Should I tell my students about my medical condition?
Teachers often weigh the appropriateness of sharing personal disabilities against the risk of unexpected medical emergencies happening in front of a class. This uncertainty creates a dilemma between student preparedness and professional privacy, complicated by worries over how parents might react.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Keeping medical information completely private and considering it none of the students' businessDid this help you?
- 2Selectively sharing with specific struggling students rather than announcing it to the whole classDid this help you?
- 3Keeping emergency supplies and glucose tabs in the classroomDid this help you?
- 4Informing only admin, HR, the school nurse, and nearby coworkers instead of parentsDid this help you?
- 5Using a CGM and smartwatch to monitor blood sugar discreetlyDid this help you?
- 6Setting up an emergency classroom protocol with students and staffDid this help you?
- 7Saying that something important came up and you needed to take care of that dayDid this help you?
- 8Saying a family member passed away without giving specifics and declining to talk about itDid this help you?
- 9Keeping students at arm's length and never talking about personal lifeDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My cat died on Thursday night. It has been a really sad weekend for me. I took Friday off, but I’ll be returning tomorrow.”source ↗
“I have no problem telling them my cat passed away, but I don’t know if it’s appropriate. I also don’t want to break down crying.”source ↗
“I didn’t know if it would be appropriate to let students know about my disabilities.”source ↗
“My only worry is what if I do end up passing out in class because of POTS and the students have no idea what’s happening and an ambulance is called when in reality it’s nothing that big”source ↗
“I would hesitate to tell students. Even if it goes over well with them, it might not with their parents.”source ↗
“something I’m a little worried about is how I handle being a diabetic with parents and admin. Is this something anyone has ran into and how do you disclose specifically to parents.”source ↗
“I’ve been a diabetic for about 13 years so I know my body well. I’m fairly well managed I just can forget sometimes and will have rough lows after running around and not eating so I’m worried about that happening.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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