AIBU in agreeing with the NASUWT that masks should be worn in schools by over 11s?

[DomDoesWotHeWants]

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/28/unions-call-for-teachers-in-england-to-be-able-to-wear-face-masks

Given that they have to be worn almost everywhere else indoors by over 11s it would be the right thing to do. Adults working in schools have as much right to be protected as bus drivers and shop workers.

So AIBU in agreeing with the NASUWT that masks should be worn in schools by over 11s?

DD and I have had quite a production line going making face coverings. We have used Hobbycraft ‘fat squares’. A £17 batch makes about 80 face coverings, adding in nose clips and elastic cord from Amazon, in total about £25.

@noblegiraffe I do.I do !!!
Me being dead. There, I'm being dramatic. But it's a rather scary possibility as I have heart issues. Still have to come back if I want to be paid. And I want to teach. I love teaching. But I also like not being ill.

If your child pings their mask across the classroom I will happily send them home to you to deal with.

Facemasks are bad enough in the shops and they put me off shopping for fun. Teenagers should NOT wear them in school. They're with the same people most of the day and MOST people don't have the bleeding virus.

Put it this way, I'm not going to be going out of my way to get up close and personal with any pupil who is not wearing a mask.
Sorry, but I'm not.

@TheYellowOfTheEgg phew. So glad you have told me that. So everyone back to work as normal on Monday then. Packed trains and offices.
Oh and older kids are not with the same students as they do different GCSEs so will be moving around all the time

They're with the same people most of the day and MOST people don't have the bleeding virus.

It's the people they've been with after school (potentially) that are the issue. And maybe "most" people don't have it at the moment, you just wait until October.

[quote Iminaglasscaseofemotion]@noblegiraffe that's quite a large proportion that don't want to wear masks. Do the children get as say? I think that would probably tip the scales.[/quote]
Children have had a say in their education since march and given that many have not done anything, giving them a say in this cannot be a good thing.

@TheYellowOfTheEgg totally agree with you

I’m a teacher. I don’t want to wear a mask, I’d rather the government funded social distancing at school so we had half size classes either with additional teachers or alternate in school/remote teaching. I’d rather the government funded proper deep cleaning and increased hand washing facilities.

But in the absence of any of that, I want to be able to have something in place in my workplace to mitigate risk and a mask is about the only thing that stands a chance of happening. Why should I be placed more at risk than other workers?

To all those people happy with the government plans for schools going back full time with no additional funding, no social distancing, no reduced numbers and no masks, what does your workplace look like?

I'm a teacher and I don't really want masks in my classroom - I am hard of hearing so won't hear the kids as well and there is no doubt they will impede learning, create distractions etc. But. I want me and my loved ones, and the kids I teach and their loved ones to stay well. So, as the govt has not provided extra funding for soap, or cleaners, or screens for every classroom (I would like this and have asked my head; no money), it looks like masks will be needed.

I’m obese (that’s a your own fault issue according to some on this thread but I gained a shed load after major surgery and have lost over a stone in lockdown and will keep losing it as much as I can) and I’m asthmatic (think that’s a blameless condition so far).

I also have half a bowel and suspected auto immune disease.

It wouldn’t be irrational to be nervous of mixing in small rooms with 150 teenagers a day without any of the protections offered to others in their covid secure workplaces or continued wfh.

To realise that there are people who don’t give a damn about school staff safety on the basis that anything other than completely normal schooling is just not good enough is... baffling, offensive, depressing and many other feelings. It’s also bloody dangerous if the government have the same level of disregard

@FrippEnos oh so true. I don't get a choice about wearing one in a shop, nor should I. It's a rule to protect me and others.
And if any teens ping them then they will be removed from school. But I teach some very disruptive students and every one of them has behaved brilliantly the last few weeks. And worn a mask when they saw I was worried. Teens amaze me all the time with their kindness and compassion. Parents not always at the moment.

Why aren't schools compressing the school day to limit exposure time? When I was at school we had a bad winter & the oil tanker drivers went on strike which meant that schools had no heating, the school day was shortened by cutting 10 minutes off each 50 minute lesson, no lunch break & eliminating all unnecessary things like Tutor time, assembly, PE. Instead if the school day being 8.40 - 15.40, it was 8.40 - 1.10. Pupils would still get most of their lesson time, teaching would be done in the lessons but the bulk of written work could be done at home.

@runbummyrun so you're back at work as normal then ? That's great.

@Letseatgrandma

I’m a teacher. I don’t want to wear a mask, I’d rather the government funded social distancing at school so we had half size classes either with additional teachers or alternate in school/remote teaching. I’d rather the government funded proper deep cleaning and increased hand washing facilities.

But in the absence of any of that, I want to be able to have something in place in my workplace to mitigate risk and a mask is about the only thing that stands a chance of happening. Why should I be placed more at risk than other workers?

To all those people happy with the government plans for schools going back full time with no additional funding, no social distancing, no reduced numbers and no masks, what does your workplace look like?

@Letseatgrandma I asked that question a few pages back and received no response.

@Nat6999 because the government has said we can't. Normal day, normal curriculum, all in all day. Stupid isn't it !

@Tabletime exactly. You have made my point for me. It’s already horrendous enough for them in comparison to the norm for starting secondary. Compulsory masks would make it unbearable for many in the longer term. If i thought they would actually make a significant difference I would be more for them but I don’t. I don’t think they would make a bit of difference. Also my DD luckily is moving around classrooms and is in a much bigger bubble than just her form. They are in rows anyway before the virus. Just from a personal point of view and experience in a mask, I could not learn all day with one on. Just would be so distracting and breathing impaired.

My dc is partially deaf and relies on lip reading

@Doryhunky there are see through masks.

"
To realise that there are people who don’t give a damn about school staff safety on the basis that anything other than completely normal schooling is just not good enough is... baffling, offensive, depressing and many other feelings."

feel the same @TheHoneyBadger. I posted earlier that although I'm also a teacher I'm more concerned about my daughter having a long term chronic disease (not asthma or anything like that) and she's not being offered any protection at all - not even the 2m distancing from the class that at least teachers are supposed to have (in reality my classroom is too small to achieve this).

But it is depressing to think that her health and possibly even her life is worth so little consideration.

@noblegiraffe

Hah? God I actually heard that out loud in my head and it sounded so childish, I can't take you seriously now.

It may not be most, but it's still a really large proportion. Can't really have a clear picture until every teacher has had a say though can we? 8000 isn't that many across the whole country.

So I will "sound less wrong" if children got a say? Why, do you think it would tip the scales? It's bad enough they are made to wear ridiculous uncomfortable uniforms like mini office workers, but now people want to make them wear masks too. So many people on this thread have claimed children are scared to go back to school and would happily wear masks all day everyday. Why not actually take a survey on that?

@Time2change2 wearing a mask is horrendous. What about dealing with a dead teacher. Our students had that before lockdown. Now that's horrendous.

@mumsneedwine yes ... why wouldn't I be!?

And your, I don’t think they’d make a difference, isn’t at all influenced by the scientific facts? Your feeling outweighs reality? Blimey