I teach 8th grade civics at a very diverse middle school. I'm in my third year and it's a Tuesday morning in November. I'm seeing my homeroom class first thing this morning, a class that in this year's schedule is virtually non-existent, like a C&E churchgoer.
A student in my homeroom class was sitting with her head on the desk. I asked her what was up, to which she replied, "I think I'm going to have a seizure - I gagged three times this morning already." A rush of information comes to my head: yes, she has fits of epilepsy. The training says don't call 911, right? Or do call 911? If she starts, I think to myself, I will lay her on the floor and clear obstacles. Get the kids out of the way and prevent panic, in a room that already has a kid affected by a car accident two weeks ago. Geez, these kids will never come back to school if this girl seizes in my classroom. Now I'm panicking.
I almost push the poor girl out of the classroom. "Go to the clinic." I feel wholly unprepared in helping her deal with her illness. I grab a nearby adult and ask them to escort her downstairs, and sigh with relief when she is out of the room.
At the beginning of the year us teachers receive a barrage of background information on all our students. Read all the IEPs, check the 504s. Check the medical flag list, they tell us, for information on allergies (mainly), asthma (sometimes), and other health ailments (rare).
We do all this BEFORE we meet our kids. And what happens is, by the time I learn everyone's names, I've forgotten everyone's ailments.
I'm not sure I'm prepared to be a nurse in this capacity. Yes, I can administer an EPI pen and basic first aid. I've been CPR trained dozens of times, including in use of the AED. But seizures? I've never seen one in person. I feel like the last time I should see one, is the first time in the classroom.
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