Back to school health tips for teachers

A classroom can be a hotbed of germs. With twenty to thirty individuals inhabiting a limited space, it's inevitable than most of them will be sick at some time during the school year.

 In winter, when windows are closed because of the cold, bacteria and viruses can spread like wildfire. The teacher, who should be the guide and stabilizing influence in the classroom, should do his or her best to stay well and miss as few teaching days as possible. Here are some suggestions to help every teacher do just that:

 1. Boost your immune system

 Eat a healthy diet with lots of fruit and vegetables, get regular exercise and try to get 8-9 hours sleep each week night. Maintain social relationships with friends and colleagues; these will help keep you stress-free and balanced, especially during the hectic periods which recur so often during the school year.   

2. Befriend your doctor 

 He can be a valuable partner in your effort to stay well. Schedule regular appointments for check-ups and when he gets to know you well, he will not hesitate to write those "reason for absence" notes as you need them throughout the year. Have him recommend a good multivitamin pill and take it daily. Get a flu shot at the beginning of flu season, and be sure that all your vaccines are up to date.

 3. Make use of the school nurse

If you are fortunate enough to have a school nurse, take full advantage of her presence and skill. She is a professional; she can identify rashes from measles or chicken pox and she is familiar with a myriad of other childhood ailments. She can detect head lice, identify signs of physical, emotional or sexual abuse, and is a valuable ally in recognizing possible learning disabilities. If she has a couch in the Health Room, she can isolate a sick child until the parents pick him up.

 4. Enlist parents' help

 At the "Meet the Teacher" night in September, share with parents the futility of sending a sick child to school. The child will absorb very little, because he or she is feeling unwell, the parent will probably get a call at work to come and collect the little patient, and many of the other children may very well be infected with the same illness. Advise that they should have an alternate caregiver ready to pick up the child in case of illness or other emergency when they are unavailable.  

5. Stay home when you're sick

Teacher, follow your own advice. Stay home when you're ill. Nobody is indispensable. No one will thank you for going in to work, feeling cranky and miserable all day, and spreading your germs around. Be kind to the children and yourself. When you're sick, stay home!

 The teacher is the hub and the heart of the classroom. When she is present, in good health and good spirits, the children feel secure, at ease and ready to learn. Responsible teachers will use the above measures to ensure that these circumstances prevail on as many days as possible during the school year. 

Five reasons children skip school

Children cannot succeed in school if they don't attend regularly. In this twenty-first century every person needs at least a high school diploma in order to find a job, start a family, and lead a fulfilling life.

In North American schools, where public education is available to everyone, why would any child not attend school? Following are some of the possible reasons:

1. Academic Problems

If a child is placed in a grade where the curriculum is too difficult, he may become so frustrated and unhappy that he will seek to avoid classes at any cost. He may feign illness, play hooky, or just walk the streets until he can return home without be questioned.

Similarly, if he is very intelligent and bored by the program in which he has been placed, he will see no need to attend school. He may seek challenge and adventure elsewhere and possibly get into trouble by doing so.

The solution to either of these problems is to have the child tested, either by the local school system or by an independent agency, and insist that he be placed in a program which meets his needs.

2. Social Problems

If a child is harassed on a daily basis, humiliated before his peers, or fearful for his physical safety, who can blame him for skipping school? It is vital that parents keep the lines of communication open, so that their child will confide in them when he is having trouble relating to his classmates.

At the first sign of trouble, whether it be lack of friends, isolation or bullying, Mom and Dad need to become advocates for the child, seeking help from the teacher, the principal, even the director of education, if necessary. An education is too important to be hindered by social problems.

3. Health Issues

Health problems, whether physical or mental, can disrupt a child's educational progress. When the trouble is a contagious disease or a broken bone, most school systems provide an in-home tutor who will insure that the child does not fall behind his classmates.

However, when a child suffers from a learning disability, depression, autism, or another mental or emotional disorder, early and ongoing intervention and treatment by health and educational professionals is essential. There are many treatments and strategies today which can enable a student to attain his or her maximum potential despite having to cope with mental or emotional disabilities.

