A Florida elementary school recently caused parent protests after it enforced strict rules in order to protect a 6-year-old student with a severe allergy to peanuts. Students at the school must wash their hands after lunch and snacks, and no outside food is permitted, according to The Week (http://theweek.com/article/index/213437/how-far-should-schools-go-to-pro...).
Parents have taken the drastic step of picketing the school, arguing that the rules disrupt class time, making it more difficult for their children to learn. Some have even said that the child with allergies should be home-schooled. Administers have countered that her food allergy is severe enough to qualify as a disability under the law, and that they are required to make such accommodations for her.
Is it fair to the other students to go this far for a single child? On the one hand, this girl's health is important, obviously. Contact with just a trace of peanut could kill her. Though the new rules might seem "annoying" to other students and parents, they are justified to keep this little girl safe.
Many have argued that requiring students to wash their hands and avoid eating peanuts at school is a small sacrifice that is hardly going too far. Accommodating a first-grader with a severe peanut allergy will take just a few minutes out of other students' day. Plus, it teaches the valuable lesson that kids should help their classmate, rather than ostracizing those with differences.
Others, however, say that home-schooling may be necessary in this situation in order to keep her safe. If such precautions in the school are necessary, her life could be at risk any time another child forgets to wash his or her hands after lunch. If her health is so precarious, home-school might be the safer alternative, and a reasonable solution given that her life is at stake. "What is unreasonable is placing small children in the position of potentially, even if inadvertently, causing the death of a fellow student," says Gig Veres at Gather.com.
What do you think? What measures are appropriate for a school to take in order to protect a student with severe food allergies?
What I am so upset about is
What I am so upset about is that these accomodations can't follow this child with the peanut allergy for life. When they go to college or play team sports or go to a playground or get a job or go to the grocery store, they will come into contact with someone who has eaten a peanut product and not washed there hands and mouth before touching a door handle or shopping cart or football or jungle gym. It shouldn't be that the rest of the world has to be forced to cater to the few who have such a condition. My children eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches 4-5 days a week for lunch. Sometimes for breakfast on toast. Sometimes they eat peanut butter and cheese crackers for snacks or granola bars with peanut butter. Why do they have to alter their lives/likes/tastes to accomodate a relatively few people. Maybe the relatively few should wear a mask throughout the day (a much more reasonable accomodation, in my opinion) that doesn't cause the rest of the school to change.
Personally, I believe that a
Personally, I believe that a school district has the right to make schools comply with allergy needs, in order to fulfill a child's need for an education. . . . unless they already offer an alternative. If a district or a nimber or nearby districts offer an alternative choice. . . like Peanut free and or latex free alternative, It is probably their responsibility to provide alternatives for a child.
I know that is seems unreasonable, but it IS the law so that problems can be avoided. . . i.e. a child is forced to attend a lesser schol because he/she is black or mexican. . . there are good reasons and bad reasons. I think that schools she abide by the needs of their students unless alternatives are made. . . maybe is a student in allergic to Peanuts that given a chance to have Almond butter or other alternatives, for now, can be made. There are a lot of alternatives, for now, that can be made.
There is at least one teacher with a latex allergy that is so severe that is can cause anaphylatic shock. . . should this school ban rubber prodicts for her. . . or should all student with Latex allergies be put in a latex free school? and/or a peanut free school.> Otherwise, we need to reavaluate what a schoool must provide for our tax dollars.
I personally don't believe
I personally don't believe that the school can keep a child who is this allergic to peanuts safe. If my children were so highly allergic, I would home school, as I am in the position to do so.
However, not everyone has that option. Furthermore, she isn't my child. If the school is required to make concessions to protect this child and give her an education, and the parents and her doctor are satisfied with the measures being taken, then that should be the end of it.
Her right to live and get a public education trumps anyone's rights to eat peanut butter at school.
Why do we constantly cater to
Why do we constantly cater to the needs of narsacism? Teach your kid not to eat peanuts.
I totally understand this. .
I totally understand this. . . however it is not narcissism that we are catering to, but allergies. I also posted a comment on this subject and it deals with this possibility, as well as other allergy possibilities
I totally understand this. .
I totally understand this. . . however it is not narcissism that we are catering to, but allergies. I also posted a comment on this subject and it deals with this possibility, as well as other allergy possibilities