Calling In Sick

Originally submitted by: jadelay

Don't know whether this is advice, but just a way of looking at it. Schools should have plans for "mass fluouts." This doesn't mean schools should close during times when most of the staff is out sick. School closings cause families hardship too; they have to find alternative arrangements for child care. Many families are already hard pressed as it is, given work schedules. These families also fear getting ill, just as you did. I would like to say the school staff's families should be taken care of first, so that staffers can feel less anxious about their own risks. But the fact is that you signed up to be a teacher and have to know that one of the risks of being a teacher is getting your students' illnesses. I wouldn't advise calling in sick if you are not sick. Preemptive action by staying away is not a valid excuse for failing to fulfill your responsibility for taking care of children. They should get your first attention and commitment. It also gives you an opportunity to teach children about preventive measures and ways to keep themselves healthy. In calling in sick when you are not, you give yourself what some ethicists call a "free rider" status. You expect that everyone else will come to work. That is why you can get away with or "get a free ride" by calling in sick. But you also have to imagine in your situation that everyone else, in this case your colleagues call in sick too. What happens then, when all the teachers decide to call in sick?