AIBU: If They Make Children Wear Masks, I'm Homeschooling

[DamnYankee]

Social distancing at our schools is not possible.
I would love to get back to work in the fall as a public school teacher. However, we are being asked/encouraged (over the age of 3) to wear masks in public places.
My DD (11) panics when she has to wear a mask for more than 20 minutes. I get it. I get a headache after 30 minutes.
I understand this is projecting, but just keeps going through my mind...
Ugh.

@Hercwasonaroll yes I can understand it will be very difficult. But if it prevents people from dying surely it's worth it?

the hearing issue is a really interesting one. I'm a secondary school teacher and I wear two hearing aids and rely a lot on lip reading. It would be really tricky without those cues.

It's 35 and humid as hell in much of east Asia and a lot of public places don't have aircon and everyone manages fine with masks.

Why can't people just accept a little discomfort for the sake of public health?

But if it prevents people from dying surely it's worth it?

Whether it will prevent significant numbers of people dying is very much up for debate.

How effective are the plastic visors that cover the whole face? I see a lot of the staff in the local supermarket wearing them

Signifyingnothing I don’t have hearing issues, but took my DS for immunisations last week. The nurse was obviously in full PPE. As the room was fairly noisy (my baby was crying) and I couldn’t see her mouth, I couldn’t tell what she was saying. I had to ask her to repeat something 8 times! In a classroom, and with hearing issues in the mix, I think it would be impossible.

There are 12 million people in the U.K. who are deaf or hard of hearing but the negative effects of everyone wearing masks is rarely mentioned.

But if it prevents people from dying surely it's worth it?

Can you link to the research that says wearing masks in school with prevent deaths?

*will

Surely is safer to half the class sizes and have children back part time than it is to cram everyone in and make them wear masks?

An asymptomatic mask wearer will reduce the chances of infecting others, so for that reason alone I'm in.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/marleycoyne/2020/04/04/this-see-through-mask-lets-the-deaf-communicate-while-staying-safe/amp/

@PurpleDaisies in many cases it will correlate with age and those people will be mainly at home, possibly still shielding, and not in a mask for much of the time.

Of course there should be different requirements in schools for children with hearing impairments.

It will be frustrating and annoying for many people. I’m aging so I may we’ll find it more difficult to hear too.

But if it allows the easing of lockdown, I am in favour of it.

The problem for deaf children isn't them wearing the mask, it's they can't understand those around them who are wearing masks...

Masks aren't effective if they are constantly fiddled with... lets be real, children will be constantly fiddling with them.

But lets not let that not get in the way of everyone who wants to bleat on about the war (FFS, some people are obsessed with recreating WW2 behaviours ) or just have everyone as miserable as possible so we can all feel the sacrifice.

I wonder how the wearing of masks would affect phonics teaching? I'm guessing that seeing the shape of the teacher's mouth is quite an important part of the learning process.

The transparent masks are a nice idea but the problem is that it would mean that everyone would need to be wearing them for them to be effective. A teacher would need to hear not only the children in their own class but also the other adults in the school or any other child that they may come into contact with.

I am not a fussy kind of person and don't suffer from anxiety but I must admit that I find wearing a mask really unpleasant. I'm not surprised some people get anxious wearing them and doubt that all children will be able to cope with them. Will schools be able to enforce masks for some and not others? Tricky I guess but not impossible.

I have presumed that when children do go back to school they won't be having any kind of play time/breaks as I cannot imagine it will be possible to observe social distancing when they are playing. And they will only be there very part time - just for a few lessons. And I can't quite picture how teaching in a mask is possible. Though maybe visors might be easier - though I guess they would get steamed up?

Given that I can't see school being much more than a few hours I think it's perfectly understandable that some parents will choose to continue to home school.

By the way I'm in London and only wear a mask for shopping. Although we have had higher rates of infection (I think I've had it and self isolated for the allotted period) we are observing social distancing in our streets and parks and woods. We aren't thronging Oxford Street in hoards! The risk of infection is the same for us as for you - supermarket shelves, packaging card reader pin pads, petrol pumps and home deliveries.

We’ve been consistently told they don’t work well if not proper medical grade and changed constantly like in hospitals, when did this change?

I believe the only reason we are told not to wear them is due to lack of them and the GOV are worried that there will be a mass grab and the NHS will run out.

