If the county isn't allowed to placed a mask mandate in the classroom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of mask or no mask, I think the bigger issue is that the Governor through his EO has basically given permission for families and students to say, “I don’t have to listen to you. I don’t have to follow your rules”. Teachers think student behaviors are difficult now? Just wait.

This was shared on social media:

Dear Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin,

Have you ever been in a classroom when a teacher invites a child over for small group time and the child responds, “my mom said I don’t have to listen to you!”?

Have you ever been in a classroom when a teacher asks a student to put their phone away and they say, “my mom said I could keep it out.”

Or what about when a teacher assigns homework and the student says, “my mom said it was a dumb assignment so I didn’t need to do it.”

I completely understand that parents have different opinions about masks and a zillion other things - but when a governor announces “schools can set policies, but parents can choose not to follow them,” we are setting a very, very dangerous precedent.

For that matter, why does my daughter ever have to follow dress code again? Why does my son have to wear shoes? Heck, why do I need to worry about the attendance policy?

What if a parent tells a kid they can bring a weapon to school for personal protection? Or, like in Michigan, a parent refuses to follow school policy and our children are murdered because of it.

I 100% support parents making the best choices for their students, but that’s why homeschool and private school exist. When we send our kids to their school (or to a restaurant, a public library, or dentist, or…) part of choosing to send them there means we have to follow their rules. That’s something we learn in our citizenship units.

Sincerely,

A mom, educator, and citizen

I hate stupid things like this that people repost. If the rules say mask optional, people ARE following the rules.

This post is saying when a school board has a mask rule and the Governor comes along and says you don't have to, the rule is now you don't have to it is equivalent to when a teacher assigns homework and a mom comes along and says well you don't have to. FOR THE SLOW PEOPLE IN THE BACK!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it would be AWESOME!

-a 1st grade teacher

Well he’s 6, they don’t understand all the considerations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some say with the airborne nature of omicron, most masks are just decorative. And most kids aren’t really affected by Covid including omicron in a way that warrants masking and the like. Time to move on. People who need protecting, have vaccines now. Kids don’t need masks.

You seem to forget teachers and other staff also work in schools.

Vaccinated teachers and staff are also not really affected by Covid either. I think we have all collectively forgotten what cold andd fllu season is like.

You’re not seeing this clearly. The flu and colds do not kill hundreds of thousands of Americans in the span of a year, as COVID has.

You are not thinking clearly. Covid is killing hundreds of thousands of unvaccinated people. We now have vaccines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of mask or no mask, I think the bigger issue is that the Governor through his EO has basically given permission for families and students to say, “I don’t have to listen to you. I don’t have to follow your rules”. Teachers think student behaviors are difficult now? Just wait.

Yes, I don’t give a flip about masks or no masks, this is just another example of how teaching has become harder because of family attitudes towards education. I told my husband tonight that if I feel this sense of dread as a teacher, my kids teachers probably feel the same way. I am kicking myself for not convincing him earlier to enroll our kids in private next year. This is the beginning of a really crappy decade for public education in Fairfax County. All manufactured by public attitudes towards teachers.

This is a VA issue. Privates are dealing with this too. Go over to DCUM Privates and read for yourself.

Private school teachers feel like crap because parents hate them? My youngest kid goes to a private school. They sent out a message saying that masks would continue to be required. And they can do that because Youngkin didnt mess w privates.

[Anonymous]

I don’t see why Scotty can’t have a conversation and come up with a plan to get rid of masks. Review data in a month or march or something. Acknowledge the situation and come up with a compromise. Is he really wanting masks until June 11?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see the Russian, I mean Republican, trolls are out in full force today!

Just because someone thinks we should not have a mask mandate (in our highly vaccinated corner of VA) does not make them a Russian/Republican troll. I have always considered myself to be a tree-hugging liberal, but the thought of keeping myself (an FCPS teacher) and my kids in masks for another year makes me reconsider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the Russian, I mean Republican, trolls are out in full force today!

Just because someone thinks we should not have a mask mandate (in our highly vaccinated corner of VA) does not make them a Russian/Republican troll. I have always considered myself to be a tree-hugging liberal, but the thought of keeping myself (an FCPS teacher) and my kids in masks for another year makes me reconsider.

Where did anyone say that we would be in masks for another year? Why must you be so dramatic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the Russian, I mean Republican, trolls are out in full force today!

Just because someone thinks we should not have a mask mandate (in our highly vaccinated corner of VA) does not make them a Russian/Republican troll. I have always considered myself to be a tree-hugging liberal, but the thought of keeping myself (an FCPS teacher) and my kids in masks for another year makes me reconsider.

