Confessions of an Old-School Kindergarten Teacher - Number 4

Every teacher knows it to be true. But few discuss it at length.

They experience it every day:

Kindergartners are generous.

Photo Credit - www.sparklesontheweb.com

They give you more than you could ever ask for. While some say that youngsters have trouble sharing, not this bunch! They share all that they have. Even a brief kid encounter can forecast a fever or cold.

Yes,

their sneezes adhere to your sweater. A hug leaves a soggy snail trail. Their fingers are forever in their noses and mouths, then on to your pencils and keypads.

They are the gift that keeps on giving.

At Christmastime they gave her lice

 In January scabies

God knows if she had stayed til March

They would have passed on rabies. 

Several bottles of Rid later, she still found an awful black pest dangling from a blonde hair just last week. Three months and still battling the bugs.

Then there was scabies. Just the sound of the name is hair-raising. I thought scabies was something only pirates got while months at sea, or that was found with India's untouchables, or in Auschwitz prison camps.

I was wrong. In an upscale neighborhood, an unnamed teacher contracted such a bad case that the Urgent Care wouldn't approach her to examine her. The doctor excused herself to don blue latex gloves and watched across the room while the patient lifted her shirt to reveal a mass of red dots, rashes and scabs. After a prescription of a insecticidal body cream, the teacher was tortured with a month of endless itching during the aftermath.

Besides the cream, Prednisone was prescribed as an anti-inflammatory for skin issues. Prednisone has a nifty little side effect that lowers the immune system. "Do not take if around infectious environments."  This was kindergarten, folks. A hotbed of germs! An infection factory! So after two days, said teacher came down with a scratchy throat which quickly turned into to a nasty lung condition, fever and cough. She called back Urgent Care to send a Z-Pack script, quick! All during the early days of this new flu epidemic called Coronavirus!

Confession No. 4:

Teaching is hazardous to your health, and I'm not sure if I'm up for it.

Besides, menacing physical ailments, teachers must deal with extreme behavior cases. If she calls the office for behavior support too much, it will reflect on her classroom management skills. So she has to figure out how to tame the wild ones, keep the class safe and still make sure all her students achieve their basic standards, even the ill-motivated ones.  Yes, even the ones that throw chairs and hit the teacher. It's a long process of referral forms, administration observations and paperwork before the child will be moved to a behavior module. Not surprisingly, the wake of stress and missed learning takes its toll on both the teacher and the good kids along the way...

Photo Credit - www.proudtobeprimary.com

I would be remiss not to mention other half of juvenile generosity. Like the bag of coffee they bring on your birthday, the cute compliments, the little love notes left on your desk, the apple, the rose, the morning (dry) hug. Sometimes they present their ice cream money. "No, honey, keep that in your backpack till lunch."

They are funny and innocent and creative. They are curious and inventive and clever. These are the ultimate gifts that educators keep for life.