Governor Kristi Noem has discouraged the use of face masks to check the spread of coronavirus and questioned whether it’s practical to require children to wear them in school.
Meanwhile, the South Dakota Department of Education retweeted this nice video from the Sioux Falls Schools on Thursday showing kindergartners all wearing masks for a little ceremony on the playground at Hawthorne Elementary:
Hawthorne Elementary knows how to welcome new kindergarten students to school! 5th graders make a tunnel as all grades cheer them on. At the end of the year, kindergarteners make a tunnel for the departing 5th graders. All a part of the Circle of Courage and Belonging. pic.twitter.com/virh3bnBr5
— Sioux Falls Schools (@SFSchools) September 10, 2020
Up the road, the Dell Rapids school district has required all of its students to wear masks, and their superintendent reports no trouble:
School superintendent Summer Schultz said students have been in compliance with wearing face masks. Dell Rapids public is mandating mask wearing, and Schultz said in the first week, it was a non-issue.
“The number of times I’ve even seen a mask not on correctly is minimal. Kids just want to be back and they’re wearing the masks,” she said. “They don’t seem to be making an issue of it. They’ve been wonderful.”
Schultz said they’ve actually worked to find additional times to allow students to take off their masks. She said the first week of school has offered administrators opportunities to find additional situations where they can separate students so they don’t have to wear masks the entire day.
Schultz said she didn’t know what to expect while heading into the school year with a mask mandate, partly because of the negativity seen from some adults on social media.
“Then I see our kids and it’s an instant positive,” she said. “Come and talk to the football team, talk to the soccer team, talk to the kids who want to have their plays and their fine arts and activities. They’ve said to me, ‘Mrs. Schultz, we’ll do anything if you get us in school and let us do the things we love to do – the masks are irrelevant to us. If you can keep us here, we’ll do what you ask.’”
Schultz said a big part of mask-wearing being a non-issue with students is because a large portion of the student body are in extracurricular activities. She said those students know if things go badly that they won’t be able to compete and do the things they enjoy.
“We’ve had a good push from those individuals. They’re all saying, ‘Wear the masks,’” Schultz said. “They’ve made it their mission to make sure people understand the importance of it. It just really helps when the kids are doing that” [Tom Savage, “‘They’ve Made It Their Mission’: Mask Mandate Doesn’t Faze Dell Rapids Students,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2020.09.12].
It’s good to see many kids are more sensible, respectful, and resilient than some of the allegedly grown-up Trumpist snowflakes we hear speechifying about Freedom™ and carbon dioxide. Keep up the good work, kids… and keep up those masks!
Very nice. There is hope.
I see small children like this getting off the buss on my corner every day wearing masks —– and they are not having one bit of trouble with them. They even have been wearing the masks when outside playing. Really sad when our leadership both state and national can’t get their act together and believe science and the “so called” experts.
I am a retired high school teacher from a small town. I was always vigilant about dress code violations such as inappropriate tee shirts. When I hear all the BS about masks infringing on personal freedoms I wish I was still back in the classroom. I would quietly and subversively urge all my students to violate every dress code rule in the book. “Yes, you paid good money for that shirt advertising beer, and the one with the marijuana leaf, and the one with the big boobed girl. By all means wear them!! Personal liberty is way more important than being appropriate.” Sometimes I really miss teaching!!!!
Is there anything wingnuts can’t screw up through shear petulance?
ps court stopped evil DeVos from stealing CARES bucks and using them for private schools.
The “fog of war” is the new trump virus excuse. No other nation in the world has the “fog of war” on Covid19, including those that we are currently bombing. The “fog of war” is the new republican hoax.
What’s stopping COVID Kristi from being sued in a class action lawsuit of COVID victims’ families? She can’t hide behind Bill Barr’s ridiculous executive privilege alibis.
As with Trump, she is in a position of leading constituents through a period of life-threatening consequences, but her actions are the polar opposite of what she is charged to do according to her oath of office. She also controls the government response, whose primary responsibility is to protect the lives and safety of all citizens.
The facts are well known how to stay alive and save in the COVID environment. COVID Kristi instead issues false information that leads to death.
I smell lawsuits coming for causing needless grief, death, injury and loss of property and livelihoods because COVID Kristi chose to run up the body count.
It’s really heartening to see those children supporting each other and read about the others supporting mask wearing because they understand it’s importance.
I’ve been witnessing the remarkably courageous and intelligent behavior of Americans, college age and younger, across this country. In these really trying times, they give me such hope. I am so grateful for them. I believe they will save us in spite of ourselves.
Mr. jerry is righter than right. The “fog of war” is a hoax, but the Fog of Blog is a real thing. Mark down grudznick’s words. You will hear them again, doubt not be there.
The White Wilderness of trump/GNOem followers https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=xMZlr5Gf9yY&feature=emb_title
Over the cliff with ya.