COVID Mitigation Conflict Dominates SHUSD Board Meetings
The controversary surrounding the implementation of COVID mitigation measures within the Southern Humboldt Unified School District (SHUSD) continues as California’s masking mandates change for most indoor settings, but not for schools.
The SHUSD board held a special study session meeting to address how the pandemic is impacting families, students, and staff on January 31st. The ninety-minute meeting was an opportunity for parents and community members to speak to the board and administrators directly, allowing for an increased comment period of five minutes per speaker.
Tearful and frustrated parents spoke to the impact that the pandemic and subsequent COVID mitigation measures have had on their children and their perceived lack of conversation with the district.
Some parents questioned the effectiveness of masks as well as voicing concerns over contamination from constant adjusting of masks and the lack of social connection through facial expression.
Andre Steinle, a parent of an elementary school student, said he does not believe masks work, and that he would love to see his son be able to attend school mask-free. He claims his son, who previously loved school, has been experiencing headaches from masking while in school.
Karmen Willner, parent and Booster Club president, questioned whether the district could prove that the COVID mitigation measures were actually effective, and if quarantine procedures had prevented the spread of COVID. “We do not need data points from Dr. Ian Hoffman, or CDPH to tell us how all effective these steps are working because we can all see with our own eyes, they are obviously not effective,” Willner stated.
South Fork High School counselor, Brandy Pancoast, attended the meeting via Zoom, was at home due to her child having been contact-traced for the second time this school year, yet has remained healthy. Pancoast said that she has witnessed the same circumstances happen with students at the Miranda campuses. One student, she said, was contact traced five separate times, resulting in the student being placed on quarantine for a total of fifty days while never testing positive for COVID.
Of greatest concern to the group seemed to be the emotional and mental toll they believe that the COVID mitigation measures are taking on the district’s students.
Parent, Marcy Wilke, said that she has watched her children’s academic motivation dwindle during the pandemic. She was tearful as she told the board that distance learning, masking, and quarantine procedures are having a crippling effect on the kids’ mental health. Wilke said that not being able to see each other’s faces due to masking is not allowing the kids to connect or relate to each other at a time in their lives when they should be forming relationships with their peers.
Wilke believes the lack of in-person learning at the start of the pandemic has been detrimental to students. “The decimation that I see is not from the virus itself, but from the self-inflicted damage of COVID policies so strongly enforced that [its]…left little time to nurture and teach our students or to support our staff,” she said.
The district issued a response regarding emotional and mental health concerns on January 25th on the district’s website:
Concern about physical health is not the only concern our families have expressed. Some parents have shared that their students are struggling with emotional stresses at this time. We encourage our families to reach out to our school psychologist Sarah Wilson (707) 923-2526 or to our SoHum Family Resource Center (FRC) coordinator Amy Terrones (707) 923-1147. Both of them are well acquainted with avenues for help. The school district and FRC can offer connections for social-emotional and mental health and wellness, including our 7th-12th social-emotional and behavioral counselor, Brandy Pancoast; our Humboldt Bridges to Success (HBTS) navigator, Jessica Cook and HBTS clinician Holly Moore; and our newest counselor for K-12, Christina Perez. Our SoHum community has many resources to support your family through the challenges and struggles that life during a pandemic has brought to us all.
However, a parent at the Study Session said that none of the district’s resources are working for her child, who is on self-harm watch. She said that returning to in-person learning has been the only thing that has helped her child. She implored the district to revisit their quarantine measures to keep kids in school.
Kora Hills, parent, questioned benefits of COVID mitigation measures when, she believes, the virus poses little threat to school-age children. “At this point, most if not all of the students have been exposed several times and have had covid. …Have any of them been harmed by this flu? The only harm done is from the outdated and unnecessary protocol,” she wrote in a letter to the board.
At the February 10th SHUSD Board Meeting, Pancoast once again voiced her concerns about the affect the current quarantine measures were having on students. “…We’re beyond lucky that we haven’t had anyone commit suicide yet, but I think that’s where …we’re headed,” she said.
At the January 31st study session, two speakers, Alisa Dillon-Ogden and Tara Shiningstar, read a Notice of Demand to the SHUSD board and administrators demanding the end of all COVID mitigation measures including masking, testing, and quarantining. The two women said the board and administrators had fourteen days to comply with their demands or they would be held personally liable. Dillon-Ogden said she was speaking on behalf of the group.
