Stupid Award

[Lifesgreat]

Years ago, a family member responded to a newspaper article commending a student's perfect attendence for elementary/jr high/high school. My family member's published letter to the editor stated while attending school is admirable, to achieve perfect attendance for so many years surely meant the student attended school while ill, and it was selfish and unkind to expose classmates and faculty to illness to win an award.

It didn't go over too well with the awardee's family. . .

[uforgot]

I agree about not coming to school sick, but then you have the flip side. The student who stays home at the least sign of discomfort, real or imagined. These kids miss at least 1 day a week and it's really a lot of fun gathering up their homework (that chances are they aren't going to do at home anyway) and then grading their assignments that are late. We also have kids missing because they are babysitting (excuse me, but this is the PARENT'S responsibility), hair appointments, hunting, etc. I had a student (with an attendance problem) miss because the whole family went with his grandmother when she had her colonoscopy. We have gone to not even regarding absences as excused or unexcused because as the administration says "We are not going to penalize the kids that tell the truth". Our district has implemented an attendance policy on the number of days a student can miss in order to cut down on absenteeism. We also have a policy that if you have a fever or the nurse deems you sick, you have to go home. You don't get a choice. I have sent kids to the nurse that I don't think should be around others, and they are sent home, but if the parents can't be reached, they spend the day with the nurse.

Oh, my, thanks for letting me get this off my chest! I realize I drifted a bit from the original "don't go to work sick" remarks.

Edit: Oh, by the way, I'm one of those kids who got perfect attendance many times in school. No, I didn't go sick, it just so happens that I have had a total of about 3 colds in my life, and the flu once. This year for the flu. When my doctor wanted to know why I didn't get a flu shot at 53, I remarked, "Why should I, I've never had the flu before!". She replied "Oh, yeah, good point".

[Veronica]

What's a school nurse?

We have a district nurse. The only time I've seen her on campus is when she came to teach us how to give insulin injections to our kids with diabetes.

V.

[Velobambina]

I agree w/you, V.

One of my former higher ups has cancer and his immune system is suppressed. He has to avoid people who insist on coming into work sick.

[Geonz]

When I worked in a school where I knew I was leaving at the end of the year, my co-workers were very surprised that I didn't "take all my sick days," but surprised in a positive way. It was a somewhat dangerous school and teachers were either their putting in time or were there with a missionary spirit. Since I was leaving, the positive ones were impressed that I valued what we were doing enough to keep doing it.
I did take some personal days - like that court appearance 'cause if you forgot to put your county sticker on your car and they pulled you over, if you showed up in court with proof that you'd paid it you didn't have to pay the fine. Of course, I didn't tell my students that's why I had to go to court - being on the other side of the law was a good thing in their eyes...

[makbike]

1+ Veronica!

I stayed home yesterday after spending the night in the bathroom battling a severe case of the stomach flu. It is being passed around my school like a trading card and unfortunately I was infected. I dropped 6 pounds in 6 hours. Sadly, I could not just call in and ask for a sub. I had to make my way to my building before classes started on Friday to write up lesson plans, run off copies for my classes, gather information for the upcoming field trip on Monday, etc. All the time hoping I did not start vomitting or have yet another bout of diarrhea.

Please if you have kids keep them home when they are not feeling well - school are not a free form of day care!

[Crankin]

I have already missed a day of my permanent sub job because I caught the horrible virus that has been going around my school. The day I came home with a 102 fever, I knew i had to stay home and go to the doctor. One day 9 teachers and 100/450 kids were out! I sanitize my room like crazy, the kids use the hand sanitizer a lot, but still it is a breeding ground for infection. I realized that I had what I usually have in the fall, but this was the first time in my adult life that I wasn't in school in September. I am trying to be very careful about being around illness, since my fibromyalgia diagnosis, but I don't want to become a germaphobic.

[Aggie_Ama]

I spend much of my work day wondering if it is allergies or a new cold. Working in a cube farm is second only to teaching in the germ sharing world. I was rarely sick before I took an office job, even though I was working retail.

When I get sick, I am lucky to be able to work from home. In January I had a nasty viral infection, I felt about 70% but was highly contagious. I talked to my manager and put in two days from home to keep my germs all to myself. I do not like calling in, but I really hate when people come to work with the flu, strep or other contagious illness. UGH!!

My husband is immuno compromised and I constantly worry when he tells me his co-workers have been at work sick. Luckily, since he has had this concern he has stayed pretty healthy.

I agree- STUPID AWARD!

[DirtDiva]

This year I have paid sick-leave for the first time in seven-and-a-half years. I'm damn well staying home and enjoying it should the opportunity present itself.

[Lifesgreat]

What's a school nurse?

We have a district nurse. The only time I've seen her on campus is when she came to teach us how to give insulin injections to our kids with diabetes.

V.

Our school nurse comes once a week, so our school's kids schedule their illnesses

My child had pink eye and her treatment required eyedrops in the middle of the day. It was easier to drive across town right before her lunchtime and administer them than to turn it over to someone else.

I remember my school's nurse and the BIG bottle of iodine she had for those of us who played hard at recess and now have the scars to show for it.

[solobiker]

Sounds like I have the opposite problem at work. I work in a rehab setting in a nursing home, where of course the residents are already medically compromised and the staff come in sick, coughing and even throwing up. That is not okay in my book. I had the stomach bug and I stayed away from work as I wouldn't want any of the residents or my co-workers to get it. I am sure that is where I got it from.

[IFjane]

Thankfully this is not the case now, but years ago when I was a classroom teacher our program (preschool - Head Start) had annual "perfect attendance" TROPHIES!!!! Three and four year old children have no say in the matter and many came to school sick. If they walked through the door, they were counted present even if we immediatly turned them around and sent them home. I had one family whose previous three children I had taught and all had gotten trophies. The youngest child was in my class and one day, outside the bathroom, she said to me, "look at my tummy!" She pulled her shirt up to reveal CHICKEN POX!! . Amazingly she had no blisters on her face so her mom sent her to school in order to get her trophy. Sadly, she had already been contagious for days prior and had infected the rest of the class (clearly this was in the days before the varicella vaccine was available). She got her trophy and I mounted a campaign to get rid of the stupid award.....