Will your DC wear mask to school when Youngkin lifts school mask mandate next week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers: If unmasked kids show up in your class next week and you are not comfortable with them being there, send them to the principal's office. First, the EO does not go into effect next week, but the week after. Second, the EO is not valid and there will be lawsuits filed to enjoin it from going into effect soon enough. A federal court in Tennessee found that a similar EO was unconstitutional (this applies to all Virginia school districts). Additionally, here in Virginia, state law provides that what school boards set as the policy trumps the EO (this applies to Virginia school districts where the school board will support continuance of a mask mandate).

Good information. I hope teachers read this and do exactly as you suggest.

Question: What should kids do (masked kids who don't want to be around unmasked kids), do you think? I don't want riots in classrooms but my kids are NOT comfortable being in classrooms with unmasked and unvaccinated kids.

All of this drama is making me want to resign as a teacher. Now. I won’t but I don’t know if I will continue next year. I can’t handle the extreme views and being caught in the middle anymore. I didn’t become a teacher to be the mask police of teenagers on top of addressing all of this learning loss. And let’s throw in addressing mental health and endless PD on equity. I’m done.

-teacher who doesn’t want to wear a mask any longer

Would you be willing to teach all the kids who won't wear masks? If, at your school, you and the students in your classroom don't wear masks, and then all the other classrooms remain masked? I would suggest that to your principal. Tell him or her that you will teach unmasked and that the students who won't wear masks can come to your room. That may help.

I would but you do not understand the way the master schedule works in a high school. It can’t be reconfigured at this point in the year based on mask preference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers: If unmasked kids show up in your class next week and you are not comfortable with them being there, send them to the principal's office. First, the EO does not go into effect next week, but the week after. Second, the EO is not valid and there will be lawsuits filed to enjoin it from going into effect soon enough. A federal court in Tennessee found that a similar EO was unconstitutional (this applies to all Virginia school districts). Additionally, here in Virginia, state law provides that what school boards set as the policy trumps the EO (this applies to Virginia school districts where the school board will support continuance of a mask mandate).

Good information. I hope teachers read this and do exactly as you suggest.

Question: What should kids do (masked kids who don't want to be around unmasked kids), do you think? I don't want riots in classrooms but my kids are NOT comfortable being in classrooms with unmasked and unvaccinated kids.

All of this drama is making me want to resign as a teacher. Now. I won’t but I don’t know if I will continue next year. I can’t handle the extreme views and being caught in the middle anymore. I didn’t become a teacher to be the mask police of teenagers on top of addressing all of this learning loss. And let’s throw in addressing mental health and endless PD on equity. I’m done.

-teacher who doesn’t want to wear a mask any longer

I'm very pro mask and agree 100% that way more is being put on teachers than they ever expected. It isn't fair.

Thank you for your work as a teacher—I know it’s hard, and the politicization of this doesn’t help. Please know that the extreme pro-mask and anti-mask views on this board likely don’t reflect the majority of folks, at least around here in Northern Virginia. FWIW, I get why people are frustrated with masking at this point—the vast majority of folks have now had an opportunity to get vaccinated, and the reality is that omicron is not as severe as prior versions of COVID. On the other hand, lifting the mask mandate now—in the midst of a huge surge—doesn’t make any sense. The rational off ramp for masks probably would be in a few months—the numbers will likely be declining, the weather will be better, and more folks who have recently been approved for vaccination will have had an opportunity to get vaccinated. Alas, that schedule doesn’t align with the inauguration of our new governor, and so now we will have political and legal fights about the interplay of his EO with state law—with our kids stuck in the middle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope my kids wear masks every winter to be honest. It’s been nice to escape the constant colds they usually have from November-March.

It’s how kids build their immune system, ugh. Will you be able to provide sterile environment for them their entire lives? What if they start going unmasked when they are in HS or College? They will be up for really rough times then with barely functioning immune systems or extreme allergies or worse.

NP. Before I had kids I was all for just throwing the kids into whatever situation to "build their immune systems." Then I had kids. Through a ridiculous amount of sickness, urgent care, ER, and other medical appointments we figured out that our kids have asthma. They also ended up with RSV and pneumonia at different times. We had to stop doing all of our "normal" activities because we observed other parents sending their kids to inside activities regardless of whether their noses were a dripping faucet or whether they were coughing all over everyone. The winter before COVID I would notice older (happened to be Asian) people waking around with masks and wonder if they were protecting themselves or others, and made a mental note to look into whether we should start doing that. Now we all know that masks protect the wearer and other people.

