I understand the reasoning behind the CDC and some school districts requiring students to wear masks in school. As one of my doctors put it, “Children are a petri dish of germs”. After all, I used to get sick about 3-4 times a year. Students would sneeze or cough on me without any warning. I just took it as another thing a teacher has to endure.
What makes me sad is that the youngest of children are seeing the use of masks as a normal part of life. As they look around, everyone is wearing a mask. There’s talk that masks will be optional soon because of the Covid cases declining. Are these children going to experience some form of trauma when the requirement is finally lifted? Will they think they are being unsafe for not using the mask?
I honestly believe that teachers that have to wear masks are not articulating sounds clearly. Who knows what speech impairments children will face in the future. Speaking from experience, I found it difficult to project the sounds of the letters in the alphabet. I heard my voice muffled, and some of my students heard the “p” sound when I was referring to the “b” sound. Little ones need to hear the teacher clearly and see your mouth as you form the letters and sounds of the letters. It’s not surprising that reading scores are so low.
The lines at Covid testing sites have been getting shorter. Restrictions are being lifted. Will it soon be possible for schools to be mask free? It sounds like it’s just a matter of time before masks are a thing of the past. Well, at least for the vaccinated. Only time will tell.
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