Sandwiches clenched in cold, cracked hands.
Candy wrappers swirl with dead leaves in the wind.
Face masks fall over chins, or rest in pockets or on concrete.
The students must eat outdoors in the chilly autumn air. Teachers have to eat with a tray on their lap while sitting on a cold bench. Most of the kids set their trays on the ground. There are no tables, no chairs. Soon, students will eat outdoors in the freezing winter. They did this last year; they’ll do it again this year. The excuse: It’s to keep everyone safe.
The students can’t dine indoors unless it’s raining. When it rains and they eat inside, they are not permitted to speak, since - according to the unscientific nonsense espoused by the administration - they can infect a classmate by talking, which can lead to an accidental death. This is psychological abuse.
Everyone here is doing the Delta double down. It’s all optics for the hysterical liberal parents who pay to have their children attend this progressive private school. I’m assuming they really don’t mind that their kids shiver in the cold as they eat. Students sat in snow last year and ate in subfreezing temperatures. Some of these kids are as young as three. I’m sure a minority of parents voiced their grievances, just not enough. Normalized child abuse continues unabated. Some parents certainly feel virtuous for sacrificing their kid’s wellbeing on the alter of “public health.”
A couple weeks ago, the teachers had a meeting with the administration. Health and safety was on the agenda. They went over the protocols. Many were the same as before; some, however, were updated. Masks, as before, must be worn at all times indoors; hands must be sanitized whenever entering or leaving a room.
But new rules have been implemented. For instance, children and staff not only have to wear masks when indoors, but also when standing still outdoors and not six feet apart. Teachers chase students down who stand too close to each other talking at recess. A schoolyard like a leper colony. We are plague rats with fleas ready to bite.
Also, the three feet distancing rule has now reverted back to six feet when indoors. The impetus: a fourth grader caught Covid. In others words: a fourth grader had a runny nose for a day or two and now the administration is scared this somehow negatively reflects upon them. Again, it’s all about optics.
Kids can play sports this year. The soccer team has some talented players. They have a winning record. Parents have shown up to the home games to cheer on the team. Of course, they sat on the bleachers to watch the game. But they sat too close to each other. The administration just couldn’t have that. Socializing is so 2019. They removed the bleachers. Parents now have been instructed to remain apart, standing or sitting on the grass, in case they spread the virus through a sneeze in the breeze.
These parents have been infantilized. I cannot believe that adults accept this level of control over their lives at a school they pay for their children to attend. Imagine having bleachers taken away as a punishment for talking to people outside your household at your son’s sporting event. Totally insane.
In other news, I wrote a long, detailed essay that discusses the inability of masks to stop the spread of respiratory pathogens and cites studies showing the serious harms caused by long term masking. I cover the science on asymptomatic spread and mortality data, too. It’s a polemic. I wasn’t holding much back.
I sent it to my administration. They said they’d review it. I live in a mask mandate state, and the mandate extends to private schools, so I know it won’t change much of anything. I just want my principal to know that he enforces the devil’s decree.
And I am still a lone voice in the wilderness.
Alas, alas.
Who are you? Which state? What school are you writing about? You need to provide your reader with genuine specifics. It's the stuff of writing and reporting. That's what makes it real (and relevant). Otherwise, it's all hypothetical (which is the kind of material the gov't agents produce). To stand out and really be real, you have to reveal yourself.