I'll never forget an early conversation I had with my husband about the pros and cons of day care. Our pediatrician told us one benefit is that kids in day care tend to not get sick as much in kindergarten because they've already been exposed to so much. My husband's valid point was that at least by kindergarten kids aren't sticking the same toys in their mouth and might wash their hands sometimes or cover a cough occasionally. The point is as people get older they should understand how to keep their germs from spreading all over everything and everyone around them. In general society has (hopefully still does) expect people to keep their germs and viruses to themselves. I hope one thing we've all learned is how widespread various health issues are, and that you can't tell someone's health status by looking at them, especially with kids.

I wish I was blissfully ignorant. I am the parent who used to let young kids eat food that fell on the ground because I believed in building immunity. This is unfortunately a novel virus that the human immune system is stymied by and it manages to attack multiple body systems including the vascular and nervous systems. I have kids under 5 who cannot be vaccinated until June or later and a seemingly mild infection that can lead to MIS-C, long Covid, and trigger T1 diabetes is not a mild cold. I desperately don't want my vaccinated ES student to bring it home or at least come down with a high viral load and infect their siblings. In other countries, if masks are not required in primary school, there is more frequent testing than what is done in Virginia public schools. Given the difficulty in implementing more frequent testing in schools, masks provide an added level protection and opt-outs shouldn't occur while rates of transmission are extremely high and hospitals are operating under a state of emergency.

Remember that we wear masks to protect others? While there may not be many kids under 5 in an elementary school (although some have preschools attached to them), there are students and teachers who are very vulnerable from an immunity standpoint. Public schools must provide students with disabilities, including those who are immunocompromised or at high risk of severe illness despite vaccination, a "free appropriate public education" and that does not mean offering them a virtual option, or having them go to the library while the rest of their classmates are in music or PE, it does not mean having them take a circuitous route around the school to avoid passing by many other students, it does not mean only being able to do group work with masked students. A separate but equal existence at school is not equality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. I would never trust Youngkin’s take on public health after his handling at the Carlyle Group. I bet his son’s private school continues to require masks.

It does, and I bet it requires vaccines too.

Is it in DC or VA?

Virginia. I’m pretty sure he either goes to Langley or Potomac.

Not Potomac

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. I would never trust Youngkin’s take on public health after his handling at the Carlyle Group. I bet his son’s private school continues to require masks.

It does, and I bet it requires vaccines too.

Is it in DC or VA?

Virginia. I’m pretty sure he either goes to Langley or Potomac.

Not Potomac

One of these funds is endowed by Glenn and Suzanne Youngkin - https://www.langleyschool.org/support-langley/endowment/general-endowment

[Anonymous]

My poor teacher daughter texted me today and asked me if a teacher had dumped Youngin in the past, and this was his way of getting back at teachers. It’s not the mask vs no mask. It’s the demonization of teachers. Youngkin is just shifting the responsibility. And it sucks. Schools will close because of staff shortages. And Youngkin will blame “lazy teachers”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers: If unmasked kids show up in your class next week and you are not comfortable with them being there, send them to the principal's office. First, the EO does not go into effect next week, but the week after. Second, the EO is not valid and there will be lawsuits filed to enjoin it from going into effect soon enough. A federal court in Tennessee found that a similar EO was unconstitutional (this applies to all Virginia school districts). Additionally, here in Virginia, state law provides that what school boards set as the policy trumps the EO (this applies to Virginia school districts where the school board will support continuance of a mask mandate).

Good information. I hope teachers read this and do exactly as you suggest.

Question: What should kids do (masked kids who don't want to be around unmasked kids), do you think? I don't want riots in classrooms but my kids are NOT comfortable being in classrooms with unmasked and unvaccinated kids.

