Teachers should be familiar with the signs, symptoms, and control measures of common acute childhood illnesses. Choose one of the following situations and discuss in detail what a teacher should do. Include what illness(es) the sign or symptom could be revealing or your next steps in controlling the situation. Your final step in evaluating the situation will always be to call the school health professional.
1. You are supervising in the cafeteria and one of the students begins to vomit.
2. You are supervising recess and one of the students complains of feeling dizzy.
3. One of your students has been complaining of stomach aches every morning.
4. One of your students begins to cry and hold her ear.
5. You have just changed a toddler’s diaper for the third time in the last hour.
6. A student enters the classroom sneezing and blowing his nose.
7. One of your students refuses to eat lunch because his teeth are hurting.
8. Your assistant teacher tells you that his son has chicken pox and he hasn’t had it yet.
Textbook – Marotz, L. R. (2020). Health, safety, and nutrition for the young child (10th). Boston, MA: Cengage. eText
