[img]1325|left|Alex Campbell ||no_popup[/img]Dateline Boston — As a teacher, I go through my day playing with kids, helping them with conflicts, and telling them what to do . You never really know what will make an impression– on them or on you.
One way in which I know I’ve made an impression is with handwashing. It’s an act adults do several times a day, and take for granted. How hard is it to wash your hands? Harder than you think.
A parent pointed out to me many years go that her son put soap on his hands, then put his hands in the running water, making the soap run right off before it was used effectively. I never forgot that parent’s observation. I set out to implement an effective handwashing technique soon afterward.
If you break down handwashing down, you’ll find it takes several steps. The most important thing is water control. I get the child’s hands wet, then turn off the water. This is very important. I put soap in the child’s hands and tell him to rub, rub, rub his hands together. Little kids don’t have a lot of control. Either the hands flail all over the place or the child just puts his hands together, as if in prayer. If a kid can’t rub his hands together, I help.
Ya Gotta Hand It to Me
When the hands have been washed for a few seconds (the Board of Health says 20 seconds, but that is rarely achieved with up to 10 kids’ hands to wash at a time), I turn the water on again and tell the child to rub again so the soap will be rinsed off. After all the soap is off, the child gets a paper towel, dries his hands, and off he goes. There’s a technique for drying hands using only one paper towel, but I won’t go into that here.
I know my method has had an effect on some kids. Their parents tell me so. It’s not always a pleasant conversation. More than one parent has told me their child screamed hysterically at home because the child’s hands weren’t washed “the way Alex does it.” Oops. I do love to remind parents to wash their child’s hands at home, especially during cold and flu season. You wouldn’t believe how many kids tell me that they don’t have to wash their hands at home. Use the method!
Sometimes you do something you consider so insignificant you don’t give it a second thought. Every year our preschool has a Fun Fair, which includes a raffle. One year I told Miya, a former student, my secret for winning raffle prizes. Crumple the entry, then smooth it out and drop it in. The wrinkles make it easier to grab. (Now that you all know the secret, good luck to you on future raffles!) Who knew that Miya would retain that little bit of information that I probably told her while doing a hundred other things during the busy time of the Fun Fair.
A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from Miya, now 10 years old. She said, “Alex, you know how you always crumple up a raffle ticket before you drop it in the bin so it will be picked?” “Yeah…” I replied. Miya continued. “Well, I did that, and I won a book!” Wow. I’m glad she won or else she might have written me off as a fraud.
I’ve taught kids dance moves that they do for their grandparents at Thanksgiving. Thank goodness the parents take it in stride. Hearing that their child got up in front of the family and did “the butt dance that Alex taught me” warms my heart, even if it doesn’t endear me to every member of the older generation.
Sure, A B C’s and 1 2 3’s are fun to teach to little kids, but it’s the moments you don’t even think about that seem to really make the difference.
Ms. Campbell may be contacted at snobbyblog@gmail.com
