1970, I was a student teacher in elementary school! Back in the days of yore, teachers and students were encouraged to communicate in various means; holding hands in a circle, patting the back of a student to tell them what a good job they had done, and at times when a student was having a miserable day, actually permitting that student to either sit on your lap or hugging he or she, just to let them know, the miserable world they perceived could be a safer place with a human touch. (I actually had a student bring her pet garter snake to class for show and tell and the snake decided to climb onto her pigtails and became stuck. I had to touch that snake, holding one hand on the student's shoulder to keep her from jumping around and remove the snake minus just a few strands of hair.) Yuck, the snake was so slimy, but I had to be brave, and the student begged for a hug, and I provided her with one, and a whisper, that maybe she should bring something for show and tell that did not wiggle, next time! There were many things I had to prepare for as a student teacher, but I remember the day I entered the classroom, my teacher provided me with an FYI: she said, tomorrow, go to the Drug Store and purchase two products one called RID and the other NIX. Keep them in your bathroom, and each day you return from teaching, comb your hair, layout a tissue, and place your comb on that tissue. If you see something very little but squirmy, do not panic, immediately, wash your hair with both products, and when you return to school inform me, because that will mean you just received your first case of head lice. My teacher also informed me to always wash my hands, especially after watching a student sneeze and wipe their nose on either their shirt or hands. And she then said, make sure you tell your family physician you are a student teacher in an elementary school. Then she smiled and said welcome to YOUR new classroom!
A cautionary tale from a professional in education, informing me that she loved her job, but I must be mindful as innocent as these students might be, and as much as I really wanted to become a teacher, there were health hazards of which I MUST PAY ATTENTION! My teacher said, sometimes OUR classroom, no matter OUR intent to provide a safe and secure environment, could be harmful to OUR health!
And here we have a PANDEMIC, a CORNOAVIRUS, something called COVID-19, not because it was the 19th virus (viruses are not named like Hurricanes) infecting our communities, but a man without the least bit of empathy, a sociopath a liar, a pervert, is insisting SCHOOLS BE OPEN WITHIN CLASS TEACHING because for him the importance is they might reflect normalcy for America and help him become re-elected. As Trump recently said, “so what these things happen, when asked about dearth and dyi8ng from COVID-19,” and if some kids infect other kids or their teachers or their parents or their grandparents, and those infected might die…it’s a Patriotic kind of thing, and oh yeah, if he remains in the White House, remains OUT OF JAIL!
In 1970, I had come down with the most cases of earaches, sore throats, and colds EVER in my life, and twice I had to use NIX and RID, and I wondered back then was this potential career move worth it!
