  |
| |
Health, safety advocates share audacious ideas
March 31, 2005 NYSUT's Floyd Cameron helps Nancy Viggiani of the Albany Public School United Employees send a fax to a legislator. From the horror stories to the thorough fixes, NYSUT's Health and Safety Conference was all about safer schools, hospitals and other workplaces. At the March conference in Albany, former New York City teacher Alan Lubin told attendees how he educated himself about asbestos, AIDS and mold when these issues affected his school.
"The exposure our members have to toxic materials, asbestos and poor ventilation has not abated," said Lubin. In classroom visits today as executive vice president of New York State United Teachers, he said, "I couldn't breathe in some of the rooms I was in." While there are many serious concerns about different aspects of health and safety in schools, "We don't have the luxury of getting involved one issue at a time," said keynote speaker Kathleen Rest, executive director of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Now is the time to tap into collective strength ... We have to be audacious." (The Web site of the Union of Con-cerned Scientists is www.ucsusa.org.) Many regulatory agencies have become more "business friendly," Rest warned, and special-interest groups are lobbying for watered-down family and medical leaves, less pollution control and less stringent rules for mercury. Child labor laws have been weakened so that 14- and 15-year-olds can operate deep-fat friers and clean grills. Half of all burns are caused by working in these areas, Rest said. Another law was relaxed so that 16- and 17-year-olds can load paper balers. "I call these things to your attention because of your relationship to kids," Rest said. Attendee Anne Quivey, a grade 7 and 8 special ed teacher, said her classroom was without a ceiling all last year due to renovations. No protective covering was used, and her class regularly filled with dust that had to be cleaned daily. One day, five computers were covered with plaster. The middle school students and staff shivered as the gutted structure let in the cold air. As a building rep for the West Irondequoit Teachers Association, she volunteered to come to the conference to get information. "What are the long-term implications?" Quivey asked. Exposure Concern about staff exposure to injury and infection brought BOCES school nurse Marion Connelly to the conference to attend sessions on wellness, ergonomics and infectious diseases. Many students today are medically fragile and have multiple handicaps, she said, requiring transfers and lifting by paraprofessionals. "We get a lot of back and shoulder injuries," said Connelly, a member of the United Staff Association of Putnam/ Northern Westchester BOCES. "Some kids can't even blow their own noses. Staff are always concerned about infection." Gale Deans, a teaching assistant from the Hempstead Teaching Assistants Association, finds it almost impossible to avoid strain on her knees when getting down to the level of eager first-graders. Deans and Connelly paid close attention at a session on ergonomic issues in education. Some tips: • Sit with students at tables instead of bending over them. • Alternate between sitting and standing to reduce back strain. • Get help when lifting children, especially those who cannot support some of their weight. In a session on creating wellness programs, participants learned keeping physically fit does as much for the mind as it does for the body. "We're dealing with three new administrators and the loss of two students in tragic accidents," said Mary Contant of the Elba Central Schools Faculty Association. While teachers are expected to help students deal with their grief, their own wellness isn't always taken into consideration. "Teachers get lost in it," Contant said. — Liza Frenette and Clarisse Butler |
|
||
| | |||