The conflict, the board says, is with the state, not with the district. Parents believe that the district has the option to ignore state mandates and guidelines.
SHUSD Board Clerk, Cinnamon O-Neill-Paula, told the group that they, and any parent that has an opinion about COVID mitigation measures, should reach out to their local legislators and Governor Newson, as they are the ones that can affect change, she said.
Pancoast acknowledged the position the district is in. “I know the board and [administrators] are held to a lot, legally. We can lose insurance,” she said, but she asked the board to find a solution to keep healthy kids in school and to ease the burden from the over-worked staff.
Some parents are seeking compromise, while others demand the complete dismissal of all COVID mitigation measures.
In a letter to the board, Joelle Geppert wrote,
I do know many families that have been significantly negatively affected by the current policy and the stress that it has caused many of our parents and students in the district. I think it warrants a reevaluation…As for the mask mandate. I am 100% in favor of KEEPING masks as a requirement to be in class.
Geppert believes the district must compromise to keep the kids in school and healthy. “I think that particularly if we reevaluate quarantine procedures that masks will be even more necessary. I think the science is clear on their efficacy,” she wrote.
Another parent, only identified as Rebecca, said, “I do not consent to my children wearing masks. …I want to urge parents and …district leaders to stand up and do what’s best for our children. The state is not doing what is best for our children. We need leadership, better leadership that is going to get our children unmasked, let them be healthy and let them be kids.” She then told the board to, “Stop enforcing the mask mandate and stop enforcing the testing.”
In a letter to the board, Shelby Messenger wrote:
I’ve posed COUNTLESS questions such as these to this board and administration and the answer at this point is: “this is what we are required to do.” How far are you all willing to take this statement, “this is what we are required to do?” Where is your personal line in regard to standing against policy that is clearly causing harm to many of our children? Do we have to lose a student to an overdose or suicide before you will consider that “what you are required to do” may not be in the best interest of those you are tasked with protecting and serving? As a reminder, your oath of office includes supporting and defending the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of California.
The state’s indoor masking mandate will expire after February 15th, allowing vaccinated individuals to forego the mask in most indoor settings, except for some select settings including schools. On February 3rd, the SHUSD issued this statement regarding COVID mitigation measures:
As a public school system in the State of California, we are required to follow the guidance of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and California Department of Education (CDE). The school board of Southern Humboldt Joint Unified School District cannot change or alter that guidance. The foundational principle of this guidance is that all students must have access to safe and full in-person instruction and to as much instructional time as possible. This is a state level decision therefore please direct your questions or concerns to CDPH, Assemblymember Jim Wood, Senator Mike McGuire, and/or Governor Gavin Newsom.
At this time the guidance requires masks inside all school buildings, quarantines and isolation procedures when there is a positive case of COVID in a school, testing requirements for school athletes and also allows testing to shorten or eliminate quarantines. We are asking that you help us comply with these requirements so that we can continue to focus on student academics.
At the February 10th board meeting, SHUSD Superintendent, Stephanie Steffano-Davis, announced that the district had paired with SoHum Health to move the district from individual contact tracing, that requires multiple interviews with students and staff to determine who was in contact with COVID positive individuals, to a more conducive group tracing option. Steffano-Davis says that identifying groups of individuals that were potentially exposed and doing mass testing will allow potentially exposed students to remain at school as long as they remain to test negative for the virus. She said this option only recently became available and was not available to all of the district’s schools due to lack of testing availability until the district was able to partner with SoHum Health.
“[It is] the best option for us to keep kids in school, in-person, and learning. …It’s a ‘meet-in-the-middle’ type situation,” O’Neill-Paula said.
SHUSD Board Member, Brandy Bremer, said in agreeance with the move to group tracing, “We will no longer be sending healthy kids home.”
However, Willner objected to implementing more testing that she believes is inaccurate. “Are you stopping the spread, Stefanie?” she demanded passionately.
Visibly shaken, O’Neill-Paula stated, “We have heard you! …But you have to understand that we are held to guidelines also, that are above us, …we are. You are asking me and every other board member here, and every administrator, to put our houses and our livelihood on the line for what you believe in. Plain and simple.”
