Safe schools don’t leave students unmasked By: Jen Zoratti Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/08/2020 (1592 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg school divisions are “strongly encouraging” the use of masks by students returning to school in the fall amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but have stopped short of making them mandatory, giving many students, parents and teachers pause.

Masks are recommended for crowded, indoor places where physical distancing isn’t always possible. So, you know, schools.

I bet if we started calling masks “spaghetti-strap tank tops,” we might get some traction on regulation.

My “no-no clothes” references are dated; I was in high school in the early 2000s, when the humble camisole made the transition from underwear to streetwear. But my point is this: schools already have some say on what students can and cannot wear via their dress codes — dress codes that are quite actively enforced.

If administrators can enforce rules about, say, straps less than two fingers wide or a T-shirt with a bad word on it, it’s reasonable to conclude they could also enforce a mask policy.

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In some ways, masking is easier to enforce than dress codes, which tend to be loaded with baggage. Masks don’t come with slippery — and usually deeply sexist — definitions of what is or isn’t “inappropriate.” You are either wearing a mask or you are not. With masks, no one would have to be sent home to change; they could simply be given a disposable mask and reminded to bring their own next time.

Beyond dress codes, all schools have all kinds of rules intended to keep their students safe. We don’t “strongly recommend” safety goggles in shop classes; they are required. We don’t “strongly discourage” bringing weapons or drugs to school; they are banned.

And it can help to have something that’s “strongly recommended and encouraged” become an official rule or requirement. It’s clarifying, for one; having clear guidelines and expectations can help mitigate anxiety, especially among young people. It crystallizes shades-of-grey technicalities and interpretations into something black and white and easy to follow, thus setting up students for success.

Mandatory mask laws are popping up across the country; Quebec was the first province to make masks mandatory (which is deeply ironic considering its track record on the niqab). But schools don’t need to enforce a law, or hand out tickets or detentions. Rules around masking could resemble the relatively recent advent of nut-free or scent-free policies: greater-good regulations that rely more on students cultivating new habits — i.e. laying off the PB&J and Axe body spray — than active policing.

And for many, living in the time of COVID-19 has meant adopting all kinds of new habits and routines, masking included. Are a lot of them a drag? Yes. Are they necessary? Yes.

This pandemic has asked a lot of our young people, no question. School is more than just reading, writing and arithmetic; it’s a place where you learn how to be a person in the world. Formative school experiences, from learning Hot Cross Buns on a recorder to graduation, have been altered or taken away by COVID-19, and there is a lot to grieve. Masks don’t exactly allow one to suspend disbelief.

But learning to live with this virus will inevitably mean learning to live with disappointments and personal inconveniences in the name of public health. Masks, then, are a teachable moment — about harm reduction, about thinking beyond oneself. If making them mandatory gives students clarity and security, it merits serious consideration. Or at least as much discussion as “distracting” yoga pants.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti

Jen Zoratti
Columnist

Jen Zoratti is a Winnipeg Free Press columnist and author of the newsletter, NEXT, a weekly look towards a post-pandemic future.

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