Avoid like the Plague

Even though I'm a sub teacher, I don't actually end up covering for that many sick teachers these days. Most of my days I'm relieving teachers who are perfectly well, they are just on planning time, at trainings, or who have an appointment or meeting.

Today, I got to work with my favorite class at my school. This would ordinarily be good, however, the teacher was out sick because literally everyone in the class was sick first, and they all got her sick. All 15 first-graders were coughing and sniffling, some had come back from being home for a day or a few, and seven were still out sick. 

This does not bode well for me.

I am optimistic, though. I suppose we'll see how I fare in the next day or two. I've had my flu shot. I was extra cautious with hand-washing and sanitizing. I even gave the occasional kid a sticker when I saw them covering their mouth when they coughed, as bribery. This kind of backfired, though, because then other kids would see and start coughing more on purpose, half-heartedly covering it to try to get stickers. I may have broken even in that that some covered their mouths who wouldn't have, but several ended up coughing more than they would have. 

All I know is, I'm no hero. If I get sick, I'm staying home. If I don't get sick, I will count every last one of my blessings.