For now, the district says they are bound by the state’s mandates and guidelines. “The mask mandate is still a mandate,” reiterated Steffano-Davis. However, she said the state may ease mask mandates for schools in the spring.
The timeframe the district was given in the Notice of Demand to discontinue all COVID mitigation measures expired on February 14th.
The division over COVID measures continue to play out across the state as districts navigate lawsuits, mandates, guidelines, and heated school board meetings. According to a Politico article, Newson is ready to drop the mask mandates for schools, but teachers’ unions are not. “They just asked for a little bit more time, and I think that’s responsible, and I respect that,” the governor said about continuing the mask mandate for now.
To learn more about CDPH group tracing, click here. To compare individual vs. group tracing, click here.
In Other District News:
– Miranda Junior High (MJH) continues to face discipline issues.
Brandi Pancoast, counselor at SFHS and MJH, said, “…Coworkers [are] being verbally assaulted at Miranda Junior High. …If adults are saying campus isn’t safe, we need to do something.”
The MJH Principal’s report submitted to the board said:
In the face of all of the challenges this year the teachers at Miranda Junior High have been consistently stepping up and working as a team to meet those challenges head on. I cannot thank our teachers and classified staff enough for all that they do. We are continuing our work to implement PBIS at the junior high level and are excited to keep that moving forward. The teachers are once again going above and beyond by volunteering to work outside of their duty day and on weekends to get this system built.
-SFHS and MJH have hired three campus supervisors.
-Redway Elementary School student, Madison Beurer, placed first in the Redway School spelling bee. Madison will now continue to the next round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
-The Redway Elementary School’s soccer field will undergo some resurfacing as the district moves forward with the field’s improvement project.
-The district has hired K-6 Behavioral/Social Emotional counselor, Christina Perez. She will be at Redway Elementary three days per week, and one day per week at Casterlin and Whitethorn schools.
-Casterlin High School introduced a new Equine Science class to their curriculum this semester. The class will “cover conformation for performance, anatomy and physiology, genetics and breeding, feeds and feeding, health care, hoof care, behavior and how horses learn, as well as the various aspects of running a horse business,” according to the school report submitted to the board.
-Steffano-Davis reported that the district will be able to cover some of the costs of the district’s sports program that the Boosters Club is currently funding. She said that the goal is to assume those costs the way other districts do, recognizing the inability for the Boosters Club to fundraise with gathering restrictions and economic hardships within the community.
-The SHUSD board suspended the 15-hour community service requirement for high school for the 21/22 school year in light of the reduced opportunities for volunteering.
-Saundi Phillips, Assistant Superintendent, reported that the Independent Study (IS) program has four teachers now, with 70 students participating in Independent Study, and 8 students on the waiting list that should be enrolled on IS shortly.
-The Miranda campuses are now completely covered by the power generated by the grid-tied solar system that was recently completed.
-The district has hired a full-time Account Clerk.
The SHUSD board members are allowed to have individual conversations with community members about their concerns but cannot assemble three members or more without scheduling a meeting open to the public. Any person may speak on any non-agenda item during the open-comment portion of a board meeting, or on an agenda item before the item is discussed by the board. For more information about the SHUSD board meetings or to submit a letter to the board, visit their website.
SHUSD has an open discussion style Round Table meeting scheduled on March 5th at 1pm in the South Fork High School Gymnasium.
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
Comments system how-to: https://wpdiscuz.com/community/postid/10599/
Where were all these crying, concerned parents when bullying, racism, sexual assault and the trauma of active shooter drills were affecting kids’ mental health in schools?
Hopefully, they will stay involved now, and channel it into positive change. Start making noise for music, art and sports programs, and teacher funding. Fundraise for school supplies, lobby for more mental health counselors.
Also, congratulations to Madison!
They were called racists and doxxed on social media until they moved away.
Well said! I agree with your comment 100%. You should be a board member my friend.
These such “concerned parents” turned the masks into a political thing.
These such “concerned parents” buy fake covid cards online just so they can attend events where proof of vaccination is required to enter a venue.
How can anyone expect these parents to act any different than what their children act while in school? Where do you think these children learned that way of acting from?
