Polski3's View from Here

Quote of some personal revelence: "Is a dream a lie, that don't come true, or is it something worse?"

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

What Hazards Lurk in YOUR classroom ?

Today, as I wandered my classroom full of students (34 of 'em in period 4), recording packet scores, I performed one of my ballet moves.....because I tripped on someones backpack and did a three hop down the narrow aisle on one foot. Thankfully and proudly, I have yet to fall down in my classroom due to tripping on a backpack, or kids foot or rip in the carpet. But I am sure many classroom teachers face such hazards. It is something that must be encountered at times in a crowded classroom of active junior high students.

Anyhow, I got to thinking of the other little hazards I have encountered this and every school year; paper cuts, cutting a finger or hand on a staple on a poorly stapled student paper and having an allergic reaction to some kid dousing himself with some nasty brew of "hot woman attracting" scent in lieu of showering or wearing clean clothing. I have also nearly slipped on wet concrete sidewalks because our custodial or gardening staff water these sidewalks. Actually slipping or tripping is a concern to me, my aging joints are already bad enough and I once nearly tore my left ACL. We must simply be carefully.

Fortunately, I don't think I have mold or mildew in my classroom. I don't know about asbestos. But I do think teachers deal with more hazards in their "workplace" than many working folks encounter. I have no idea when the last OSHA inspection of my school took place. At my school, we have never received training on avoiding "work-place hazards."

So, what hazards lurk in your classroom or at your school ?