Benefits of Chiropractic p Care and Massage g During Pregnancy
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from momaha.com
Avoiding Handshakes Dear Sassy Housewife, I am an elementary school teacher who is about to celebrate 10 years of teaching. I love the kids, the other teachers and the staff. However, the one thing that I can’t stand is parent-teacher conferences. This is not because I don’t like talking with the parents, THE but because I hate shaking hands. I meet with more HOUSEWIFE than 20 parents in one night, and I get grossed out thinking about all the germs passed from person to person. How can I be polite and reject their handshakes? Dear Cooties Catcher, Being a former teacher, I completely relate to the dread of parent-teacher conferences. However, mine was because I hated telling parents that their son couldn’t stop scratching his private parts in public, or that their daughter could no longer tell me that she had her period every day so she could meet her friends in the bathroom. I never
thought about the hand-shaking aspect of it, but now I suddenly feel a need to Purell my entire body. With that said, here’s an idea: Keep something in both of your hands at all times. For example, hold a pen in one hand and a file folder in the other. Then when the parents enter the classroom, you can just motion to them to sit down and avoid actually exchanging hand-touching salutations. If that doesn’t work and they outstretch their hands anyway, perhaps you could simply say, “I have a little cold right now, and I would hate to pass it on to you.” Then I recommend adding a fake sneeze or cough – one with head shaking and a big sigh afterward – to really bring the point home. If that still doesn’t work and they say it’s OK to shake their hands anyway, I recommend doing it with the most limp, pathetic handshake possible. Once they feel something like that, I guarantee that they won’t want to shake it again. However, they might also think that you are super weak and wimpy. It’s a toss up with that one. You’ll have to decide which is worse – germs or judgment. I’m going with germs.
Danielle Herzog is a married mother of two. She taught middle and high school students and served as a student counseling advisor in the Washington, D.C., area prior to moving to Omaha. She is currently completing her master’s degree in counseling at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her Sassy Housewife blog appears weekly on momaha.com. Have a question or comment for her? Email momaha@owh.com.
reader response This column first appeared on Momaha.com. Here’s how readers weighed in.
Dana Fossella: “I like the fake cough/sneeze.” Vicki Taylor: “Another thing the teacher can do is have a bottle of hand sanitizer on her desk and after shaking each hand, use the sanitizer. Either the parent will get the message or the teacher will just have sanitized hands. Either way, it’s a win. If I were the teacher, I’d already have a big bottle on my desk since kids pass along germs as well.”
Jon Gilsdorf: “Wait a second! The columnist hated telling parents that their daughter ‘has her period every day to meet her friends in the bathroom ...’ Then two paragraphs later, the columnist advises the teacher to lie about being sick? WOW!”
Kacie Beachler: “I agree. Lying probably isn’t the best way to go ... Couldn’t she just tell parents the truth? ‘I’m sorry. I’d love to shake your hand, but with all the illnesses going around, I don’t want to risk (passing on the germs).’ Honesty is the best way to go. What parent would be mad about that!?”