These such “concerned parents” turn their backs to real issues affecting our local schools, oh but poor babies, how dare someone ask their children to wear a mask? But yet, such “concerned parents” fail to accept accountability or simply coward down and get defensive when it’s time to be held responsible when their children commit acts that require repercussions. Bullying, sexual assault, sexual discrimination, racism, etc go unpunished, year after year, because of the entitlement these such “concerned parents” emanate when presented with the fact that their child is a disrespectful asshole.
Boys at South Fork High grope each other, and act like they are being intimate with one another while on campus and yet they are the first ones to point out someone with a different sexual preference than their own. Oh wow, how dare I say such things? pffft go be a “concerned parent” and ask your kid yourself!
The staff at Miranda Jr High is being verbally assaulted today! and NOTHING is being done to make those committing the assaulting, oh because protesting the masks at South Fork High is more important, marching down the school’s hallways disrupting ongoing classes, forcing the school to go on lock down is more important.
Putting other children in a school lock down all because of your entitlement is more important. Wait until the “concerned parents” get slapped with law suits.
Super Bowl pictures of people not wearing a mask yadda yadda yadda … does anyone really think that these such “concerned parents” would take the time to read covid protocols for any venue? and if they do, does anyone really think that these such “concerned parents” would be ok with any of the protocols listed? HELL NO! talk about psychological reactance.
So.anyone who doesn’t do along with the mainstream.narrative is a rapey racists?
What part of “it’s a state mandate” do these people not understand?
The part where it’s a suggestion and not a law.
Because this is SoHum and they’ve been ignoring laws for decades and simply don’t think any of it applies to them. It’s part of the legacy of growing black market weed for so long that it’s shaped their entire outlook towards the rest of society.
Mandates are not laws. Arguably, Newsom has exceeded his use of emergency powers as the there is no emergency. There are specific limits placed on the government through both the US and California Constitutions and violation of that contract is a violation of the People’s Trust. Ultimately, We are the stop gap for the implementation of spurious policies by overzealous bureacrats.
“A man’s rights rest in three boxes. The ballot box, jury box and the cartridge box.” -Frederick Douglass
I’m pretty sure this has been pointed out in the past but there are specific California laws around public health that permit the use of things like mask mandates and vaccine requirements to participate in public events. It’s not in the US Constitution but is allowed as part of the “reserved to the States” clause.
The state has a number of rules and regulations that I find overbearing or over-specific — it’s the result of a state with almost 40 million people in it and the social conflicts that arise as a result. However, I ignore those rules at my peril and I’m aware of that.
We need to push back or the bureacrats will only know that they can run us over.
They forget that they serve at the will of the people.
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
Down votes for the Declaration of Independence. Must be Russian influence.
This is what elections are for.
It doesn’t appear to work.
Ah, yes, the will of the people. Wouldn’t it be great if The People all agreed? Then we wouldn’t need government at all. Yay! But alas, most obviously, to anyone who has attended more than one public meeting, esp in SoHum, The People NEVER speak with one voice. If you got a dollar for every public meeting, whether a local government, private non-profit, ad-hoc, or whatever group — including so-called “consensus” groups — if you got a dollar for every meeting in which all the speakers agreed on anything other than sweeping generalities like “we want the best for our kids” …. I’ll bet you wouldn’t make enough to buy a frozen burrito at Redway Shell.
That’s the great thing about a free Republic is that there is no requirement for consensus for function.
School isn’t exactly a public event, it’s compulsory.
Mandates are lawful. Educate yourself before ranting. Demonstrate for your children what an informed and intelligent person looks like
A Republican form of government is a specific requirement for all state governments. Mandates are executive writ and exceed the power of the executive branch. The legislation has authorized the use of emergency powers by the executive in the time of an emergency. Two years in, it is quite obvious this is not an emergency.
It’s a Representative Republic, aka Democracy.
Literally exact same thing.
I don’t doubt that you really think the founding fathers became the Government that they felt wasn’t necessary.
Feel free to find a single reference of the founders extolling the virtues of a democracy. They talked about democracy plenty.
“I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never.”
― John Adams
They said “illiberalism” was NOT THE GOAL in the construction of the United States of America, more than numerous times.
Again, representative republic is the same thing as democracy, so them using one term is the same as them using both, or the other.
Name one national office where the position is determined by a simple majority vote.
