Swine Flu in the Classroom:
While officials work diligently to distribute a vaccine that will protect us from a swine flu epidemic, teachers are on the front lines of the fight to protect our young students. By supporting healthy habits and offering practical tips, we teachers can enhance the health and safety of our classrooms while informing our students of good habits that will last a lifetime.
Use the following strategies to minimize the impact of swine flu in your classroom, communicating them to your students as appropriate.
Don't Scare Your Students:
It's not a good idea to horribilize the potential swine flu epidemic to young students. Neither is it necessary to detail the symptoms and effects of the disease. Instead, stick to the basics and focus in on the ways that students can practice healthy habits as part of the classroom community.
Wash your hands frequently:
Everybody - young, old, and in between - should wash their hands as often as possible during the upcoming flu season. Model frequent hand washing for your students throughout the day and let them know that they can always come up and use the class sink for the task. Explain that you can't always see when your hands are dirty, so it's better to wash before you can tell you need it.
You may also want to encourage students to bring in hand sanitizers and keep some on your desk for community use.
Cover your mouths when sneezing or coughing:
You can't assume that all students have learned proper sneeze etiquette at home. Do a quick lesson on how best to cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough. It's best to do it into the crook of your arm rather than your hands. Always wash your hands afterward, no matter what.
Be on the lookout for symptoms:
Without being paranoid, stay alert for possible symptoms that you may observe in your students. Key symptoms include body aches, fever, sore throat, cough, runny nose and headache. Send any students in question to the school nurse and make sure the parents are contacted.
Keep your classroom clean:
Maintain a cleaner-than-usual classroom. You may even need to help out your school custodian by doing a little extra cleaning from time to time in order to eradicate as many germs as possible.
Discourage students from touching their eyes, noses, ears, or mouths:
Besides hand washing, this may be the most important tip for combating swine flu (or any communicable disease) in a group setting. Explain to children that germs are invisible and can be spread through their eyes, mouths, noses, and ears. Model how to go about your daily activities without touching your face.
Consider a new desk arrangement:
You may want to allow for increased space between student desks in order to minimize touching and shared surfaces. If possible, keep a few inches between each student desk just to be safe.
Enlist parental support:
Send home information to parents to help them support your healthy goals in the classroom this flu season. Parents can help by making sure their children get plenty of rest, nutrition, and vitamins. They can also help by keeping their children home from school rather than sending them in sick and contaminating others. Emphasize to parents that you will understand any sickness-related absences and that the students will not fall behind in class if they miss school due to flu symptoms.
Be vigilant with your own health:
Don't try to be a hero. If you are feeling sick at all, consider getting a substitute teacher to take over your duties for a day or time. To protect your own health, get plenty of sleep, eat well, and take extra vitamin C.