School Children Eagerly Learn Hand Hygiene and Cough Etiquette from the NanobugsI spent 2 full days last week at Prescott Elementary School (Lincoln, NE) teaching hand hygiene and cough etiquette to the entire student body (grades K-5 ) and the 4 classes of ExCITE (a federally-funded pre-school program). >400 students and their teachers were eager to learn about "Practical Microbiology" from the nanobugs (and me). It was obvious to me that the children had already been acquainted with the importance of hand hygiene but the new educational experience I provided was beneficial in demonstrating proper technique and reinforcing the need for hand hygiene - when to wash, alternatives to soap and water, etc. I observed, in the course of the day, children and staff using proper cough etiquette both before and after my training sessions. I hope that this enthusiasm for the nanobugs will effectively reinforce these behaviors.My thanks to Laura Tegtmeier - science teacher for the school and Diane Lamb - physical education teacher for the school- for their help and enthusiasm for promoting healthy behaviors and their organizational skills to schedule all the students through the training in a 2-day period. I must also declare my appreciation and admiration for the contribution that public school teachers and staff make to the education and emotional and physical development of our children! The skills and patience that are necessary these days in the educational setting are astounding. My head was spinning with the task of teaching such a variety of students in each classroom - the mentally and physically challenged students, bilingual children, in addition to the masses of children that are normally energetic, or obviously tired, misbehaving, or attention-seeking on any given day. (My years of teaching have generally been with adult audiences.) The nanobugs provided a helpful tool to get and hold the attention of the children and to reinforce what they had already being taught. Hats off the teachers, para-professionals, school nurses, food handlers, sign language interpreters, bilingual teachers, and other school staff! You are doing important work.
This entry was posted on January 21st, 2008 at 9:41 am. RSS
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