All teachers welcome!

[mrsvank]

Hello All!

I am going to school to be an Elementary Ed teacher, and I just got accepted into NSU to finish up my degree! I am so excited! I have wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl! I have been dealing with this phobia since I was about 8 and I am now going on 24. I have a MAJOR fear that a child is going to v* in my classroom! I have had this happen while I shadowed, and I closed my eyes and ears and looked the other way!

I guess what I want to know is about your teaching experiences with children and the possibility of v*ing in the classroom! Any advice and/or stories are welcome! I am okay with reading graphic things about v*, so it won't bother me to hear the good, bad, and ugly!

I just don't want to give up on my dream of being a teacher due to this phobia!

Thank you!!!

[Sophiailardo97]

The more you’re around it the less likely you’ll get it - you’ll build an immune to it .

[Runnergirl81]

I taught for 11 years and only had it happen 3 times. It was gross but honestly it wasn’t the end of the world - I was so busy worrying about keeping the other kids away from it that my fear didn’t really get in the way. For what it’s worth, I also only caught one stomach bug that entire time and it was at a completely different time than the v* incidents.

[tiredofitall]

I’ve been teaching for 13 years and I’ve been lucky enough that it’s never happened in my room. I teach 7th and 8th grade though so the kids are a little older and less likely to get sick in the classroom.

[mess_of_a_dreamer]

Congrats! I'm currently in teacher training for elementary as well. In my own elementary experience, I don't remember anyone v* in the classroom after 2nd grade. The younger they are, the more inevitable. Last year I was in Kindergarten and we didn't have anyone v* in the actual classroom but one kid right outside in the office. We had kind of an outbreak last year and I got sick as well.

I'm nervous about this too but I'm trying to take it one day at a time. Obviously you won't know this yet, but eventually I wonder if the closer your classroom is to a bathroom, the more likely a kid is going to try and make it there if they don't feel well and less likely to v* in class. If you plan to work with younger kids (K-2) I think it's best to come up with strategies to help you stay calm when you have to deal with v* (and at that age, I think in one way or another you will).

[Leslie735]

I am starting in January working in elementary and I'm worried about this myself.

[Jess44246]

When I was in elementary, we averaged one incident per year. I’d say we had about 600 kids. There was an average of one kid v per year that I encountered, and the majority were at lunch. My non-emetophonic mother is in the elementary library where every class goes on a rotation, and they average about one v per year in the library (school of about 1000 kids). They walk the kid to the nurse and custodial cleans up the mess. Every incident seems to be taken care of quickly and quietly, but the kids will gossip about it to no end! If you’ll be 100% alone in the class with the kids, maybe if you trust a nearby teacher, give them a heads up that you may need them to help out if something happens. Your instincts to help will probably kick in. You’ll be afraid but you’ll get the job done. Think of a bug-phonic doctor with a patient who has bugs - they do their job even thought they’re afraid.