The folly of mask wearing in schools
The number of pupils who adhere to all these recommendations on any given day is zero. The number of staff who obey this list is likewise nil.
Cartoon by Crid.
This article featured in Bournbrook’s 17th print issue, and is being republish online in light of the Department for Education’s decision to continue to force secondary school pupils to wear face masks after the Easter holidays.
The return to school has been dominated by two Covid propitiations: testing and masks. Pupils are now to wear the latter all the time, including in lessons, except when outside and when eating or drinking, as per Government 'guidelines', our rulers' preferred euphemism for strictly enforced laws.
I wrote briefly last month about the futility and stupidity of forcing children aged eleven to sixteen to obey this law. For those still in doubt, consider these WHO mask guidelines (which, for the moment, remain just guidelines):
~ Perform hand hygiene before putting on the mask.
~ Inspect the mask for tears or holes, and do not use a damaged mask.
~ Place the mask carefully, ensuring it covers the mouth and nose, adjust to the nose bridge and tie it securely to minimize any gaps between the face and the mask. If using ear loops, ensure these do not cross over as this widens the gap between the face and the mask.
~ Avoid touching the mask while wearing it. If the mask is accidentally touched, perform hand hygiene.
~ Remove the mask using the appropriate technique. Do not touch the front of the mask, but rather untie it from behind.
~ Replace the mask as soon as it becomes damp with a new clean, dry mask. Either discard the mask or place it in a clean plastic resealable bag where it is kept until it can be washed and cleaned. Do not store the mask around the arm or wrist or pull it down to rest around the chin or neck.
~ Perform hand hygiene immediately after discarding a mask.
~ Do not re-use single-use mask.
~ Discard single-use masks after each use and properly dispose of them immediately upon removal.
~ Do not remove the mask to speak.
~ Do not share your mask with others.
~ Wash fabric masks in soap or detergent and preferably hot water (at least 60° Centigrade/140° Fahrenheit) at least once a day. If it is not possible to wash the masks in hot water, then wash the mask in soap/detergent and room temperature water, followed by boiling the mask for one minute.
(WHO, Mask Use in the Context of Covid, December 1st, 2020.)
Let's leave aside the fact that the recommendation for healthy people with no symptoms to wear cloth masks contradicts the WHO's advice from January to June 2020. What is surely implied in this list is that to break one of the rules — say, the commandment to 'avoid touching the mask while wearing it' — is unhygienic. Consider, then, that the number of pupils who adhere to all these recommendations on any given day is zero. The number of staff who obey this list is likewise nil. Many pupils and staff break the rules hundreds of times a day; some wear masks that are so ill fitting that they hold them in place while they talk.
In English and, especially, drama, the effect of mask wearing on learning is grave indeed. I have, since our full return on 10th March, found myself struggling to hear numerous pupils (in addition to mask wearing, you'll recall that the doors and windows must be open as well, through which unwanted noise often pours), and failed to identify many surreptitious chit-chatters. I also find it disconcerting not to be able to see the human body's main source of communication, but I think that ship sailed long ago.
As for testing, it is yet another source of travail, perplexity, and disruption, as well as being a waste of time and potentially harmful. The only pleasing aspect is that around a third of our pupils have refused consent (in some cases at the behest of their parents, in some cases in defiance of them), in contrast to the near total take-up from teachers, who I'm sure would all be devastated to test positive and spend a week at home on full pay.
Away from masks and testing, I saw the dismal state of English education in the form of my Year-11 English language mock exams. In many cases, every single sentence contained an error of spelling, punctuation, or grammar, and sometimes all three, but these three rather important criteria are only graded in one of the five questions, and, even then, make up only forty per cent of the total mark.
Oh, and I have a new pupil, a boy from Asia who does not speak English. Don't bother pointing out how absurd it is for a child to attend school in a language he or she cannot comprehend, for the one extra source of work teaching unions don't complain about is teachers being forced to make extra provision for pupils who do not speak English. Fortunately for this new child, and us, there is another pupil in his year group who has the same mother tongue.
I should end by saying that, despite all this, I enjoy my job and my school, and I ended the week in a buoyant mood.
Then, on Friday evening, our head emailed to say a year seven pupil had tested positive for you-know-what...
