any High School Teachers? - Multiple Sclerosis Message Board

sandy5673 · 04-24-2008, 05:06 PM

I am a high school math teacher with MS. I am having a very difficult time trying to decide how/if I can cope another year. My hands are mostly numb... typing is with two pointer fingers, handwriting (remember math teachers have to work out example problems) is HORRIBLE. The kids are forever asking "what does that say?". I move slowly to be sure I don't slip and fall and usually am so totally exhausted by the end of the day I jsu tgo home and collapse. I would love to hear coping skills from another teacher.

MSJayhawk · 04-24-2008, 08:29 PM

I home school. My 9 year old is finishing his 9th grade studies. Math is his strongest field and I am forever trying to stay ahead of his math ability. One thing I have found is that I will do one problem and then I turn the whiteboard over to him.

One suggestion would be for you to type up math problems, print it out, and then make transparency copies that you can use on an overhead. If you have a projector available, you can also project right from your computer.

I have found that my son enjoys the challenge of working the problem on the whiteboard.

As to maintaining your hands, you might try hand coolers or a head cooler. I use these in addition to my passive cooling vest. Due to the mental calculations and continual explanations involved with math, I can well understand your exhaustion. I usually nap for an hour after teaching Algebra. Perhaps your school district can better accomodate your disability. Under ADA, you are allowed reasonable accomodations in order to better perform your job. You might also see if there is funding to grant you a teaching asistant.

Other than that, I offer you my prayers!

mary63 · 04-25-2008, 03:04 AM

Hi there- have you or are you able to see an Occupational Therapist- there may be some equipment or modifications you can have to help you...?

hotflash · 04-25-2008, 10:10 AM

My aunt who has been a teacher for over forty years has lupus and she said when it was acting up she would call the smartest kid to the board and ask him to show the class the example that she was talking about.

hotflash

taosdaphne · 04-25-2008, 12:44 PM

Not a HS teacher, but a college professor of English with all kinds of teaching awards, and someone who NEVER missed class (I woul xc ski in) until the MS symptoms started showing up. I'm someone who likes to roam the room, but found if I tried I fell. Got a walker w. a seat and sat on it. I expend a HUGE amount of energy teaching (those of you who do it know it's like starring in a Broadway show all day everyday), and it was getting to the point where I was falling and splitting lips or dislocating shoulders or calling the EMTs to get me up off the floor. The day I burst into tears in the Dean's office after hanging onto the hallway wall to keep from falling, she said, "Go home. Take medical leave. I had no idea you were so ill". I, of course, thought the world would stop without me and was reluctant (I'd just taken over chairing the Women's Studies program, which was floundering badly). Took the rest of the semester off, came back in the fall, still felt like ****, and then my partner had a heart attack in NM and I took the rest of *that* semester off to care for her. Anyway, long story short, my wonderful administration agreed to keep me on half-time while I taught web-based courses from NM. It's more work than classroom teaching in some ways, but *so* much fun. And I can type comments right on the papers thy submit and zip them back electeonically. I retire officially May 22 with lots less money than I'd like, and thank god my insurance comes with me. I pay a little more for it, but considering the bills I'm racking up, it's a good thing.

If you are close enough to retirement age to strike some sort of deal like this, do it. Be the computer expert and teach other teachers or give workshops. Switch to a PT administrative job that is less stressful. If you trust your principal, talk honestly with her about what's going on and ask her advice. Go on short-term or partial disability. I am 100% better since I started this web stuff, though of course not well. Mobility problems, and I type with about 4 fingers now--but I can still type, read, and make good connections with students on-line.

Good luck to you. I've been really annoyed by the limitations I'm facing (esp not driving), but the teaching thing has worked out better than I expected--and they'll keep me as an emerita at $3300/course as long as they can afford it and I can keep up with the technology.