The Cedar Lounge Revolution

Talking about the teachers and swine flu… oh yeah, and the economy too. August 19, 2009

You may recall yesterday’s thoughts on a certain Irish Times article. The one which sought to lambaste teachers for the knife wielding, tyre-slashing, meetings during term time addicted, workshy except when they can get a pretty penny doing nixers down the certificate mills, laggards and layabouts hard-working individuals they believe them to be. The “I’m not knocking teachers – really, I’m not” routine as it were. And what of this…

But the slow start-up to the academic year is baffling, as is the fairly rapid wind-down, with the odd hiatus in between.
Parents can expect gaps in the week for curriculum familiarisation days, staff training, swine flu preparation workshops, and so on until the mid-term break in October and after that, sure it’s nearly Christmas.

But here’s the thing. Yesterdays quip about a serious topic becomes today’s rightly sober headline about a serious and ever increasingly tragic topic, because:

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) is to meet with officials from school management boards and the Department of Education tomorrow to discuss the threat posed by the swine flu virus.
The union said it expected all primary schools to open as planned next month but wanted “updated, detailed advice for teachers before that”.

The reasons being, in part…

INTO general secretary John Carr said: “Updated advice and guidance to schools that provides answers to questions that are being asked is essential to ensuring that schools can re-open smoothly.”
He said practical advice that takes account of the realities under which schools operate should be sent to all schools immediately.

And the HSE is quick to step in with soothing words…

Earlier, Dr Kevin Kelleher, the HSE’s head of health protection, said he saw no reason why schools would have to close because of the outbreak in the Autumn.
Speaking after the HSE confirmed the State’s second fatality from the disease, Dr Kelleher said a letter would be sent out to schools in the coming days, advising them on how best to avoid the spread of the virus.

And…

The INTO said it would seeking advice in relation to children and teachers with underlying health conditions and issues of certification of sick leave by teachers who contract the virus.
The union will also be raising the issue of offering vaccinations to teachers as front line staff if and when a vaccine becomes available.

You see, one oddity of swine flu, and I can only direct you to the Wiki page where you’ll find out lots of rather depressing information, is that some are taking this very seriously indeed, not least because younger children of school going age are one of the cohorts most at risk from the virus. There are differing views on the effectivity of school closures, but none at all about the necessity to ensure that schools are ready and able to deal with this issue.

Schools
In California, school districts and universities are on alert and working with health officials to launch education campaigns. Many plan to stockpile medical supplies and discuss worst-case scenarios, including plans to provide lessons and meals for low-income children in case elementary and secondary schools close. University of California campuses are already stockpiling supplies, from paper masks and hand sanitizer to food and water, and are considering screening students for fever when they check into dorms.[146] The CDC has also advised that schools set aside a room for people developing flu-like symptoms while they wait to go home and that surgical masks be used for ill students or staff and those caring for them.[147] To help prepare for contingencies, some medical experts in the U.S. suggest that every county should create an “influenza action team” to be run by the local health department, parents, and school administrators.[148]

School closures to be avoided

David Persse, public health authority for the city of Houston, says that “School closure is an ineffective strategy. It appears that the virus spreads so quickly and effectively among kids that by the time you close the schools it’s too late.” Instead, the CDC recommends that students and school workers with flu symptoms should stay home for seven days, and those who are sick longer shouldn’t come back to school until 24 hours after symptoms subside. There is awareness that the CDC’s “seven-days-at-home-with-one-caregiver advice” will put some families in a financial bind.[149] But the CDC guidelines noted that everything could change if the outbreak suddenly turns severe. In those cases, the agency said, some schools may need to be closed, and certain precautions—for example, spacing school desks farther apart—might need to be imposed.[147]

And if they’re taking it seriously I think we should too and the unions are absolutely correct to raise the matter and seek guidance. And part of that will involve communicating best practice to those working in that environment.

I work partly in the educational sector, third level as it happens, and albeit nowhere near as neurotic as I once was about health matters I’ve never quite managed to shrug away the reality that educational institutions are perfect areas for infections to proliferate. It’s disturbing to see how very real issues, such as large class sizes which are a function of expenditure, or rather the lack of same, can in more cramped conditions contribute to precisely that proliferation if we are to take seriously the idea expressed in the last sentence there from the wiki page.

And here is a perfect example of how seemingly ‘rational’ and ‘pragmatic’ economic choices can potentially have very baleful outcomes. And how it’s best not to be glib about issues that are in some instances literally deadly serious.