It can t be taught, except by time on the job. I am the teacher, and I have eyes in the back of my head. So go ahead, kid, make my day. I have also learned to keep an eye out for head scratching in the classroom. It is another practiced skill, just like spotting gum chewing, note passing, or cheating on spelling tests.
Itchy scalp is the signal for a lice inspection.
Lice, those minute, nearly transparent, hair nesting creatures that are the source of social horror, shame and ridicule. I have never wanted to humiliate a child by picking through his hair like a grooming monkey, but when I see the symptom, I do the teacherly thing and turn the poor unfortunate in to the cootie police in the health office. Beyond the social stigma, it bothers me that the cure for this affliction is a shampoo with a powerful poison. I have seen reports that this stuff can penetrate a child s skin and, with prolonged exposure, cause some damage to internal organs. Yet the school requires the parent to bring a sales slip identifying this product before their kid can get back in school.