This is a very good question. I am not sure what masked kids who do not want to be around unmasked kids should do. Teachers and school administrators cannot discriminate on the basis of race/color/national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability (physical and neurological), religion, and people over age 40. Being unmasked or not believing in the effectiveness of masks is not a protected class as far as I know. It would probably be legal (and likely ethical) to discreetly request (to the school administrator and not the teacher) to not be seated near unmasked students or be assigned to work in close proximity with unmasked students. That said, in Nova school districts, it will probably not get to this point. Because there is a legal question about the matter, it seems that schools will not allow an unmasked student without a medical exemption to go to class. Schools will not be subjecting themselves to liability for discrimination in this instance (because it is not illegal to discriminate based on masked status) but would subject themselves to liability for allowing opt-outs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Because I want to keep schools open.

+1

WTF is wrong with people.

+1

Not enough brains to get an actual headache.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My poor teacher daughter texted me today and asked me if a teacher had dumped Youngin in the past, and this was his way of getting back at teachers. It’s not the mask vs no mask. It’s the demonization of teachers. Youngkin is just shifting the responsibility. And it sucks. Schools will close because of staff shortages. And Youngkin will blame “lazy teachers”.

Excellent point. He has an a to grind, par for the course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope my kids wear masks every winter to be honest. It’s been nice to escape the constant colds they usually have from November-March.

It’s how kids build their immune system, ugh. Will you be able to provide sterile environment for them their entire lives? What if they start going unmasked when they are in HS or College? They will be up for really rough times then with barely functioning immune systems or extreme allergies or worse.

NP. Before I had kids I was all for just throwing the kids into whatever situation to "build their immune systems." Then I had kids. Through a ridiculous amount of sickness, urgent care, ER, and other medical appointments we figured out that our kids have asthma. They also ended up with RSV and pneumonia at different times. We had to stop doing all of our "normal" activities because we observed other parents sending their kids to inside activities regardless of whether their noses were a dripping faucet or whether they were coughing all over everyone. The winter before COVID I would notice older (happened to be Asian) people waking around with masks and wonder if they were protecting themselves or others, and made a mental note to look into whether we should start doing that. Now we all know that masks protect the wearer and other people.

I'll never forget an early conversation I had with my husband about the pros and cons of day care. Our pediatrician told us one benefit is that kids in day care tend to not get sick as much in kindergarten because they've already been exposed to so much. My husband's valid point was that at least by kindergarten kids aren't sticking the same toys in their mouth and might wash their hands sometimes or cover a cough occasionally. The point is as people get older they should understand how to keep their germs from spreading all over everything and everyone around them. In general society has (hopefully still does) expect people to keep their germs and viruses to themselves. I hope one thing we've all learned is how widespread various health issues are, and that you can't tell someone's health status by looking at them, especially with kids.

I wish I was blissfully ignorant. I am the parent who used to let young kids eat food that fell on the ground because I believed in building immunity. This is unfortunately a novel virus that the human immune system is stymied by and it manages to attack multiple body systems including the vascular and nervous systems. I have kids under 5 who cannot be vaccinated until June or later and a seemingly mild infection that can lead to MIS-C, long Covid, and trigger T1 diabetes is not a mild cold. I desperately don't want my vaccinated ES student to bring it home or at least come down with a high viral load and infect their siblings. In other countries, if masks are not required in primary school, there is more frequent testing than what is done in Virginia public schools. Given the difficulty in implementing more frequent testing in schools, masks provide an added level protection and opt-outs shouldn't occur while rates of transmission are extremely high and hospitals are operating under a state of emergency.

Remember that we wear masks to protect others? While there may not be many kids under 5 in an elementary school (although some have preschools attached to them), there are students and teachers who are very vulnerable from an immunity standpoint. Public schools must provide students with disabilities, including those who are immunocompromised or at high risk of severe illness despite vaccination, a "free appropriate public education" and that does not mean offering them a virtual option, or having them go to the library while the rest of their classmates are in music or PE, it does not mean having them take a circuitous route around the school to avoid passing by many other students, it does not mean only being able to do group work with masked students. A separate but equal existence at school is not equality.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope my kids wear masks every winter to be honest. It’s been nice to escape the constant colds they usually have from November-March.

It’s how kids build their immune system, ugh. Will you be able to provide sterile environment for them their entire lives? What if they start going unmasked when they are in HS or College? They will be up for really rough times then with barely functioning immune systems or extreme allergies or worse.

