Home Ec

[yelloww]

So can you get her pulled from the class w a medical note?

[maeve]

I'm not sure if I can. There's always the question of what they do with her if she's exempted from the class? There's no other semester-long class she could take. She's already in a year-long strings class. Given the fact that there's one strings teacher, who also teaches guitar, and also given that the school is at 126% capacity, I am reluctant to ask the strings teacher to create an individual study program for DD (also reluctant given she's not practicing and is getting Cs on her graded work). She also currently has a 100% in home ec for the two assignments that have been graded. At least they'll be sewing next week.

[CMdeux]

What do you think is going to wind up being a reasonable solution, then?

It doesn't sound as though some of the cooking projects are going to be very safe-- and honestly, I get the clear sense that the teacher hasn't got a clue, so SHE isn't going to come to YOU for advice on that score.  She doesn't even see the risk, and isn't communicating with you about it ahead of time as a result.  Do you think this is because she likes to plan on the fly?  Or is it that she can't be bothered to convey info to you?  Or that she thinks that she shouldn't HAVE to?

[twinturbo]

Submit the doctor's note excusing from any cooking or food prep. Then see what they come up but we're going to be prepared for shenanigans, right? So contingencies are in place for substitute. I think they need some galvanizing like a taser to the rear--in bureaucratic form, of course.

[maeve]

What do you think is going to wind up being a reasonable solution, then?

It doesn't sound as though some of the cooking projects are going to be very safe-- and honestly, I get the clear sense that the teacher hasn't got a clue, so SHE isn't going to come to YOU for advice on that score.  She doesn't even see the risk, and isn't communicating with you about it ahead of time as a result.  Do you think this is because she likes to plan on the fly?  Or is it that she can't be bothered to convey info to you?  Or that she thinks that she shouldn't HAVE to?

That's just it. I don't know what a reasonable solution would be. I agree that there's really no way for her to participate safely, sitting out and observing makes her condition readily apparent to her peers, and being sent to the library to do an alternate assignment seems punitive (but might be the only viable solution). 

Honestly, I wish they'd drop home ec altogether. It's not as if kids in our entitled neck of the woods are ever going to use these skills.   I wish they had a computer programming class instead. That's far more useful.

[CMdeux]

Can you and your DD (and/or DH) come up with a some kind of more meaningful "alternate" assignment that won't feel like punishment to your DD?

Can you try to negotiate with the teacher for a way to make the "alternative" a possible assignment for students other than your DD, too?  Like maybe a budgeting assignment, or a shopping list creation spreadsheet or something like that.  Using web-skills to search for a recipe, etc. maybe for particular dietary needs/wants (low sodium, low-carb, gluten free, dairy-free, no-sugar, whatever)...

[maeve]

I sent an email to the allergist's office this afternoon.  I got an email reply within an hour, but it was to let me know that our adored nurse practioner who handles these issues is off on Friday. I should hear something on Monday.

While drawing up the email laying out my concerns and asking for a letter exempting her from the cooking lessons, two possible options popped into my head.  (just the hands-on stuff). There's other lessons in cooking that are not hands-on (such as the one she recently got 100% on). I thought perhaps she could be in the non-cooking room observing what that class is doing or she can go to the library and in the evening we can replicate the recipe at home with safe substitutions and I can videotape it for the teacher. Her class is starting with sewing next week because the 8th graders have their Iron Chef competition. So I'm making an assumption that when her class is in the kitchen lab that the 8th graders are in the other room. I can't see what harm there would be for her to participate in their lessons when her class is doing cooking.

Those are just thoughts off the top of my head.

[maeve]

I received an email back from DD's allergist's office, and they feel she can participate with accommodations (and obviously cannot eat what's made).

I spoke with DD about how she felt about that. She's fine with doing that except for the frittatas recipe during which she does not want to be in the classroom. DD seemed disappointed when I told her she could not eat anything made in the class, including the recipes without egg. This class couldn't come at a worse time developmentally. She's been flirting with pushing the risk boundaries (e.g., she pushed back about me not letting her eat dinner at La Madeleine with her GS troopmates), and this is going to be a challenge because she's really chafing at being "left out of everything" as she put it to me the other day.

Here's the email I just sent the school:
Mr. 504C and Mrs. Teacher,
I'm sorry that it took a while to get back to you.  I reviewed the recipes on the web site, consulted with DD's allergist's office, and touched base with DD.  The allergist's office thinks that DD can participate with modifications; the allergist stated that the greatest risk would be from ingestion and that a reaction from egg residue would result in localized hives.  DD's last reaction to egg was to an imperceptible amount of egg residue; it resulted in hives and some swelling and redness of the eye she rubbed the egg protein. I think you should know what her last reaction was so that you can know what to look for in the classroom.

