Germophobe

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a germophobe. I really dislike being around sick people, because they get me sick. Today 132 students were out of school with the flu. 132! Several more went home throughout the day, and several more looked like they should have gone home. I gave teacher speech #289: The Cold and Flu Season. "Wash your hands, don't share stuff that's been in your mouths, and if you have an illness-related emergency, you may get up and leave. Don't ask; just get up and leave!" I still had a freshman ask if he could leave. By all means, yes! I'm not a tyrant! (Okay, well, not some days...)

It led me to thinking. How much of illness is psychosomatic? Do I feel sick because I actually am sick, or is it because everyone else around me is sick? Do I make myself feel worse by thinking about how horrible I feel, causing me to think more, which causes me to feel worse? Oh, well. Maybe it's the cold medicine talking.

Some funnies from the teaching front: Today I asked for a definition of "dialogue," and one of my students said, "It's talking in books, like, you know, when stuff comes out of your mouth, like words." Then 4th hour proceeded to guess what all my notes were because I hadn't erased the board well enough after 3rd hour. The joy of freshmen...

A thesis statement from a sophomore compare and contrast paper: "There are many ways in which Ben Franklin and Jonathan Edwards are alike and dislike."

That's all for today...

::edit::salt on the wounds: I had forgotten that I had e-mail notification of school closings from last semester, and just received two e-mails about my high school and HCHS being cancelled today.