NP. Before I had kids I was all for just throwing the kids into whatever situation to "build their immune systems." Then I had kids. Through a ridiculous amount of sickness, urgent care, ER, and other medical appointments we figured out that our kids have asthma. They also ended up with RSV and pneumonia at different times. We had to stop doing all of our "normal" activities because we observed other parents sending their kids to inside activities regardless of whether their noses were a dripping faucet or whether they were coughing all over everyone. The winter before COVID I would notice older (happened to be Asian) people waking around with masks and wonder if they were protecting themselves or others, and made a mental note to look into whether we should start doing that. Now we all know that masks protect the wearer and other people.

I'll never forget an early conversation I had with my husband about the pros and cons of day care. Our pediatrician told us one benefit is that kids in day care tend to not get sick as much in kindergarten because they've already been exposed to so much. My husband's valid point was that at least by kindergarten kids aren't sticking the same toys in their mouth and might wash their hands sometimes or cover a cough occasionally. The point is as people get older they should understand how to keep their germs from spreading all over everything and everyone around them. In general society has (hopefully still does) expect people to keep their germs and viruses to themselves. I hope one thing we've all learned is how widespread various health issues are, and that you can't tell someone's health status by looking at them, especially with kids.

I wish I was blissfully ignorant. I am the parent who used to let young kids eat food that fell on the ground because I believed in building immunity. This is unfortunately a novel virus that the human immune system is stymied by and it manages to attack multiple body systems including the vascular and nervous systems. I have kids under 5 who cannot be vaccinated until June or later and a seemingly mild infection that can lead to MIS-C, long Covid, and trigger T1 diabetes is not a mild cold. I desperately don't want my vaccinated ES student to bring it home or at least come down with a high viral load and infect their siblings. In other countries, if masks are not required in primary school, there is more frequent testing than what is done in Virginia public schools. Given the difficulty in implementing more frequent testing in schools, masks provide an added level protection and opt-outs shouldn't occur while rates of transmission are extremely high and hospitals are operating under a state of emergency.

Remember that we wear masks to protect others? While there may not be many kids under 5 in an elementary school (although some have preschools attached to them), there are students and teachers who are very vulnerable from an immunity standpoint. Public schools must provide students with disabilities, including those who are immunocompromised or at high risk of severe illness despite vaccination, a "free appropriate public education" and that does not mean offering them a virtual option, or having them go to the library while the rest of their classmates are in music or PE, it does not mean having them take a circuitous route around the school to avoid passing by many other students, it does not mean only being able to do group work with masked students. A separate but equal existence at school is not equality.

Except that if I’m not positive then I’m not putting you in danger. I’m sitting at a conference now of 350 all vaxxed people, all of whom tested negative on rapids thus morning. We’re all sitting around in masks. It’s pure theater and beyond absurd

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope my kids wear masks every winter to be honest. It’s been nice to escape the constant colds they usually have from November-March.

It’s how kids build their immune system, ugh. Will you be able to provide sterile environment for them their entire lives? What if they start going unmasked when they are in HS or College? They will be up for really rough times then with barely functioning immune systems or extreme allergies or worse.

NP. Before I had kids I was all for just throwing the kids into whatever situation to "build their immune systems." Then I had kids. Through a ridiculous amount of sickness, urgent care, ER, and other medical appointments we figured out that our kids have asthma. They also ended up with RSV and pneumonia at different times. We had to stop doing all of our "normal" activities because we observed other parents sending their kids to inside activities regardless of whether their noses were a dripping faucet or whether they were coughing all over everyone. The winter before COVID I would notice older (happened to be Asian) people waking around with masks and wonder if they were protecting themselves or others, and made a mental note to look into whether we should start doing that. Now we all know that masks protect the wearer and other people.

I'll never forget an early conversation I had with my husband about the pros and cons of day care. Our pediatrician told us one benefit is that kids in day care tend to not get sick as much in kindergarten because they've already been exposed to so much. My husband's valid point was that at least by kindergarten kids aren't sticking the same toys in their mouth and might wash their hands sometimes or cover a cough occasionally. The point is as people get older they should understand how to keep their germs from spreading all over everything and everyone around them. In general society has (hopefully still does) expect people to keep their germs and viruses to themselves. I hope one thing we've all learned is how widespread various health issues are, and that you can't tell someone's health status by looking at them, especially with kids.