4. Home Conditions

When a child has to deal with turbulent conditions at home, school concerns will become unimportant. If the parents are constantly fighting, going through a separation or divorce, or if one or both are alcohol or drug addicts, the child has more to worry about than educational matters.

Similarly, if the parents view education as unimportant, if they pay no attention to report cards, fail to attend parent-teacher conferences, and do not question the child's unexplained absences from class, the child won't care either. Parents are a child's first and most important role models.

5. Bad Companions

As a child approaches adolescence, his peer group assumes primary importance in his life. He needs to fit in, to be "cool", to be accepted and respected by the others. If he lacks self-confidence, or strong self-esteem, if he's a follower, rather than a leader, he may fall in with a group of which his parents do not approve. Bad associates can wreck havoc with a teen's education and his parent's dreams for his future.

Wise parents will start early to monitor their child's playmates, and school friends, and encourage healthy relationships while they still have the influence to do so. If the child gets involved in team sports, Boy Scouts or Girl Guides, or a church's youth activity programs, chances are that these beneficial friendships will continue through the teenage years.

Few children are gifted enough to become super sports figures or entertainment stars, but even these individuals will need an education to negotiate contracts, to oversee banking and investments and avoid getting scammed by unscrupulous agents and managers. Education is a vital component for a successful and fulfilling life in whatever career a child chooses. It is the duty of every responsible parent to see that their child receives one.

Guide to car seat safety

Most parents will agree that their child is their most precious possession. They will take every precaution to ensure the little one's safety. One of the greatest risks to a young child's life and health is the possibility of being involved in a traffic accident.

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, nearly 250,000 American children are injured every year in car accidents.

Here are some helpful tips which will enable parents to keep their child safe in the family car during those important first years of life:

Infants

* Like a crib, a car seat is a necessity. If possible, purchase a new one . This is not an item on which to save money. Second-hand car seats may have been damaged in an accident, or may be cracked or worn in a vital area, not readily visible to an observer.

* As you are removing the car seat from the box, check to see that all the necessary hardware has been included.

* Fill out the registration card and send it in. If there is a recall, the manufacturer will be able to notify you.

* Install the seat before the birth, so the baby will be able to ride home from the hospital safely.

* Read the car seat installation instructions and the relevant information in your vehicle owner's manual carefully before you start the installation process. Follow the directions carefully.

* Babies under one year of age, and those weighing less than twenty pounds, require a rear-facing car seat. The safest place to install it is in the middle of the back seat, away from air bags.

* After installation, holding both sides of the car seat near the middle, give it several firm tugs from side to side. It should not move more than an inch either way.

* The safety harness straps must fit snugly over the shoulders and down, without causing breathing difficulty. If you can slip one or two fingers under the straps comfortably, near the baby's collar bone, it should be just about right.

* The chest clip should be about the level of the baby's armpits.

* Add nothing to the seat that did not come with it. It is engineered to function best without any add-ons, such as pillows or neck supports. Also, be aware that adding to or adjusting the seat in any way, can release the manufacturer from liability in the event of an accident or injury to the child.

Toddlers

* When the child is a year old and weighs more than twenty pounds, he may ride in a forward-facing car seat.

* Some infantseats are convertible to forward-facing. When attempting this procedure, be sure to follow instructions carefully, attaching the tether strap to the tether anchor in the  car as directed.

* The shoulder straps should be at or above the child's shoulders.

* The safest placement for the seat is still in the middle of the back seat, away from air bags.

* Be sure to secure the child snugly each time, before you buckle yourself into the driver's seat.

* Never leave a child alone in a car.

Preschoolers

* When child reaches a weight of forty pounds, he is ready for a booster seat. These devices raise the child up so that regular seat belt functions effectively.

* The seat belt must be the combination type which crosses both the lap and shoulder.

* The child's head must be supported either by the top of the booster, or the car seat.

* The shoulder strap must lie across the child's shoulder and middle of his chest. The lap belt must cross low over the hips .

