Everything old is new again
Tuesday, Aug 10, 2021 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the governor’s press conference today…
Reporter: What are school districts supposed to do when kids show up and, maybe they’re vaccinated maybe they’re not, and they don’t wear a mask? What are they supposed to do?
Pritzker: School districts have been enforcing dress codes for many, many years. And so they’re expected simply to do the same thing they’ve been doing literally for decades. And, you know, I expect that people will do the right thing nonetheless, and not put their school district in a difficult situation of having to tell somebody ‘follow the rules.’
* And, by the way, I have a strong suspicion that at least some of the same people protesting the loudest about masks are also the types who strongly support bans like this…
I think I’ve told you that my grade school lunch ladies refused to serve me because of the length of my hair. I had bangs.
* There’s also this…
* The Mahomet-Seymour and Monticello school district superintendents penned an op-ed for the Champaign News-Gazette. Here’s the end…
We don’t like government mandates, either — trust us: There are plenty sent our way every year — and we believe that our school boards and local communities trust us enough to make the right calls for our local districts when it comes to school (not medical or political) decisions.
Ignoring the requirement for universal masking puts our teachers and building administrators in extremely difficult positions. The continued debate is a distraction from the critically important goal of getting our kids back in school. The “fight,” if you will, is no longer at the local level, since local control has been taken away.
We are looking forward to seeing our students and teachers back in our buildings for full school days, sporting and music events, drama productions, regular recess and lunch times and social opportunities.
They showed us last year that masking was not a big deal — if that’s what it takes right now, then so be it. It’s time to move forward with the 2021-22 school year and to focus on what public schools do best — educate students.
…Adding… Center Square…
For Marlena and Ben McCoy in Marion, they had their children politely refuse to wear masks Monday, saying it’s not healthy for them to breathe their own air for eight hours a day.
They said at first, administrators at Crab Orchard in Williamson County said to just take the kids home, but the McCoys insisted that if they’re not being disciplined, their children must be in class. The administrators eventually suspended the three children.
An administrator from the district didn’t return messages seeking comment.
Marlena said they couldn’t stand by anymore without fighting back.
“It’s time to stand up and it’s time to fight against what is not the government’s to take,” Marlena said. “The Bible teaches us to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and they are clearly asking something that is not Caesar’s and we’re not going to be willing to give it anymore.”
It was tough to “walk into the fire,” but Marlena said her children understood.
“They’re excited to be part of whatever this movement is going to be,” she said. “My husband made kind of a silly comment, he said ‘your blood bleeds a little bit more red than most Americans right now,’ because they’re fighting what most won’t.” […]
“He’s putting everything on the line, his sports, his academics,” Phillips said, noting her son is a leader on the middle-school baseball team and a good student. “Suspensions are supposed to be for bad things like fights, not for good students.”
Phillips said her son may go back to school Wednesday with a mask in order to be eligible for a Thursday baseball game, but she also has her eye on a national day of action called “Walkout Wednesday.” She said that could have students across the country walking out of schools at noon to protest COVID-19 mitigation protocols.
“Breathe their own air.” A mask ain’t a diving bell.
* Related…
* Nearly 94,000 Kids Got COVID-19 Last Week. They Were 15% Of All New Infections