I noticed in Clarity last week that the assignments for FACS were listed (but with first semester dates).  Will the same recipes from the first semester be used this semester?  I saw that the following recipes were used last semester: cinnamon bow ties, frittatas, cupcakes, and pasta.  Can you confirm if these will be done or provide information on which recipes will be used this semester.

I'll list what general accommodations are needed and then accommodations specific to the recipes.

General Accommodations
•   DD cannot eat anything made during the cooking labs.
•   DD cannot handle eggs or items that come into contact with eggs. This includes washing pans, etc. and cleaning of lab surfaces.
•   DD should be allowed to leave the classroom at any point she feels unsafe during a cooking lab.
•   Should DD show signs of a reaction, she should go the nurse with an escort if the reaction is localized hives so that she can be given Benadryl/Zyrtec as treatment.  If she shows signs of anaphylaxis, she should remain in the classroom, and her allergy action plan should be followed (administer the EpiPen, inform the nurse, contact 911 for transport to the hospital, and inform her parents).

Recipe-Specific Accommodations
•   Cinnamon Bow Ties: There are no accommodations needed. DD cannot eat the finished product.
•   Frittatas: DD would prefer not to participate in this lab; we'll need to find an alternative assignment.
•   Cupcakes: DD can measure the dry ingredients but should not add the dry ingredients to the wet, stir the batter, or pour the batter into the muffin tins. She can handle the baked cupcakes to ice them (so long as the icing does not have egg in it). If the cupcakes contain chocolate chips, she cannot handle the chocolate chips (most are cross-contaminated with nuts).
•   Pasta: There are no accommodations needed if this is the baked ziti or cheesy pasta bake listed on the web site. If the recipe is lasagna, DD can help boil the noodles and heat the sauce but cannot layer the pasta or make the cheese layer. DD cannot eat the finished product.

DD said that tomorrow will be a cooking lab and that the class will be making the cinnamon bow ties.  DD can participate in that lab; I'll send a note into class with her providing my permission in case this email doesn't get to you before class. 

Once we have the listing of which recipes will be done this semester, we can finalize the accommodations and add them to DD's 504 plan.  Thank you for your help and cooperation.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call me.  My work phone number is listed below and I can also be reached on my cell phone at. 

[daisy madness]

That sounds like an absolute mine field.  I'm surprised the allergist's office doesn't see this as more of a risk.  It sounds like she'll have to be highly excluded.  How hard for her and you....

Did the allergist say anything about reconsidering this if she has any reactions?

[maeve]

I do think the allergist took an objective, measured view of the risk. The allergist (a well-respected researcher) would definitely support pulling her from the activity if she has reactions.

We're between a rock and hard place. This is a required class and there are no options to put her in something else for the semester. The cooking is not done all at one time but rather interspersed throughout the semester. She will definitely not participate in the frittatas lab, and will likely be sent to the library to work on an "alternative" assignment.  I'm not sure what's more punitive: sending her to the library or allowing her to participate with reasonable accommodations.

A friend's son who is a year older than DD attends the same school, has the same allergies, and sees the same allergist, he participated safely in the cooking labs last year without any problems. His mother has a much tighter comfort zone than I do; they have only started eating out at restaurants in the past couple of years.  I fall on the fairly conservative side of the comfort zone; though, I know that I'm not nearly as conservative as others.

[twinturbo]

@daisy  I think Maeve is just finding what works for her daughter at this age with her history. Her school may also have shown a history of support for 504 accommodations with regard to her daughter's safety. Some schools are more with it and actually fulfill the duties they're charged than what some of us with the difficult administrations have experienced. At our schools I've had some uneven decision making because I trust more staff and programs better than others, adjusting risk/benefit accordingly.

[CMdeux]

Exactly-- the problem here seems to have been getting info from this particular staffer, who wants to (apparently) make decisions that are outside of her pay grade.

[maeve]

Well, I just got a call from the 504C. They've read the email and have some questions but he in particular wanted to know if it were possible for DD to wear gloves to further protect her and ensure she can remain in the classroom during the labs.  Bless his heart.  He's so focused on keeping her safe and making sure she's included in the lab so way that he completely misses a major unintended consequence: namely, that all the kids in the class will be aware of her allergy and this could open her up to being teased or bullied. (I won't get into how this doesn't really protect her because can still rub her eyes with the gloves; it would only protect the skin on her hands.)

I was on another call when this call came in, so the 504C dropped this info in a voicemail. So I'll take the weekend to compose a nice reply in my head that is not dripping with sarcasm.

I don't think what I've asked for is too over the top. I get the sense that other allergy parents are more lax.  I will not trade making DD a social pariah to ensure her safety, though.

[twinturbo]

Can they all wear gloves?

[maeve]

Can they all wear gloves?

Brilliant suggestion! That is the only way I'd do it.