I really struggle to understand why people wouldn’t wear a mask. Maybe it’s best to stay home

You cannot expect a child to not touch their mask.

I’ve seen that mask twosoups. It’s not a realistic option for the number if masks we’d need.

Wearing face masks in Asian countries for children is standard in relation to every outbreak. It has been the asian scientists who got dealt with previous virus outbreaks who have said that of course wearing masks makes a difference, it reduces the chance of spreading the virus - otherwise why would drs and nurses wear them during normal times for operations etc. Normally they aren't needed for everyone, only during times where there is a highly contagious deadly disease. Czechia has required the use of a mask since the beginning for everyone and has had significantly fewer cases and deaths and their health minister has put pressure on other countries to do the same.

My dc have worn them when doing imaginary play, being doctors, and they understand about spraed of germs, and we are making masks from old favourite bits of clothing which are too small so I am hoping it won't be a problem. It won't be all the time at school, it won't be totally effective, but it is still worth it, for everyone's benefit. When most people talk normally a huge amount invisibly gets projected from their mouths - quite grim, really!! - and having something in front of your mouth is inevitably going to reduce it. Better to find way round other problems/make well managed exceptions rather than say no one should be asked to wear one, I think.

Anyway the question in the OP was is it unreasonable to home school if the wearing of masks becomes compulsory. No, of course it isn’t. Home schooling has always been an option. In the case of my DD2, I think homeschooling would be a better option than going to school and not being able to hear what everyone is saying. And if I’m homeschooling her then it would make more sense to homeschool her sister too. That’s a decision for me as a parent to make.

@ineedaholidaynow Those visors are designed to be extra "splash" protection for people working in proximity with patients. They're to prevent bodily fluids reaching the mucus membranes e.g. around your eyes. They provide some protection against droplets (but not much) and none at all against aerosol particles.

On their own, they are not effective PPE, and there wouldn't be much point to wearing one all day.

This is the video made by Czechia which is interesting and helpful

I know this is a serious discussion, but a friend just shared this in Facebook and I thought it might make some smile. Don't know who the original author is to credit them for it though!

The Wearing of Face masks in a school setting... thoughts from a teacher who has survived the Bottle Flip, The Dab, Skirt Rolling,Fidget Spinners, Yawn Raping, Tie Peanuts..

1. Someone's mother, probably Flossie's, will pimp the mask. It will be a sea of rhinestones and sequins and every girl under 10 will want one and refuse to wear a 'boring' one and teachers and parents will cry. Then they all won't wear them.
2. Someone will have a designer posh mask with a Hype label or some bollocks. They will all then want one and will drive their parents mental saying they can't possibly go to school with a homemade mask or even a proper clinical mask. These overpriced, clinically useless masks will sell out but few will get them and then there will be tantrums and they won't wear them.
3. Girls aged 13 and above will notice they give you spots and then they won't wear them.
4. The same girls will also need a new mask every 10 mins as it gets caked in their foundation and this is a faff so they won't wear them.
5. The same girls will take 1000 selfies wearing the mask, hate it, hate themselves, roll it down a bit like their skirts so it becomes totally ineffective and then they won't wear them.
6. Twanging the Mask (the new peanutting) will be great fun. Mostly for the boys who will twang the mask and shout CORONA at the top of their voices. They will do this to Flossie and rhinestones and sequins will be all over the classroom. She will cry, they will all get twanging friction burns and then they won't wear them.
7. They wll draw penises on them. Anatomically quite accutate but hugely inappropriate and then we will have to confiscate them and tell them not to wear them.

8.They will own a mask which they will wear on arrival at school and when reminded 1 million times by their teachers - that same mask will be left screwed up in their bags the minute the school day is over because they won't be seen dead outside the school wearing them.

1. They will wear the mask at school when reminded 1 million times by their teachers, but once they start getting changed for PE, that mask and where it ends up is anyone's guess. And the chances of the same mask returning to its original owner after is 0%. So they won't wear them.

10. There will wear their masks at break and lunch time when reminded 1 million times by their teachers, canteen staff and Mid-Day assistants. Someone will try to eat whilst still wearing the mask and end up with bolognese sauce all down the mask whereupon the other kids will rip the piss forever more. So no one will wear the masks at break or lunch time.