* When the child turns eight years old, or weighs eighty pounds, he is ready for a regular seatbelt.

Special Needs Children

There are specially-made car seats for children with specific medical conditions. If your child has cerebral palsy, wears a cast, has a behavioral disorder, or other specialized problem, inquire what is available.

Today's children will undoubtedly have many opportunities to travel on their own in the future, but now they are small and very vulnerable. It is up to loving parents, family and friends to do everything possible to keep them safe and secure during their early journeys. Traffic accidents can happen in a split second, but their calamitous effects can endure for a lifetime

Summer tutoring: a leg up for next year

 

 

Two months is a long time for children to remember the intricacies of the various academic skills. This is especially true when summer days are filled with fun, excitement, travel, friends and new experiences which keep them busy from morning until night. Then suddenly, in September they find themselves back in the classroom, expected to continue from where they left off in June. It hardly seems fair, does it?

When I retired after thirty-five years teaching, I missed contact with the children. Don't misunderstand, I didn't want a whole room full, all day, every day, anymore, but I missed the special moments, the one-on-one interaction, when you could actually see learning taking place in one little mind. Accordingly, I began tutoring during the school year. The process usually involved helping with homework, noting the weak areas, and giving extra help where needed.

Soon, I was receiving requests for lessons during the summer. My first inclination was to refuse. The poor little tykes had worked their hearts out during the year. They deserved a break, didn't they? Then I started remembering the unhappy scenes in the classroom every September. Not only were the children dejected about being cooped up inside again, many were anxious and frustrated because they had forgotten much of last year's work. Maybe a few lessons during the summer would be helpful after all.

We usually arrange an hour a week, a time that's suitable to parent and child. The cost is nominal, just about enough to cover the cost of books, which I supply. I know which ones have worked well for me through the years. The Teachers' Supply Store usually has a good selection of these, plus any new ones that seem worthy of a trial.

I ask to see the child's final report card and note the strengths and weaknesses. Good and average students begin the next grade's curriculum, and move ahead, week by week, at their own pace. The goal isn't to cover a great deal of next year's work, but rather to retain the skills and knowledge from the completed grade and maybe receive a little head start on the Fall term.

The children who need review or reteaching of the previous grade's work will receive it before moving ahead. This is a necessary strategy. Starting a new year's work without having mastered the former grade's curriculum is a recipe for frustration and failure throughout the next ten months. No child should experience that; it could negatively affect his or her entire educational career.

The summer schedule is very flexible, students may disappear for a few weeks at the cottage, visits to grandparents and other special occasions and activities and that's quite all right. There's a lot of learning that must take place out in the real world, and summer's the ideal time for that. Because when I'm considerate of their priorities, my students don't seem to mind giving me an hour an week. Besides, at the end of the lesson, there's always a Popsicle or a box of Smarties as a reward for hard work.

I never assign Homework for summer lessons, with one exception. Every child chooses a book of fiction to read, one that catches his interest and is well within his comfort level for word recognition, vocabulary and comprehension. We spend the first few minutes of each lesson discussing the plot and the characters in the book. He is responsible for reading at least one more chapter before the next lesson. Those who finish the whole book will receive a new one at the next lesson. All books are theirs to keep.I really hope, through the summer lessons, to foster a love of reading in the children. I believe literacy is the basis of all education.

You may wonder why a parent cannot do what I do with the children. It is certainly not rocket science. Believe it or not, I've had parents who were university graduates who could not prevail upon their child to sit and complete a homework assignment within a reasonable time, never mind attempt to teach them anything new. Sometimes, children just work better for a stranger, especially one who can pull a stern "teacher" look, when it is called for.

Are summer tutoring lessons helpful? Yes, I believe they are. For the good and average students, they will keep the knowledge and skills of the previous grade fresh and sharp and provide a head start on next year's work. For a struggling student, they can be a life raft, saving him from sinking into a morass of new work for which he is not prepared.

Tutoring lessons need not be expensive. Seek out a college student saving up for an education, who is perhaps planning to become a teacher. You might even find a retired teacher who misses her contact with children and is anxious to practice her craft on your little one. With a little luck, all the parties involved will enjoy the experience, and it will be a memorable summer for everyone.

