IIt\u2019s no coincidence that back-to-school season is immediately followed by cold and flu season. As we are all now well aware, hanging out in enclosed spaces with groups of people breathing the same air is a surefire way to spread respiratory viruses. While, luckily, such infections are usually mild, most people would prefer to avoid the discomfort of getting sick and potentially missing work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This holds especially true for teachers, who rely on being able to project their voices and have 20, 30 or more young people relying on their presence. There\u2019s pressure to be \u201con\u201d all day, every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HuffPost asked teachers what they do to try to keep themselves healthy at the start of the school year. Here are their tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maurice (\u201cCoach\u201d) Smith, who has been an educator since 2007 and is currently teaching in Los Angeles, told HuffPost, \u201cI usually catch a cold\/flu early to late September and it\u2019s like clockwork.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This wasn\u2019t the case before he began teaching, however. \u201cI may have caught a cold here and there before I started teaching, but catching the flu or stomach flu was rare until I set foot in a classroom. I absolutely believe that there is a direct correlation between the two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other teachers also experience illness on a predictable schedule. \u201cI tend to catch a cold at the beginning of the school year and again in the winter,\u201d Matteo Enna, who is about to enter his 19th year of teaching kindergarten in California, told HuffPost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This has changed since Enna\u2019s first years in the classroom, when he experienced frequent illness, often as soon as school let out for a break. \u201cIt was as though my body was fighting against being sick while I was in class, however when there was any downtime in the school year, my exhausted body and mind would succumb to the illness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the inevitable occurs, Smith said, he tries \u201cto arm myself to be able to handle the illness once it gets to me\u201d with nutritious foods, drinks and supplements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A regular high school classroom can house 150-200 students every day; college classrooms sometimes have even more. It\u2019s impossible to keep all germs at bay, but there are a few things that can be done to minimize their spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the classroom, we keep sanitizers and Clorox wipes. The students are pretty good with keeping their desk areas clean if we bring it to their attention,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe also keep air purifiers going in our classrooms at all times. It just helps with reducing the sneezing and coughing in general.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tracy Ramage is an assistant teacher in a high school special education classroom in Delaware. She will be \u201cmasking as the school year begins and students are coming back together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI usually find my chances of getting sick are much higher at the beginning of the school year than at the end,\u201d Ramage added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As always, kids need to hear you say it and then see you do it. This applies to coughing or sneezing into your elbow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramage does \u201ca lesson on germs and hygiene at the beginning of the year\u201d to give students explicit instruction in classroom expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For elementary teachers, handwashing can be worked into daily classroom routines. Teachers can show students how to properly cover their mouth and nose when they sneeze or cough. Smith mentioned one such technique: \u201cdab when you sneeze<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting the grading done and clocking seven to nine hours of shut-eye every night are often mutually exclusive for teachers. Being on top of things always seems to mean feeling exhausted. But adding even 30 minutes of sleep to your night (by, for example, not taking your phone to bed with you) can help you feel more rested and ward off illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is important to make sure you get enough sleep. Also, meal planning is important so you don\u2019t end up skipping meals or eating unhealthy,\u201d Latoya Rowlette, a high school English teacher in Maryland, told HuffPost.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTry to get enough sleep and exercise.<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n