Where did anyone say that we would be in masks for another year? Why must you be so dramatic?

I think we’ll stop in April or June, but I’d be pretty surprised if we were still in them in August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the Russian, I mean Republican, trolls are out in full force today!

Just because someone thinks we should not have a mask mandate (in our highly vaccinated corner of VA) does not make them a Russian/Republican troll. I have always considered myself to be a tree-hugging liberal, but the thought of keeping myself (an FCPS teacher) and my kids in masks for another year makes me reconsider.

Where did anyone say that we would be in masks for another year? Why must you be so dramatic?

How long do you think people are talking about? I would be fine if we agreed to say... May 1st. But instead, people say "we just don't know when" and then they start talking about the lack of vaccines for 0 to 4-year-olds, about the fact that we don't have a 90% vaccination rate, about medically fragile kids, about teachers that will quit in droves, about the potential risk of long Covid, and so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the Russian, I mean Republican, trolls are out in full force today!

Just because someone thinks we should not have a mask mandate (in our highly vaccinated corner of VA) does not make them a Russian/Republican troll. I have always considered myself to be a tree-hugging liberal, but the thought of keeping myself (an FCPS teacher) and my kids in masks for another year makes me reconsider.

Where did anyone say that we would be in masks for another year? Why must you be so dramatic?

Feel free to mask the masking off ramp plan. I’ll be happy to see it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I see the Russian, I mean Republican, trolls are out in full force today!

Just because someone thinks we should not have a mask mandate (in our highly vaccinated corner of VA) does not make them a Russian/Republican troll. I have always considered myself to be a tree-hugging liberal, but the thought of keeping myself (an FCPS teacher) and my kids in masks for another year makes me reconsider.

Where did anyone say that we would be in masks for another year? Why must you be so dramatic?

Feel free to mask the masking off ramp plan. I’ll be happy to see it.

It would’ve been nice to off-ramp masks once the vaccine for kids 6mos - 4y11mo was ready, but they aimed too low with the dosing and had to increase the dose/continue the study for more data. I’d also prefer to hear an off-ramping plan from the local pediatricians, hospitals and public health staff. Our hospitals are at increased capacity right now. January in the middle of flu, RSV and okay Omicron season is not the time. Wait until after Spring break in April when flu and RSV are less prevalent. Okay, masks don’t help with omicron—fine. They are absolutely helping with everything else. (At least at our daycare.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Regardless of mask or no mask, I think the bigger issue is that the Governor through his EO has basically given permission for families and students to say, “I don’t have to listen to you. I don’t have to follow your rules”. Teachers think student behaviors are difficult now? Just wait.

Yes, I don’t give a flip about masks or no masks, this is just another example of how teaching has become harder because of family attitudes towards education. I told my husband tonight that if I feel this sense of dread as a teacher, my kids teachers probably feel the same way. I am kicking myself for not convincing him earlier to enroll our kids in private next year. This is the beginning of a really crappy decade for public education in Fairfax County. All manufactured by public attitudes towards teachers.

The School Board has treated our pyramid like crap for a decade and consistently short-changed us while lavishing money on buildings and programs elsewhere, so this is nowhere near the beginning of a really crappy decade for us. You’re just getting a taste now of what some of us have been experiencing with FCPS for years. Too bad the School Board didn’t pay attention when they had the chance; now parents are just exhausted and running out of sympathy for anyone associated with FCPS in any capacity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see why Scotty can’t have a conversation and come up with a plan to get rid of masks. Review data in a month or march or something. Acknowledge the situation and come up with a compromise. Is he really wanting masks until June 11?

Of course they have had those discussions- my guess is they’re aiming for spring and it would’ve been earlier but for Omicron. But if there is another variant, we might need masks again. You can’t make firm lines when the pandemic keeps changing. As long as all the health advisers say masks are recommended, it makes sense to keep it. Youngkin is basing his EO on politics and nothing else. The Republican way.

[Anonymous]

Mandatory vaccination -> no masks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see why Scotty can’t have a conversation and come up with a plan to get rid of masks. Review data in a month or march or something. Acknowledge the situation and come up with a compromise. Is he really wanting masks until June 11?

Of course they have had those discussions- my guess is they’re aiming for spring and it would’ve been earlier but for Omicron. But if there is another variant, we might need masks again. You can’t make firm lines when the pandemic keeps changing. As long as all the health advisers say masks are recommended, it makes sense to keep it. Youngkin is basing his EO on politics and nothing else. The Republican way.

+1.