The representative portion of the government is 1/3. 1\6 before the 17th amendment. The Republic is a Constitutional Republic. There is zero mention of democracy in the founding documents of the USA.
They didn’t need to use “Democracy”, because “Representative Republic” is the exact same thing.
Read around
https://www.google.com/search?q=democracy+vs+representative+republic&oq=democracy+vs+repres&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i512l3j0i10i22i30.11051j1j7&client=ms-android-samsung-rvo1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
It seems that the most accurate description is actually a “Representative Democracy” as GF has noted before.
“Democracy is the most vile form of government.”
James Madison
“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!”
– Ben Franklin (often attributed)
“Democracy is 51% of the people taking away the rights of the other 49%. ”
-Thomas Jefferson
“Democracy is the most vile form of government.”
-James Madison
I’ll concede that “Democracy” alone by definition is not the same as “Representative Republic” by definition.
We do have a “Representative Democracy”, or “Constitutional Federal Republic”.
I think they are about the same.
This Country came into existence out of an act of willful defiance. Texas is NOT littered with marijuana farms, yet they passed a “LAW” saying no government body can enact laws that requires people to wear masks. Blanket statements reduce the validity of your myopic assertions.
#NEXT
What part of NOT everyone is a Statist / Authoritarian don’t you understand? Not everyone lives in fear of the latest greatest boogeyman being paraded in the media.
We are NOT obligated to follow laws err.. “Mandates”, when we find them to be unjust.. as in the case when the cure is worse than the disease.
Not like our Government, Doctors and experts have ever been wrong before.. or that they’ve ever been caught redhanded opertaing in a manner that does NOT best serve the public’s best interest.
I know I know.. “bUT tHe sCiEnce sAYs” and “numBeRs DonT lIE”..
Look..We can’t all be lemmings, it’s unrealistic to expect everyone to think the same way.
So while you may question those who cast a vote of no confidence in the experts, and question the data they present as facts, Its just as easy to question your appeal to authority.
I do what I want! I killed 5 little baby seals with my bare hands! I do what I want!
Plus it isn’t really about expert health opinion, the reality is that public school teachers unions are very powerful in the Dem political party and Dems run California.
Presumably some parents figured out that teachers unions care a whole lot about teachers and not so much about kids and parents.
Maybe some parents also realized that their opinion about how their kids’ education should happen is not very important in California public schools. An obvious solution is freedom of school choice (vouchers) so parents can put their kids in the school they choose but teachers unions fight that tooth and nail. School choice vouchers would be a good initiative for a referendum election.
Dem government run schools are going to tend to preach Dem party line so kids get a slanted, politicized education.
Vouchers are an incredible idea! I’m paying out of pocket $480 a month plus about $600 in gas for my son to go to an off grid no mask or vax school 4 hours round trip from my home. It’s the only one in the county that I could find.
Did you know The government spends 20k per student with our tax dollars ? I get exactly $0 in educational or childcare support, beyond the $2.30/hr Dhhs offered to subsidize for a babysitter (but only for citizens)after I jump through 100 hoops, live at their beck and call etc . This public educational system is a joke, especially in California where you have to be vaxed and masked to use it. I say give parents 10k to opt out and use for alternative educational costs.
Two days a week only*
The parents lost their free daycare.. that’s what they’re really upset about. If they cared so much they would seek out better options for their children’s education vs bitching about their free government education. I know I know.. i dont mean free in the literal sense..nothings free, someone is paying for it.
Some of those parents have 4 or 5 children. They need that day care, they built there lives around that day care. That day care is the only way they can get a Masters degree, or play with their horsies, or grow their weed.
In your world credentialed professional educators = daycare providers. And you think you’re being supportive.
Well said , I 100% agree! Blessings to the non lemmings ha ha
you and others aren’t questioning the data, you are ignoring it.
What data are you referring to? All the data I’ve seen shows that masking in schools reduces total infections by several per thousand kids at best
I’m ignoring the spin.
Who knew the hills of sohum were filled with so many karens and kens. Even kmud is getting a little whiny, some of the news clips and show hosts seem to perpetuate abti vax, anti mask etc. Just a reminder to these folks, we wouldn’t have made any progress against this virus without vaccinations and social measures. Stop whining.
