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Sick leave can help curb H1N1

By Stili Klikizos

Posted: Oct. 6, 2009

As a second-grade teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools, I’m worried about the swine flu. Not so much for me but for my students and their parents.

I know that parents are supposed to keep kids home if they have symptoms. But for too many parents, staying home from work is not a reality because they can’t afford to lose a paycheck or a job.

I call parents when a child falls sick, but often they can’t come until after work. Some are forced to drop off a sick child at school in the morning. After a few minutes, I can see the student is ill. Most parents hate doing this, but they have no choice.

I remember a mother who left work to pick up her sick child - and lost her job cleaning hotel rooms. Later, she would leave the child who was sick at home with an older daughter, who herself was in middle school.

Last school year, a girl who turned 8 in the fall was out several days. Where was she? “Home watching my brother,” she said. He’s 4. When I asked why, she replied, “He was sick, and my mother was working.”

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