Should schools ban Hallowe'en parties?

What are some of your favorite memories of Autumn when you were attending public school? If you're like many people, you'll mention the class Halloween party near the top of the list. Everyone enjoyed it, and it was good for the children for many reasons. Here are a few which spring to mind:

There may have been new children who entered the school during the summer. This was one of the first opportunities for them to socialize for an afternoon with their classmates, without the specter of schoolwork looming in the background.

Some children exercised imagination and creativity in coming up with original costumes. Those who didn't care to, could just throw an old sheet over their heads and be ghosts. No one was excluded from the excitement.

Often the party included a walk around the neighborhood in costume. The teacher could review all the safety rules beforehand to a motivated class, because everyone was anxious to leave the confines of the school yard and show off. The neighbors liked it too. They would sit on their porches and smile and wave as the Halloween parade passed.

The upcoming party provided an opportunity for lessons on nutrition and the best choices for healthy snacks. Everyone knew there would be lots of candy around at the party, but what other treats would be better choices for snacks at other times of the year?

Depending on the grade level, the teacher might use the party as a springboard to introduce a unit of study on the digestive system. What happens to the candy after you swallow it?

The walk around the neighborhood provided the children with an opportunity to notice signs of Fall: colored leaves falling, gardens being readied for Winter, birds flying south, and cooler weather, among other things. These observations provided the bases for Science classes in the following days.

The party and Halloween itself provided motivation for enthusiastic literature appreciation. Everyone loved spooky tales throughout the month of October. The anticipation of a class party on the last day of the month added to atmosphere of expectation. From "Casper the Friendly Ghost" to "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", every scary library book was signed out as quickly as it was returned during October.

The party and the neighborhood parade required parent volunteers to ensure safety and to help with supervision of the children. It was often the first chance for teacher and parents to meet on an informal basis, certainly a less stressful occasion than at the first report card interview.

School offers few occasions that the children will remember in later years as just plain fun. Halloween parties are just such celebrations and certainly should not be banned. The students needn't be taught about the darker traditions surrounding the occasion, they wouldn't care anyway. To them, October thirty-first means costumes, treats, a party with friends, escaping the school yard and exploring the neighborhood. They should not be deprived of this special day before the long, dull days of winter arrive.

Should students be taught a second language?

Every child in school should learn at least one foreign language. Besides the practical benefits of being able to converse with someone from another land and possibly a different culture, the process will develop thinking skills and improve memory.

The lessons should begin early, and during the primary years, they should be mostly oral. The children need to assimilate the sounds, the inflections, and the rhythm of words and phrases in the new language. This can be accomplished almost unconsciously by the very young child.

The teacher begins by teaching simple concepts: the days of the week, counting to ten, and the names of objects around the classroom. She will say the words and have the children repeat them. After the students become accustomed to sounds of their new tongue, they can proceed to more difficult vocabulary.

It is important to have teachers who are fluent in the new language. Children are amazing mimics. If the teachers speaks the language with an English accent, it is certain that the students will also. It is best, whenever possible, to hire a teacher who is a recent immigrant, and a native of the country where the new language is spoken.

It is also important that the parents have an opportunity to choose the second language their child will be taught. You will then have family interest and support for the educational program, a vital element in assuring the child's success.

Since Canada is officially a bilingual country, every child, except those in Quebec, has to learn French. This was a government decision and is not popular with many parents.

Strangely enough, students in Quebec are not compelled to learn English. In fact, they are only allowed to attend an English school if one of the parents has English as a first language.

When one of my tutoring students receives a report card, I like to review it with the parent, to determine the area in which to concentrate lessons for the next term. Often the child will have a low mark in French. The parent's reaction is usually: "Oh, I don't care about that; it's only French." Parental input into the choice of the second language is vital.