Where do you get that idea? Even with all of our mitigation efforts this virus is following the arc and the timeline of other serious respiratory illness epidemics throughout history. So what is the evidence for the belief that
“we wouldn’t have made any progress against this virus without vaccinations and social measures”
Canada, which has an 80% vaccination rate, has about half the deaths from covid on a per capita basis. How do you explain this?
They are a generally healthier population and they are a much more rural country. Are you suggesting that a ~15% difference in vaccination rate caused a 50% difference in mortality?
Also, Canada is still on the same arc with this outbreak as that which occurred with the 1918-1920 outbreak. That was my original point, all of these mitigation efforts haven’t changed this situation compared to previous similar outbreaks
Vitamin D supplementation?
It’s the martial law.
Not wanting a Covid Vaccine doesnt make someone an anti vaxxer.
This is a classic strawman.
#NEXT
it just makes you appear very selfish, self centered, and entitled.
Ad Hominem^
#Next
Racist terms? Wow!
That’s interesting I turned Kmud off specifically because they were not representing all views in our community or allowing alternative covid narratives on air. All the whining I hear is those who call unvaccinated people idiots etc. even though they have zero risk of death or sever side effects.
It’s supposed to be free speech community radio but it’s a far cry from it. Do you have any idea how many volunteers have been canceled by Kmud because of their views regarding COVID? some are restricted from all sides now even. Most accused of “misinformation “ are proven correct later. Cancel culture is a pandemic.
Funny how many followers of the religion of government seem to never want to remove masks despite even some left leaning outlets questioning the effectiveness of masking…..
Let’s face the reality, the mask isn’t stopping the flu, the vaxx isn’t stopping the flu. Now with this knowledge that we now have after 2 years of testing , lets make a rational decision . Crack me up , who all thought we could stop the flu with the snake oil. You’ve been had! Again, this unequal distribution of wealth is not fair!
the last flu i got was in early 2020. i get the flu every year. i think it was the mask. its not like other countries have been masking during flu season for decades for no reason. in similar news, all of the anti-maskers, anti-vaxers, and anti-everything else that confuses them have one thing in common.
If you get the flu every year you aren’t taking care of your health. I’m glad you’ve gotten a reprieve from that
The thing that astonishes me the most about these frustrated and tearful parents is how fragile they believe their kids are with regards to masks. That masks are going to somehow traumatize them for the rest of their lives.
As someone else pointed out, these same parents believe their kids deal with racism, bullying, harassment, assault, and the trauma associated with mass school shootings just fine, because that’s just kids learning to deal with society, but wearing a mask is somehow devastating emotionally.
I wonder if these are the same kind of parents who believe having their kids learn about the role racism played in historical events is also traumatizing and so shouldn’t be mentioned at all?
I suspect a bigger issue for the kid’s mental health is the ranting and drama of the parents around this issue. For the kids themselves it isn’t a big deal, at least not for any of the ones I see at school on a daily basis.
Absolutely.
I’ll give credit to Joelle Gepperts sensible comments….but holy shit face palms to Shelby Ms Constitutional protection rant of absurdity.
It shouldn’t be mentioned in the context of victimhood. Which is exactly what their portraying .. hence reparations via social equity for minorities.
#NEXT
Lol @ minority groups that protest for equality.. but then demand reparations and special privilege.
The Canadian womens hockey team just won their match wearing n95 masks the entire game. Masking is a tiny price to pay for whatever margin of safety provided. ONE child critically ill or dead of this virus would be too many. Stop whining.
Well if elite athletes can handle it then little kids should be fine.
Also, is one child critically ill or dead as a result of mitigationmeasures also too many?
blowing off Covid as merely ‘the flu’ is dangerous
https://donford.substack.com/p/riskoflongcovid
and this tired belief that kids don’t get damaged by Covid needs to be put to rest
I wonder how much trauma is beset upon the kids by those parents who might be manically railing against masks and vaccines, with the kids sitting there being exposed such vitriol.
Very good question! I wonder also.
prior to this it was some other crazy vitriol at the dinner table. blaming covid is short sighted. they are ramping up on jailing Hillary again to fill the gap after covid.
Why the Govenor and other celebrity types seem to have no problem telling everyone else to Mask up but then are seen parading around with no masks can only be described as hypocritical tyranny.
