Question:
The swine flu outbreak has been in the media quite a bit lately. From your perspective as a teacher, has the media coverage of swine flu (H1N1) been appropriate, too much, or not enough?
Replies:
Sarah - Malone, NY
I think the media coverage has been appropriate. As a society we need to be sufficiently informed, but not to the point that there is wide spread panic. I think the whole situation has been handled well.
OR
Coverage has been over blown. Sensationalism sells.
Lora - Lykens, PA
The coverage has been appropriate in delivering the message, but a bit overkill in how many times a day it was revisited. Due to all of the media coverage, my students (high school) became concerned, confused (due to lack of facts) and scared. Yes we do want to know about potential harms, but please present all of the facts and not just the shock factors! I still have students afraid to sit beside someone who appears to be sick. The hand sanitizer is literally flying off of my desk!
WI
I think the media jumped the gun on the swine flu. Ordinary flu kills over 36,000 people, on average, every given year. This may be an outbreak, but it is turning out to be mild in nature, and certainly not the pandemic it was originally portrayed to be.
Karin - Draper, UT
I feel that the media has exacerbated the situation. My daughter does research and has advised me to maintain healthy and preventative measures in and out of the classroom. I am more attentive to student habits such as hand washing, disposing of soiled tissues and not sharing food or beverages.
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