Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum ANY bit of advice for preventing SICK students coming in...

Hello my fellow Piano teachers!
so...a couple years ago when the Swine flu had that outbreak I sent home a short note to all parents with some info on it and how to prevent it and also it was a hint hint of to NOT let the kids come to their lessons if experiencing any flu-like or any other type of sick symptoms in order to prevent me or my children from getting sick. This was received well then, but, today, with no real serious outbreaks or at least nothing being mentioned on the news I find it a bit challenging to send something home basically saying keep your kids' germs away from me and my family. I am so tired of constantly experiencing symptoms because these kiddos are coming in hacking and snottin all over the place. And although I use hand sanitizer and the kids do to, it's still in the air. I always ensure their makeup lesson if they do need to miss, so there is no reason for missing due to any sickness.

Please please, any advice on how to tactfully do this?? Thank you!
*Christy - posting while taking the day off due to a COLD*

Christy, this topic was a huge hit on the board recently in response to my thread, When parents ignore studio policy
which can be accessed at http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.
php/topics/1573579/1.html

I generally provide a reminder when school starts. Also, I had a holiday recital in December, which provided an opportunity to send out another reminder with the holiday recital info, as too many students were coming in for lessons sick. I was sick every other month last year, ending 2010 with H1N1. I have to be firm about my sick policy. If a child comes to the lesson sick, I will not teach the child, nor will I make it up. If the parent calls me to cancel due to illness, I will make up the lesson.

As a mom, I know the difference between a child who is at the end stage of an illness and a child who is contagious. Hacking, sneezing, sore throats are a good indicator they should be home. I teach in a very small enclosed room, and there's no escaping those nasty virus germs. And I've heard enough times on the news that sanitizers do not kill viruses.

I send the child right home. I'll call the parents cell phone and have them turn around and take their child home and let them know we'll do a make up at a later time. This only needs to happen once before the parents uses their better judgment.

Ok, so it sounds like I need to just add this memo to my policy page....now how bout for existing students? Should I send a memo out? and how should I tactfully say this?

Well the thing about it is....you may get germs and sickness even if a child looks completely healthy. Or they may have bad allergies that make them look sick but they aren't. So it's best to continue to wash hands, use sanitizer, wipe the keys down between students, and keep a fair distance.

I grew up this way: unless you are throwing up or running a fever, you are okay to participate in anything. So I don't mind if a student has a runny nose or cough. I don't mind teaching if I'm a little sick either.

It sounds as if you have a different view on this, so state your views in your policy and back them up by sending a child home or by sitting them in the corner doing worksheets if they are really too sick. That's the nice thing about being our own bosses!

You might consider a more personal approach in addition to your policy. It will only take one phone call per family which you can time with other things you want to call them about.

"By the way, my immune system is a bit weak, and I catch every bug that comes through. The result is my family catches it and I am often unable to teach. So I'm asking all the parents to remember to only bring their children to lessons when the children are well."

Then, I'd work on your immune system. I suggest a fruit or vegetable at every meal, very little sugar, meals at specific times, and adequate exercise. Also, keep the window open a bit when teaching. Also consider a trial run without any sanitizer. You may need a few more bugs to beef up your immunity. They've done studies on this. Seriously.

Candywoman, love your name! I found that sending out my policy did nothing, but directly speaking to parents did. I did probably lose one student as a result (and his mom is a nurse!) but overall, I believe that the personal conversation worked best. I emphasize to parents that I was catching everything last year, that when I am sick, I have to cancel dozens of lessons, etc. I have exercised for 30 years, and even though I've been told by many doctors that I have the bones, heart, BMI, brain of a woman half my age, I get sick a lot, and when I get sick, I'm out of commission for a week or two. I can't open windows in my small store studio room b/c there aren't any, and the latest news is that hand sanitizers do nothing to kill viruses. So until my immune system strenghtens again (and I do hope you are right - I think I'm finally building up an immunity to their germs!), I have to be firm about this issue.

Seriously, I cannot believe you actually lost a student because of this, but it was probably for the better!