Keegan-Michael Key and Lysol are teaming up to keep kids healthy in the classroom
Former "Substitute Teacher" Keegan-Michael Key wants kids to go back to school in a healthy environment.
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After a long, fun-filled summer, kids are preparing to go back to school across the country. This'll put them in the perfect place to learn, but also the perfect place to spread germs. Luckily, Lysol is helping students wise up about viruses and bacteria this year thanks to its HERE for Healthy Schools program.
And who better to teach us about this campaign than Keegan-Michael Key? The accomplished actor is renowned for his "Substitute Teacher" skit from the hit show Key & Peele and even appeared on the latest season of the school-based sitcom Abbott Elementary.
Keegan-Michael Key is teaming up with Lysol
"Lysol has been doing this for about six years," Key said of the company's HERE for Healthy Schools program. "I'm working with them and teaming up with them to create these things called Lysol Minilabs Science Kits. And in the kits, there will be educational materials to help children learn about germ education, and also learn about healthy habits and cleanliness that they can use in the classroom environment and also in the home environment. And I thought to myself, 'You know who better than Lysol to do this?' Because I care about children and their education and the foundation of them being able to learn in the most effective ways possible."
The Minilabs Science Kits were created using insights from teachers, students and Lysol scientists. They'll engage students with games and activities while teaching them the importance of germ education in the classroom.
"Some things that will be in the kits will be like little cards with germs on them, that tell you about the different types of germs and how they're spread," Key described. "And also the kids will get activity sheets that they can answer questions on. And also stickers, like stickers that you can put in a germ hotspot. So doorknob, countertop or a desktop and the stickers would go in those places so that the kids themselves can do it. Then for the educators, there'd be lesson plans about when to talk about these things and when's the best time to show the kids where they can use Lysol products that allow them to continue to keep the environment clean."
The importance of hands-on learning
This kind of hands-on learning isn't completely safe from the spread of germs, yet that's exactly why Key thinks Lysol's program is so vital.
"When you're working with kids, and you're doing kind of developmental educational work, it's really helpful for kids to do hands-on work," he said. "It helps them learn. I think the more tactile they are, the better it is for them to get information to stick in their brains. But the interesting thing about hands-on work is that that also promotes the spread of germs. And it's an interesting cycle because the kids get to work, they're touching things, but then there's germs and a kid gets sick and they can't go to school, right? So, more than anything, it just made a lot of sense for Lysol to have this program ... I thought it was a real interesting and fun team-up."
Learning about everyday sicknesses has arguably never been more important. Although the 2020 pandemic has died down, COVID-19 cases are rising across the United States and proving why germ education is as necessary as ever.
"We still have to be diligent about COVID-19," Key stated. "We become complacent until people remind us about it. [The flu] has been in our society for such a long time that we go, 'Oh, it's flu season, get your flu shot. It's the common cold season.' But we've not always been doing that about COVID-19. And interestingly enough, I think Lysol products are something that we can use. Like Lysol's disinfecting wipes and disinfectant spray have both shown that they can kill like 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, including cold, flu and COVID-19 viruses."
Reducing germs in the classroom
To reduce the presence of COVID-19 in the educational space, Lysol will donate its Minilabs Science Kits to Title I classrooms nationwide. Key hopes that the interactive Minilabs will serve as a useful reminder for students and teachers and help them keep each other healthy at school and beyond.
"This is teaching the kids and will be reminding the kids to stay diligent about germ education so that they understand, 'Oh, I should think about this. Oh, I should wash my hands. Oh, we should wipe down this doorknob.' And so that we can keep the health quotient, if you will, higher in the classroom environment."
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