I taught in a high school that had a well thought out Student and Parent Handbook. At the beginning of the year, the faculty would be alerted about the new Handbook changes. We would be expected to cover the changes in the first week during the students’ first homeroom. We knew the administration had spent hours discussing and firming up the rules and consequences that had appeared the year before. For example, when vaping had become a problem the year before, the deans were responsible for discipline and would apply the no tolerance of tobacco. Parents complained because it was not in the Handbook, and they claimed the vaping devices did not contain tobacco, so the rules did not apply.
We also had a no hat rule. Years before, we had difficulty because the kids would wear their hats in school, and at the time, they would be hiding drugs. It was also harder to identify young people if they were misbehaving. Hoodies became popular. The same problems arose. The next year they made it mandatory that hoodies be not worn with the hoods up.
Now it becomes complicated. Modifications started to appear. Kids would wear bandanas, berets, and durags. The assistant principal would tell a kid he or she was an exception because he or she had anxiety. He would not tell anyone else. Of course, teachers would ask the child to remove the hat, and they would be told the assistant principal permitted it. Other kids would hear this, and they would then tell the same story. In class, a teacher would allow a child to wear a hat because they took upon themselves to decide it was a silly rule. The next teacher would hear, “Well, so and so said it was okay in his/her class.
Now I can see the nightmare of masks for teachers. Even though the governor has mandated that children wear masks in my state, there will be parents who object. They will threaten to sue. They will say it is not in the Handbook. The child will “forget” his/her mask at home. The assistant principal will excuse a child because of anxiety. What will be the consequence of a child not wearing a mask? Will they receive detentions for going against the mandated rule? Will they be sent home?
This morning I was walking my dog through a local park. A middle school cross country team was running. One child was wearing a mask. One. Were they distancing from each other? No. The coach was supervising riding his bike. A parent was there holding her mask as she talked to some of the children. No social distancing.
Most kids will comply. But there is always the 10% that will not. In a high school, if one child does test positive, every child in each of the initial student’s classes may have to quarantine. By the way, that also means each teacher. In high school, students are required to take six classes.
It’s a lot more complicated than people who have been demanding students return to classes have admitted or known.