Writer's Block: Sick day

[tabular_rasa]

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Not doted on, per se, but present. I don't like being totally alone when I'm sick; it actually scares me quite a bit when I'm really sick because I worry about what would happen if I fainted, etc. Sure, it's nice to have someone tuck me in and serve me hot soup and tea, but I really just want the assurance that someone will notice if things take a turn for the worse.

I prefer to stay home if I'm sick. I'd even stay hold for a cold if it were acceptable to do so. (We've only got so many sick days, after all, and some things-- like my Japanese class in college-- just can't be missed without severe repercussions). I definitely stay home for things like the flu, strep, bronchitis, or anything that makes me vomit. If it's contagious, you're an asshole not to stay home. I don't care how much of a hardass you think you are; it's people like you that get the rest of us sick!

Comments

[tabular-rasa.livejournal.com]

I hate Perfect Attendance Awards. I hate them. I remember the principal giving a small speech before giving them out in middle school, and her saying, "They came to school even when they had the sniffles . . . " Well, uh, there's the point there-- they came to school and infected the rest of us! This is why only three of them are getting the damn award!

Unfortunately, Japan is about ten times worse when it comes to expecting citizens to suffer through things. "Gaman," or muscling through it, is considered a major virtue. I don't see what's un-virtuous about being realistic and admitting you're in no condition to do your best-- and saving others from getting sick (because selflessness is just as important in Japan)-- but, *shrug.* The rule seems to be if you're not sick enough to see a doctor, you're well enough to go to school. (The catch being: Japanese people go to a doctor about three times as often as Americans :-P). Still . . . I think it's my responsibility as a teacher to spare the kids I'm exposed to from my germs, you know?

I used to cry over having to miss school due to sickness as a kid. I still get upset when sickness makes me miss things or enjoy them less. But I'd rather recover quickly than perpetuate it for two weeks longer because I won't slow down.

[silverfyre.livejournal.com]

Haha. I used to get them all the time in Lower School. But that was also partially because if I was sick, I didn't really have the option of staying home- both my parents worked- and the one day I really and truly was too sick to go to school, I spent the day sleeping at my mom's office. And then I was mad to not get the award, both because I *couldn't* have gone to school, and I felt it wasn't my fault, and because that day was just as miserable anyway.

In retrospect though, they really are a silly concept. Kids can't *help* getting sick, and it's unfair to reward the ones who didn't happen to get that sick that year. (Not to mention that you'd probably get better faster if you slowed down.) Maybe if they had it where excused absences (like sick days) wouldn't count, but then again I feel like you'd have a majority of the class getting it then and it wouldn't be meaningful. Meh.

[tabular-rasa.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really don't even see why getting perfect attendance is all that meaningful. Maybe I'm weird because I was a good student and generally liked school, but I thought the point was to go to school as often as you could, regardless of being rewarded. And absences are just necessary exceptions. The only times I ever missed school were due to sickness or orthodontist appointments (which also prevented me from getting perfect attendance, since even the short ones that only took one hour were considered an absence. The orthodontist's secretary once bitched at me when I pointed out how dumb it was for an office that serves mostly middle- and high-schoolers to be open from 8 am to 4 pm. Why not 2 to 9 pm or something? It's the same length of a day, but you'd actually be convenient. Revolutionary, I know). But this got me non-perfect attendance. I never skipped, I never even had my mom call me in sick for a "mental health day" even though goodness knows I could have used them in middle school and things. And, nope, no candy bars or scholarships or any of that shit, except once in kindergarten, a year I happened to just not get sick (and not need orthodonture). *Sigh.*

[silverfyre.livejournal.com]

No, I agree with you. And ironically enough, I think that's the kind of student they're trying to reward with those awards. Of course, it's likely that those who did get the award had parents who made them go to school every day even if they're sick, or parents who work who just can't do anything to take care of their kid if their kid isn't at school. So maybe that's more evidence that the award is pointless.

And I agree with you about the orthodontist. I had to always leave school in a rush, and my mom had to rush through her work, to get to the orthodontist before they closed. And it was an every-month thing to check on my braces! Your idea might be even more revolutionary, considering that the vast majority of jobs go from 9-5 on weekdays, wouldn't that make it really hard for those people to use each other's services? Some sort of staggering would certainly help.