Anaphylaxis and the Epi-pen - Tuesday, February 19, 2008
 I've got a kid in the grade this year who brings an epi-pen to school with him in case of an anaphylactic shock. In fact, there are four kids in the school with such causes for concern. Each has their own epi-pen close by when they are here, and each has their own specific influence that sets off their reaction. For many it's peanuts or nut products, bee stings, certain medications, eggs and regular cow's milk. Any exposure to their allergen sets off the allergic reaction and that's when things get serious.
Fortunately, we had the chance today to be trained once more (for many of us) in the understanding of anaphylaxis (this severe reaction to the above triggers), and the administration of the epi-pen (the small, single-dose medication device that delivers a shot of adrenalin into the child's bloodstream to counter the reaction). I remember going through the training about three years ago, so I found much of it just a refresher course.
Meaning that much of what I knew but had forgotten I knew was brought back to the front of my mind again. I was pretty certain I knew how to administer the epi-pen and the process with which to handle any such anaphylactic emergency, but at the same time, I'd only done it in a training situation with practice epi-pens, eh? Those little ones you can practice on yourself which have no dosage inside them and, importantly, no little sharp needle to accidentally stab yourself with. It would be a whole new kettle of fish to actually be in the situation where you need to use it in a real situation.
Fortunately we have yet to have such an incident, and while I'm sure we'd handle it properly, you never really know until you're facing it, eh? Even after today's session, I know I'd rather not have to face such an emergency myself while wandering outside on yard duty.
All fears and concerns aside though, I think it's probably the most important professional development session I'll sit through for the entire year. Hopefully I won't need to put it into practice, but, in case I do, it's nice to have that little bit of confidence that you might just help the kid through something potentially fatal and have him home safe and sound that night because you spent two hours after school one evening all those months ago.
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Statewide Stopwork, Valentine's Day, 2008 - Monday, February 11, 2008
 The Victorian Education Union have organised a state-wide stop work action for February 14th, 2008. That's this Thursday, a few days from now. The way the law runs is that only those who are members of the Union and hold teacher or principal class roles in a school are legally allowed to stop work on this day. Other school officers and integration aides and the other various important roles other people carry out in the school setting are not allowed to join the strike. Being a teacher, I am legally allowed to stop work this Thursday without fear of reprisal, except for the docking of that day's pay.
That is... if indeed I am a member of the Union after all. I eventually gave in and joined late last year, but a check of by bank history since that time shows that the monthly payments haven't been coming out, so it wouldn't surprise me if they never got around to putting me on their books anyway.
Which I suppose could be one reason I'm not stopping work this Thursday, much to the quiet disappointment of my class!
The reasons seem to be that Victorian teachers are the lowest paid in the country (let's see how long this link stays active!), and figures seem to show that most other states in Australia pay teachers up to 15% more. So, yes, again it comes down to wanting more money. Which I suppose is fair enough, as I'll quietly argue (because doing it loudly doesn't seem to be worth it with some people!) that we do more than our fair share for what we receive, even including those often hyped school holidays we get. Forget about coming in during the last week of said holidays to make sure everything's ready to run smoothly that first week back too, eh?
But stopping work for more money just doesn't sit right with me. I'm not going to begrudge anyone else who takes the other choice, but it doesn't fit with my view on why I teach. The money could be better, but for me I'd rather find a better... no, not necessarily better... let's say 'different' way to handle it.
Other reasons for the stop work include reducing class sizes further, which I suppose makes sense... but I often think that, if my class size was to be reduced from 25 to 21, for instance, who makes the choice which of my four I remove? Every kid that belongs to your grade contributes in such a way that, once they're removed from it, changes that grade forever. I don't think I've had a grade that I'd want to change in such a way.
Okay, I know that's taking the example to the extreme as kids wouldn't be pulled out of grades halfway through a year and tacked into another one just to reduce numbers, but it's how I view such a change for me. Yeah, I might have a few more kids, but those four kids add much more to the grade than if they weren't there.
Another reason is contract teaching. A twelve month contract, and you have to reapply for your position at the end of the year and go through the interviewing process all over again. I lived that for three years, lost my position once due to outside circumstances but was fortunate enough to pick up the second position going at the same school, and came out the other end with an ongoing position. It's a bugger of a way to go about maintaining your employment, and I know my work has improved dramatically since I no longer had to worry about continually proving myself beyond the people who really matter, and for me that's the kids. Removing contract positions in lieu of only ongoing ones makes perfect sense to me, and a strong reason to stop work.
But what's the first reason the Union usually puts on their posters, and more often than not in great big fat fonts? Increase of salary. To me, the other arguments are much more important to fix first, but the money is the one that gets yelled first. Then there's their argument that only by paying teachers what they deserve will the state get the good teachers it deserves. Well... what about those of us working our bums to the bone for the wage we've already got. You've got the best teachers here already. I found that line of argument just a little insulting. I can see their point, I just don't think they thought through their statements quite properly.
 Anyway... fact of the matter is I'm going to work that day, and the kids, while grizzling a little when I passed that bit of tragic news onto them, seemed to take on my reasons and are happy enough with my choice. Which I think is pretty impressive coming from eight and nine year olds. Several of them were even aware of the reason why the stop work was going ahead. Yes, that lack of wages thing! I'd also told the kids on the first day of the year that I expected them to be at school every day they could possibly manage. I also gave them my word that I would do likewise. Choosing to go out on a stop work wouldn't be keeping that word, although it would be different if the reasons were for more than just the money.
Mind you... heading off to Melbourne to march and wave big banners is just not something I can picture myself doing, so it was always going to be difficult to get me to go out on stop work. I'm not the union minded person that the education department seems to think makes up its membership, but I'm fortunate my school isn't a militaristically unionist school like others can be. At least here I have the choice and are respected for it, as I've heard others aren't as forgiving.
It'll be interesting to see whether this does any good in the long run though, but for now, it looks like there'll be three grades running the school next Thursday. Probably the quietest day of the year.
Cheers.
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This is an offspring of the School Spirit Webcomic site. Where that site features the comic strip itself, this site focuses more on the real life minor adventures of teaching in semi-rural Victoria.
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