Sage Advice: Keeping Well During the School Year

Hold your breath! When people cough or sneeze, they let out a very fine mist of droplets, which are riddled with the virus responsible for the sniffles. One of the tricks is to not breathe in the mist. Hold your breath and walk a couple feet away before taking a deep breath. After nineteen years, I haven't missed a single day!

Darvin Deshazer

Science department chair

St. Vincent High School

Petaluma, California

I educate my students about hygiene and germ transmission. But I don't tell them about it -- I let them experience it. I put a little bit of ultraviolet glowing powder on the doorknob. After about fifteen minutes of normal classroom activity, I explain what I did, and I bring out a black light and have them hold their hands out. The glow of "germs" is everywhere: You can see it all over their desks, on their books, even on their faces. I've done this at the start of "germ season" for many years, and it gets my point across better than anything I could say to them. (I get my glowing powder, called Glo Germ, at www.teachersource.com.)

Nancy Foote

Staff development and curriculum

Higley Unified School District #60

Higley, Arizona

Wash your hands, wash your hands, and wash your hands -- in that order.

Marsha Holmquist

Kindergarten aide

Reed School

Tiburon, California

Let's follow the example of the Japanese, who wear disposable face masks in public when they are contagious. I keep masks in my desk for students who can't stop coughing or sneezing. They can either wear the mask or go to the school nurse for clearance before returning to class. It has helped greatly. I also wash desktops with Lysol twice each week.

Kelli Allred

Drama teacher

American Leadership Academy

Spanish Fork, Utah

Stress weakens the immune system, so take a moment to relax during the day. I taught my class to take a "moment of Zen," during which we pause to take deep breaths and refocus our energy. It helps!

Cynthia DePalma

Teacher, grades 3-5

McKinley Elementary School

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Eat with the kids in the cafeteria. It will make your immune system stronger.

Ian Loverro

Assistant professor

Department of Education

Central Washington University

Ellensburg, Washington

Each week, my first-grade students get to write their spelling words on their desks using shaving cream as the chalkboard. Students get a little squirt of shaving cream, which they spread on their desk with their writing hand. They write their spelling words with their finger and then use a rag to clean the shaving cream off the desk. This is great for tactile learners but also cleans their desktops regularly to keep the spread of germs down.

Kathy Loudat

Teacher

Marie Hughes Elementary School

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Many classrooms are not equipped with a sink, so our school in winter-chilled Wisconsin provides economy-size hand-sanitizer pumps in every class. Disinfecting desktops has also reached the job chart in my classroom. Students spray and wipe the desktops every Friday.

Sharon Clappier

Sixth-grade language arts teacher

St. Monica School

Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

Teach children to cough into their elbow.

Susan Sullivan

Librarian

Kirk Road Elementary School

Greece, New York

Never put your hands close to your nose or tear ducts unless you have just washed your hands with soap and hot (or at least very warm) water. The easiest access point for a virus is at these two locations. Also, use an alcohol-based hand purifier to wash your hands between bathroom visits -- frequently. If you still manage to contract a cold virus, take zinc at the very first sign of a cold. It has been clinically proven to decrease cold symptoms and duration by 50 percent.

Susan Sloan

Health-information specialist

Whatcom County Health Department

Bellingham, Washington