| It is hard when you are an educator not to just try to | | | | 4. It is illegal in all states to come to school under the |
| plow through being ill and heading to the classroom | | | | influence, and some cough medicines and other over |
| anyway. Every teacher knows how time can be lost | | | | the counter remedies can really make you feel like you |
| when the class is working on an important concept or | | | | just bested someone in beer pong. Don't risk the |
| a particularly challenging unit and they must be absent | | | | scandal - stay home. |
| from the classroom for illness. It is hard to give in and | | | | 5. Pushing yourself will prolong the illness and it will take |
| admit defeat when you are ill - but sometimes it is best | | | | you twice as long to feel better, which means more |
| to just stay home; after all, taking care of a short illness | | | | days of just trying to trudge through it. |
| can oftentimes keep it from becoming a major | | | | 6. You are not invincible, you may think you are but |
| problem. Here are some great (although some are | | | | you are not and if you ignore your body's need to rest |
| humorous) reasons to stay at home and call a sub | | | | and get well you might wind up even sicker. You |
| instead: | | | | certainly cannot be in charge of your health if you are |
| 1. When you are sick you need to rest. You just | | | | flat on your back and sicker than you were to begin |
| cannot recuperate by trying to ignore the symptoms | | | | with. Your body could retaliate against you and then |
| and trudge through. You have to rest to get well! | | | | you will have to just stay home regardless. |
| Unless the policy is very liberal about teachers napping | | | | Flu Shots |
| at your school you need to just stay home so you can | | | | If you have not taken your flu shot, now may be the |
| recover and return to school as quickly as possible. | | | | time - before you get sick. It takes just a moment or |
| 2. Oh Geez, can you say epidemic? Everyone knows | | | | two of your time to get your annual flu shot, and there |
| that coming to school sick is a bad idea, and you | | | | are minimal side effects among most folks. You should |
| certainly know that schools are a breeding ground for | | | | also consider getting your H1N1 (swine flu) immunization |
| illness. So don't contribute to the breeding ground by | | | | if you have not already done so. Teachers are |
| coming to school sick. | | | | exposed to a myriad of germs because they are |
| 3. How does it look to your students if you are nodding | | | | around so many students each day - so a bit of |
| off at your desk? You cannot expect that you'll be | | | | preparedness in the way of getting a flu shot or H1N1 |
| performing at an optimal level when you don't feel well, | | | | immunization never hurts. After all, an ounce of |
| and your students need you to be up to par. | | | | prevention is worth a pound of cure. |