Forcing kids to wear masks when they are the least vulnerable to Covid but most impacted by not being able to see each others faces which helps build relationships is borderline child abuse.
Look up the videos of school kids being told the mask mandate is over and then tell me they don’t care if they have to wear masks or not.
Thank you parents, for standing up for the mental health of our children and grandchildren. The masks in school need to stop/go on volunteer basis. It is past time, IMO.
I can’t comment on your particular area of the country because I don’t live there but where I live kids haven’t had masks on for a couple months and we’ve had no problems. My friends down south said their kids haven’t been masked at all this year and again, no problems.
The bubble of insane covid cultists in Humboldt can’t be bothered with the reality of unmasked children living! They are too busy being self-centered know everything’s telling everyone else what to think. But I appreciate the effort.
All of you died last year, though.
Congrats to Madison Beurer! Way to go! Best of luck to you in the National spelling bee.
F Gavin newsom. Was really hoping he wouldn’t win the recall
I am deeply concerned about the mental health of everyone. It almost sounds like the parents are way more stressed over this than the students. But with no student comments how would we know? In dealing with adults on this issue and students in my own personal life, the students are doing just fine. The parents are the ones annoyed and struggling with it.
The only time I have a problem wearing a mask is when it is hot. And it is a problem. But I still wear it. I think what people are forgetting is that while your student may not get sick at all from Covid, they can take it home to their families who might not be so lucky. Wearing a mask protects everyone.
I will say however, that the lack of facial expressions is one of the saddest things to lose from having to wear a mask. But we have voices and we can talk about our feelings and emotions. Something our society isn’t real good at, but hopefully we can improve on. We place so much value in facial expressions, myself included. I miss that people can’t see me smile at them, and vice versa. But I will continue to wear a mask to do my part for my community. While looking forward to a future when we can all get along and agree about the safety of our fellow citizens.
To clarify, I truly do understand the parents problem with mask mandate. My concern for people with mental health issues is etched in my soul. If your child is distressed please seek some professional help for them, as well as yourself. You may think your fine, but dealing with someone with emotional problems weighs heavy and looks and feels different for each individual. And even if you’re all for the mandate, your child may not be and being sympathetic to their needs is important. Please realize we all see this differently. Your child may see it totally different from you. Please support them no matter their view. Listen to them. Please reach out for help for yourself and your child if you feel you need it.
Much love and many blessings to you all.
Beautifully said. I appreciate the nuance.
Amen… kids are a very adaptive people…It’s us older folk who get set in our ways at times. We should learn from them
Your not going to learn anything from kids that get a trophy for losing, other than how to be a vicitim and how to organize a protest about 1st world problems.
If the masks work, (a very big if), and the real risk is at home, then the real solution is, that the masks should be worn, at home.
A step in the right direction would be to periodically test everyone at school, not just the unvaxxed.
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/01/07/1070969456/kids-are-back-in-school-and-struggling-with-mental-health-issues
You might think that it’s the parents and not the kids having a hard time, but the strain this regime has been putting on children has been known since the beginning of its implementation
Yes.. because as adults in the care of developing minds it is our job to speak up for them!
As they are not yet wise to the ways of the world. Good parenting includes teaching the bounds and limitations of our Governments interventionist policies.
How did you guys come to the conclusion that your going to some how avoid contracting covid no matter the level of protective measures that are mandated? You didn’t avoid EBV or Mononucleosis, and its transmitted by saliva.. what on Gods green earth makes you think your going to avoid contracting covid which can be spread by aerosols?? How do you make that make any sort of sense at all???
Can I declare a meme war on this subject? Oh I forgot, that won’t be allowed because it would be such an embarrassing loss for the pro covid totalitarianism team.
By show of hands, or middle fingers or scowls.. how many of you think you can avoid contracting covid?
How many think protective measures will keep you from contracting covid?
How many of you think you won’t test positive for a form of herpes?
I’m wondering just how delusional you all are round here!?
Someone please remind the crying parents that they are white in America.
They’ll be more than fine.
Their addiction to emotional outbursts for no reason is a symptom of their privilege.
So, masks are going to lead to overdose and suicide? I think not. Maybe having a tiger mom is more damaging in the long run.