Sick at School

I got sick last week. It wasn't a serious illness, but a tummy bug and headache that left me weak, fuzzy-headed and grumpy. I considered staying home from school, but I suffered through Thursday and Friday and collapsed all weekend. Luckily, this doesn't happen to me much, but when I was a beginning teacher, I remember getting sick much more frequently.

New teachers are exposed to many, many more germs and viruses at school than they would have been exposed to before. Each child brings his own germs from home, compounding the number of "new" germs swirling around schools. Because the teacher may not have been exposed to these before, she is more likely to have few or no antibodies to them. As a result, scratchy throats, stomach bugs, and headaches are frequent.

Many times the new teacher will be tempted to take a sub day, but with very few absences available to new teachers, she may have to just stumble in. One thing that will help is a few pre-made activities that are not teacher focused. Kids can work on these while you concentrate on breathing. If you have to be out, the substitute can take over with these easy lessons.

In some systems, substitutes are hard to come by, and other teachers may have to cover for you. Generally they don't mind as long as there is a plan in place. However, if the teacher is stuck babysitting a class that may become rambunctious due to boredom, she will not be happy with you.

It is a good idea to also put a roll sheet, an explanation of duties, contact numbers for the office, and any other procedures the sub may have to carry out in your sub folder. That way, no matter what happens, the day will run smoothly.

There is no substitute for the teacher in the classroom. If you do get sick, a little planning ahead of time will make everything that much smoother in the long run.