Thinking about school part 2

So my last post was devoted solely to reflecting on my high school experience in the cafeteria. However, a lot of the issues that arise with having an allergy in school comes from outside of the cafeteria. A lot of times, classrooms can be dangerous for kids with food allergies as well. Snacks that students bring in could have something I’m allergic to, there could be an activity done in class that involves food, class could be after lunch, allowing people that haven’t washed their hands after eating things with peanut butter to contaminate things, or a whole bunch of other crazy unpredictable factors.

It’s not all bad, though. It all depends on who teaches the class. Like all other people, some teachers get your allergy, and some just don’t. It doesn’t mean that those are bad teachers, they just don’t get it.

Considering how many hours I spend a week at school, teachers that try hard to understand my allergy and include me in activities are one of the biggest reliefs to me when it comes to my food allergy.  I will admit that even after dealing with allergies at school for ten years, I feel bad when there are activities that center around food and everyone is enjoying it but me.  I also feel nervous that I might have a reaction.

I had a teacher during my freshman year of high school that was one of the best teachers with my allergy that I have ever come across. There were no snacks in her classroom, she always e-mailed my family whenever she was going to bring in food to the class, even sending photos of the labels. She always let me know in advance if there was an event in school that had food, so that I could actually participate. I really liked her class because I always felt safe there. They are a safe place in a sometimes unsafe environment.

Until next time!

Gary

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