Question: If you start feeling too sick to teach (queasy, dizzy) on your way in to work -- in other words, it is now much too late to contact the students and cancel class before they leave home -- do you ask the department assistant to go over and cancel your class and give them their handouts and assignment, or do you go over, do it yourself, give them some stuff to work on during class time if they choose to stay, and then walk out?
I did the latter, because it seemed more responsible, but it also feels very awkward somehow. :-(
Going back to lying down on my office floor now. Drinking fluids. Hopefully will feel better by next class, at 12:30, because we really have a lot to cover in that class.
I have also done the latter when such a thing has happened to me. Fortunately, this is very rare.
I’ve done both.
I used to feel so guilty if it was last minute that I thought the second option would be good, but when I had to do it a few times I realized that it is better for you to be not there and have someone else do it because the students are kind of awkward to see you there sick – so now I just have the admin person go in with clear instructions and usually an assignment for them. I think from a student’s point of view, they are as willing to believe that you are sick when an admin comes in and in situations where one has a cold or something possibly infectious – people are more touchy so I try not to go in and make it awkward. It took me a few years to figure out what works for me. It might be different for different people. Hope you feel better…