So, how do you reopen schools? (Preschool to High School & even College)

[EmirOfShmo]

'A very toxic environment': Virginia students navigate ugly mask battle

 

Alexandra Swan, 17, believes it is wrong to make snap judgments about other people.

But these days, when the senior walks through the doors of her high school in Louisa County, Va., she finds it hard to follow her own rules. Whenever she sees another student - friend, foe or stranger - her eyes jump to the same place: Their mouth and nose, which might or might not be covered by a mask, now that Louisa County Public Schools has complied with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R) controversial order that made masking optional.

"I see these people just not wearing a mask, or wearing one pulled down, like, under their chin," said Swan, "and my brain just immediately goes, 'That person does not share the same ideals as me. We won't get along.' " She added: "They may not be a bad person. They may just be thinking the same things as their parents."

...

As the adults battle over the merits of masking, Virginia students have been forced to navigate the real-life fallout.

The Washington Post asked parents across the state to share how their children are feeling about school masking policies, garnering nearly 200 submissions from families living in at least 25 school districts.

Some Virginia students were thrilled to remove their masks - but their elation quickly soured when administrators in districts that still required masking sent unmasked children into isolated rooms or back to their homes. Other students, especially those with health conditions, were horrified to find themselves seated next to maskless peers, unable to do anything except ask to change seats. All too often, students said, their teachers deny that request, citing instructions from higher-ups not to segregate students by mask status.

School now feels, Swan said, "like a war zone": A raging partisan battle that no one can opt out of, because every single student arrives with evidence of their politics - those without masks typically lean right, she said - written across their faces. Swan said she has stopped speaking with students who go maskless because they are dismissive of the decision to mask and unwilling to hear a different opinion.

Swan said she cannot wait to graduate and escape to college, where she plans to major in musical theater.

"Before, when masks were all required, you didn't - it wasn't like you were making a statement," she said. "This made everything so much worse."

 

https://news.yahoo.com/very-toxic-environment-virginia-students-162913036.html