand washing. Every time a student coughs out on all of us, I go insane and rant about the correct way to cough. (My personal opinion is the only correct way to cough is in your own home, and into your pillow) Our preferred method at school is into one's own elbow. So what do the munchkins do? Lamely cough in the direction of their elbow. Then I really go nuts, and make everyone in my class jam their elbows onto their faces and feel their arms pressing firmly over their mouths. I am losing patience- both with the kids and the administration. (I was secretly wishing the Super could sit in my room today and listen to the kids.) Sadly, many of these kids who are recovering from Swine Flu are coming back to school too soon after being sick. Last Friday, we had 65 students absent. Monday we had 128. Today and yesterday it was about 105. This is 1/4 of our student population.

Parents cannot afford to miss work, so they desperately try to send their kids back- only to get a call from the school nurse by 9:00 that their child needs to go home. I understand there was some talk about managing the pandemic by encouraging employers to be flexible with their employees, allowing them to miss work to be able to care for their children at home when they get sick. So far, we haven't seen any of that. I am feeling a bit annoyed, having to go into this bio hazard work zone every morning. And just yesterday, our nurse told us that she had gotten a phone call from a concerned parent who was told by her son that kids were coughing on each other on purpose. Welcome to middle school. Welcome to germ hell.

I am teaching ukulele to 6th graders. It's pretty fun. But now every time I move a student's finger onto the correct position, I cringe, I shudder, I quell. I asked a child today to cut his nails and wash his hands before tomorrow. I think I embarrassed him. He tried to hide his hands from me after that. Too bad. There was a time when I would have felt really sorry for making a kid ashamed like that. Now I am indignantly and unabashedly protecting my own health and safety. Teachers have become more like parents than ever. For some kids, we are their only decent role models for behavior and hygiene. If this were Japan, BTW (y'all know what I'm about to say, dontcha?) everyone would be wearing masks. Not just to protect themselves, but to protect others.

I'll step down off my soap box now. That reminds me. Time to wash my hands again.