Often the disinterest is understandable. Our area has many children of Italian descent. They may have difficulty speaking to their grandparents and other relatives in Italian, and if they were to study that language, it would be of much more use to them. The parents would wholeheartedly support the program, and see to it that the children got the necessary practice at home. They would also be able to see to it that the child got help with Homework in the later grades when it was assigned.

When I was teaching, the children would often ask me for help with their French assignments. Since it had been years since I had taken the subject, with no opportunity to practice in the intervening time, I was unable to help. I'd ask them if they knew any French-speaking people they could consult, and answer usually was, "Only the French teacher, and I don't know where she lives".

In choosing a second language, it is very helpful if the child has some ongoing contact with persons who can speak to him in that tongue, can help him with assignments, and give him pointers about the maxims and platitudes peculiar to that language. Unless he has the opportunity to practice his new tongue through frequent use, he will soon forget it.

In today's world, with instant communication, and widespread travel, we humans come into contact with people of other lands, other cultures, and speaking foreign languages, much more frequently than in former times. Today's children will be called upon to reach out and embrace the world. Becoming fluent in a second language during their school years is a worthwhile place to start.

School uniforms: yes or no

Children, and indeed, the entire family benefit when schools demand that all students wear uniforms. I speak from experience. I wore uniforms from Grade One to Grade Twelve when I attended all-girl schools in my youth.

Our day-to-day garb was as follows: a navy-blue serge tunic with three fat pleats in front and three more in back. There was a belt of the same heavy fabric which circled the waist and fastened in front with a single navy button. Under the tunic was a lighter blue cotton blouse, with long sleeves and a round Peter-Pan collar. The tunic had to fall below the knees. On the legs we wore nylons with seams up the back. If the seams weren't straight, we heard about it. On cool days in Spring and Fall, there was a wool, navy-blue blazer which could be worn over top.

Individually, anyone wearing this outfit could only be described as incredibly frumpy, but in a group, strangely enough, we looked impressive, especially when we wore our chapeaus. Topping off the ensemble was a navy pillbox hat, which had to be fastened on with a hat pin or the slightest breeze would sweep it away like a Frisbee.

The main advantage, I imagine, for most families was the reasonable cost. I had two tunics. While I wore one, the other was at the dry-cleaners. There were three cotton blouses which my mother washed and ironed every week. You only had to replenish your wardrobe every three or four years as you outgrew them. Those tunics never wore out! The blazers could usually go through a season with only one trip to the cleaners.

There was no competition or jealousy because some girls had better or more expensive clothes than others. We were more inclined to focus on outdoing each other in obtaining good grades. It also cut down on the number of cliques that often form when girls congregate in homogeneous groups.

Wearing uniforms also promoted good behavior as we traveled from home to school and back again. We were immediately recognizable as "St. Patrick's Girls" and any untoward antics would be reported back to the school, and we were well aware of that fact. The city wasn't so large in those days; we could well be reported by name as well as by school.

In addition, we had many lectures about stopping into the coffee shops, smoking, and talking to the boys, thereby "disgracing the uniform". We were never sure which of these offenses was the most serious, but we decided that, if we intended to indulge in any of them, we surely wouldn't wear the uniform while we did!

The uniforms also promoted school spirit. When you spotted one, even at a distance, you knew the girl wearing it was a kindred spirit. Even if she was someone you weren't particularly fond of, she was "one of us", and as such, merited recognition, consideration and friendship. There were always topics for conversation: homework, teachers, tests or upcoming holidays. We seemed to have more in common than the girls and boys in public schools.

I think we formed closer friendships because of the uniforms. Even today, more than fifty years later, I still know where most of the girls in my class are and what they're doing. We are almost like an extended family.

When my four children were ready for high school, I chose to send them to one where the students wore uniforms. They weren't too happy about the idea at first, but soon came to see the advantages. Because they are close in age, we could never have afforded to outfit them to match the stylish clothing standards of some of their friends. Uniforms remove the disparity. Everyone dresses the same way; everyone starts on an equal footing.

The young people will create their own special identities through their personalities,their characters and their abilities. These are better criteria on which to be assessed than on how well their parents can afford to dress them. Uniforms make this fairer judgment possible.