I wish I was blissfully ignorant. I am the parent who used to let young kids eat food that fell on the ground because I believed in building immunity. This is unfortunately a novel virus that the human immune system is stymied by and it manages to attack multiple body systems including the vascular and nervous systems. I have kids under 5 who cannot be vaccinated until June or later and a seemingly mild infection that can lead to MIS-C, long Covid, and trigger T1 diabetes is not a mild cold. I desperately don't want my vaccinated ES student to bring it home or at least come down with a high viral load and infect their siblings. In other countries, if masks are not required in primary school, there is more frequent testing than what is done in Virginia public schools. Given the difficulty in implementing more frequent testing in schools, masks provide an added level protection and opt-outs shouldn't occur while rates of transmission are extremely high and hospitals are operating under a state of emergency.

Remember that we wear masks to protect others? While there may not be many kids under 5 in an elementary school (although some have preschools attached to them), there are students and teachers who are very vulnerable from an immunity standpoint. Public schools must provide students with disabilities, including those who are immunocompromised or at high risk of severe illness despite vaccination, a "free appropriate public education" and that does not mean offering them a virtual option, or having them go to the library while the rest of their classmates are in music or PE, it does not mean having them take a circuitous route around the school to avoid passing by many other students, it does not mean only being able to do group work with masked students. A separate but equal existence at school is not equality.

Except that if I’m not positive then I’m not putting you in danger. I’m sitting at a conference now of 350 all vaxxed people, all of whom tested negative on rapids thus morning. We’re all sitting around in masks. It’s pure theater and beyond absurd

But isn't that point? If public schools could test every person entering the building every single day (or at least every person who comes near a student with a disability as is done for President Biden), then that would be a nice accommodation to provide. Until a public school has that capability, asking everyone to mask while sharing air is reasonable and necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My poor teacher daughter texted me today and asked me if a teacher had dumped Youngin in the past, and this was his way of getting back at teachers. It’s not the mask vs no mask. It’s the demonization of teachers. Youngkin is just shifting the responsibility. And it sucks. Schools will close because of staff shortages. And Youngkin will blame “lazy teachers”.

He knows he was elected solely because people are unhappy about "education."

To the PP who suggested sending students to the principal's office if they refuse to wear masks, do you really think that will work? My DCs are in HS. If most high schoolers decide not to wear masks, what is the recourse?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School nurse here. The clinic is the last place that unmasked children should be placed, with the asthmatic kids, diabetic kids, kids with cancer, autoimmune diseases, organ transplants that I care for every day. I have all of these at my school.

For you and the teachers who are so upset, why do you think this?
You can wear a mask and the children you mentioned can wear a mask.
But you are wearing the mask to protect yourself. It’s for you. So if you want it, then wear it.
Prior to the pandemic, there were definitely people with the conditions you mentioned wearing masks They did so for their protection. Our neighbors who was undergoing chemo wore a mask all the time outside the home. A friend who had horrible allergies wore one at certain times as well. The masks were for their benefit

Is the problem really that you will feel strange or weird if you are the only one wearing a mask? Because I actually think it’s way more that. Otherwise uuu would know that you would continue to wear a mask with no consternation or concern for what others want to do.

Masks work better when everyone wears them. Remember, you wear a mask to protect others? Everyone knows this.

No, they are going to protect the person who is wearing the mask. It covers their mouth and their nose. Do you really, truly not understand it? I think you don't.

I think teachers don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School nurse here. The clinic is the last place that unmasked children should be placed, with the asthmatic kids, diabetic kids, kids with cancer, autoimmune diseases, organ transplants that I care for every day. I have all of these at my school.

For you and the teachers who are so upset, why do you think this?
You can wear a mask and the children you mentioned can wear a mask.
But you are wearing the mask to protect yourself. It’s for you. So if you want it, then wear it.
Prior to the pandemic, there were definitely people with the conditions you mentioned wearing masks They did so for their protection. Our neighbors who was undergoing chemo wore a mask all the time outside the home. A friend who had horrible allergies wore one at certain times as well. The masks were for their benefit

Is the problem really that you will feel strange or weird if you are the only one wearing a mask? Because I actually think it’s way more that. Otherwise uuu would know that you would continue to wear a mask with no consternation or concern for what others want to do.

Masks protect the person wearing the mask
And others.
Masks work better when everyone wears them. Remember, you wear a mask to protect others? Everyone knows this.

No, they are going to protect the person who is wearing the mask. It covers their mouth and their nose. Do you really, truly not understand it? I think you don't.

I think teachers don't.