Why not masks for all in secondary schools ?

[countryroses]

Why not ?

CKBJ Just because other countries did things differently doesn't mean they are right. In Spain they kept children inside their apartments for a month and a half. I think that was inhumane.

I can't believe how nasty some people on here are to each other. We as teachers and parents should be working together and wanting EVERYONE safe in school not bashing each other because we have slightly different views. You guys on here are nastier than some of the children's disagreements I deal with. It's embarrassing.

Masks are mandatory for secondary school students in Ireland when they go back next week. Very little comment has been made about it.

They don’t have to be school colours but could have been added to the kit list.

I agree other countries have done things differently , can’t think of anything where we have done better or don’t end up coping another country later down the line. Scotland are considering masks in secondary schools even if they are to be used in corridors, no doubt we would follow suit.

Yes, a teacher talking in those terms about the children in her care was really nasty....

uhoh eldests is mask optional.

The behaviour is too poor in alot of schools. They'll forget them, they'll prat about with them, flicking them across the room. They'll take them off and leave them on work surfaces comtaminating the surface. They'll constantly readjust them then touch other surfaces. Alot (not all) of the students in my school barely have a pen, consistently wear incorrect uniform and both they and their parents don't see it as their job to be prepared or appropriately dressed.

The idea of secondary school students in this country wearing them all day when you can't even get adults to follow instructions during the big lockdown or to SD out and about is ridiculous. The country has a huge behaviour problem and its not just the children / teens.

I get really hot wearing one in a shop for 20 minutes. I can’t imagine having to teach in one for over an hour at a time.

@megletthesecond

uhoh eldests is mask optional.

I think optional is a good approach to be fair.

The chance you might catch covid and die is tiny and the mask decreases that tiny risk by a tiny amount. Asking the whole world to modify its behaviour because of your fear, which is not based on any sort of reality, is ridiculous

@TheDailyCarbuncle what the actual fuck do you think is going on in the world?

To be fair, the risk to any individual of dying of Covid IS tiny!

@covidteacherscotland

The chance you might catch covid and die is tiny and the mask decreases that tiny risk by a tiny amount. Asking the whole world to modify its behaviour because of your fear, which is not based on any sort of reality, is ridiculous

@TheDailyCarbuncle what the actual fuck do you think is going on in the world?

I think Carbuncle said exactly what she thinks is going on in the world.

Masks are only a thing anywhere becuae the public needs that crutch, the main reason not to have them in schools is that they won't actually make any difference or could even make things worse.

@FinnyStory

Its not the same as the uniform battle because a lot of the non compliance won't be deliberate defiance, it will be good kids who are genuinely uncomfortable, moving the mask so they can breathe "for a minute". Most uniform issues need dealing with, maximum once per day, this would be constant all day long.

You clearly have not taught the same students I have, who manage to un-tuck their shirts up to 10 times per lesson.

What is the evidence that teens can use masks safely, not touch them, remove them safely etc in real world situations for extended periods of time? It's very different scenario than a clinical setting or even a brief shopping trip. How would you feel being treated by a doctor who eg wore the same mask for several hours, took it off at lunchtime, and chucked it in their handbag or pocket and then put it back on their face again? How many kids can bring face covering that's been washed hot each night? Much more likely to have been stuffed in a pocket.

What's the evidence about the impact on learning and social skills?

@TopCherry

I disagree. As a teacher we wouldn't jump on a kid for figiteing with a mask or whatever we'd rather them do that than no mask at all. My anxiety would be halfed even if they just wore the same mask all day everyday and even touched it constantly compared to no mask at all.

Your anxiety is not a reason for kids who have no choice but to go to school to wear masks that will be more to their detriment to their benefit.

You have the choice to get another job. Kids don’t have the choice about whether of not they need an education.

It isn't to their detriment, though. It's for their protection as well as the adults in schools.

If they can wear them in shops, buses and cinemas there is no earthly reason can't wear them in school. It's just plain daft to think otherwise.

@FinnyStory

It's not that the children can't or shouldn't be expected to wear masks it's that all the evidence is that they don't help when worn for long periods, and handling them often makes the risk to the wearer higher than not wearing one at all.

So, if there is no benefit to having them, a possible increased risk from wearing them and definite downsides in terms of inconvenience, cost, environmental impact, further disruption to learning, why would you make them compulsory?

This just about sums it up. A piece of PPE does nothing in itself. It’s needs to be suitable to the environment, the task and the user.

Public use of masks was always a borderline risk mitigation. That they might help limit transmission in certain situations don’t make them good for all situations. Worn short term in places where there is no social interaction, shops and public transport, just about makes sense.

Asking children and young adults to wear them all day would increase risk. They are going to be taking them on and off, touching their face and God knows what.

Yes I think masks should be made compulsory in secondary and strongly strongly encouraged in primary. Medical exemptions should be made for those who cannot due to health or SEN.

My DC wear them, as do some of their friends. We have an extremely clinically vulnerable person in our family.

I can't believe people are still spouting the crap that masks 'don't work' or it being 'worse than nothing' if they are used incorrectly. So many studies have shown that even a dishcloth mask is 50-60% effective at blocking transmission.

It is to their detriment when they find them uncomfortable and a distraction from learning. I know I couldn’t concentrate and produce my best efforts if I were in a mask all day, and I don’t really find them a problem to wear.

It’s plain daft to compare shops, busses and cinemas to school. People have a choice about whether to go to shops or the cinema. None of those things are compulsory. Kids don’t have a choice about going to school, it’s a legal requirement. And no film or shopping trip or bus journey to school takes at least 6 hours.

If they want to wear them for their own protection, then fine. Secondary teachers should be allowed to do the same. But like it or not, the risk for teenagers is tiny and they have already sacrificed enough for the sake of other people.

I’m in Scotland, I see our secondary kids in them in school by the end of next week. Not thrilled about it but then I’m also not thrilled with the amount of people in my son’s year breaking the rules, sitting next to him in class and possibly giving it to him to bring home, while he’s obeyed all rules throughout, so it it helps mitigate the risk of that fair dos

As for the application and removal.

Wash or hand gel hands before putting on.

Try to only touch the ear loop parts when putting on or taking off.

Either dispose of in a bin or store in a separate bag.

Wash or hand gel hands after taking off.

It's quite simple for most DC to use masks safely.

@NailsNeedDoing

Yes our Children have sacrificed a lot, and tbh Children have been the ones most graceful about it.

It will be an even bigger sacrifice for their education than masks if mass school closures happen. A few schools in Scotland have already had to close.

If they want to wear them for their own protection, then fine. Secondary teachers should be allowed to do the same. But like it or not, the risk for teenagers is tiny and they have already sacrificed enough for the sake of other people.

It is hardly a sacrifice, FFS. They are to protect those working with them as well as themselves. There is plenty of evidence that face coverings help prevent the spread. Teenagers really aren't that precious.

But there’s no guarantee that masks will prevent school closures anyway, or that schools will even need to close.

At least if they did close though we wouldn’t need to pretend that children are receiving the same standard of education though a mask as they would be getting without them.

Masks are uncomfortable.
The risks to teenagers are so low.
You cannot learn or teach well in one.
Teenagers have sacrificed enough already.
Better to practice good hygiene and social distancing.
FWIW I am a teacher and do not want to wear one either.