History Tells The Story: Off With The Masks
As schools get closer to re-opening, students and parents face mask mandate impasse. What to do? Look to the past
(Photo Credit: Grunge)
On Dec. 16, 1773, a group of American colonists, disguised as Native Americans, threw over 90,000 pounds of tea into the Boston Harbor.
Disgusted over what they viewed as overtaxing from the British government, the protest, famously known as the “Boston Tea Party,” is viewed by many historians as a catalyst for the First Continental Congress and later, the American Revolution.
Who knows…we may still be under British rule if it hadn’t been for the bravery of that group of men (think of all the stale food we’d have had to endure over these many centuries).
Reading up on the landmark event over the weekend, what struck me was how the colonists had no historical reference point with which to base their feat of dissent. While they were probably not the first individuals on American soil to grapple with a reality of how that those in charge were not acting in their best interests, they were the first to do something about it. They were the first to act on that self-actualization.
Wednesday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker called a press conference and admitted he lied to the people he is tasked to govern by issuing a mask mandate for all schools, K-12. Chicagoland school districts and those downstate, many of which previously voted mask optional for the 2021-22 school year, immediately reversed their own directives and adopted Pritzker’s decree.
(Just over two weeks prior, Pritzker said he would respect local controlling authority for school districts, saying “families should be involved in making decisions for their own families. And, school districts and school boards will make decisions for the schools within their districts.” When districts all over Chicagoland and the state adopted ‘mask optional’ policies, he felt the heat from teacher’s unions and the feds, and local control became untenable for him politically. Science and data had nothing do to with it. Never has with Pritzker.)
With schools all over Chicagoland and the state set to open their doors in the coming weeks and districts absolving themselves of the ‘local control’ directives they advocated for all summer, parents are faced with their own decisions to make about masking.
We know the Covid Cultists are out in full force. As the anxiety addicts they are, they carpet their faces and their child’s faces. They display the N95’s outside in blistering temperatures, public admission to a psychosis that doesn’t shield them from a contagion, but from a physical existence they can no longer manage. And they will scold and threaten others who don’t do the same. There is no end in sight to their quackish behavior, no cure for the Syndrome.
But what of the reason-minded, data-focused amongst us? Those who know that forced masking is bad for children (or anyone for that matter) but are now on the wrong side of governmental overreach?
Looking back at history can be a comforting reference point, channeling the hyper- consciousness of the “Sons of Liberty” as they called themselves that day in Boston almost 250 years ago.
How acts of protests are deeply woven into our history and in current times, needed more than ever.
(Photo Credit: Washington Post)
Over the past week or so since Pritzker’s executive order, I’ve heard from dozens of TKR readers.
Most don’t know what to do about the mask mandate, still exploring options.
I put together a list of the five most favored options, based on responses and unofficial polling of readers:
email/call superintendent/BOE and request district not comply with EO
apply for mask exemption
Unenroll, home school or use private remote learning option
Send to school with least burdensome mask as possible
Go maskless on Day One
(I’m not including “kid choice,” parents whom are against masking but are leaving the decision up to their son or daughter. Most teenagers who fall in this category are ready to go back to school, play sports and be with their friends. If that means wearing a useless piece of cloth over their face, the prevailing attitude is, ‘masks are stupid but…whatever.’)
Let’s break down each of the options and their viability:
CALL ON SCHOOL LEADERS TO IGNORE EO
I would never discourage holding education leaders accountable for poor leadership. We’ve seen our share since March 2020. Letter writing has become fashionable again during Covid (Jane Austen would be most impressed by our fervor for personal greetings, although no one longs for the 18th century horseback-and-carriage method of delivery.)
But all the letter writing in the world is not going to get districts to ignore Pritzker’s EO. They have stated as such in internal messages to parents almost immediately following Wednesday’s announcement.
All district emails I’ve reviewed include this exact line or one very similar:
The masking policy for District *enter number here* will adhere to Governor Pritzker's announcement and masks will be required in all school buildings when school begins next week.
By sanctioning such a message, here’s what districts are telling their citizenry:
Remember all of those packed-to-the-gills public board of education meetings, when we encouraged public comment, saying we valued the opinions of residents, so much so that we cam to the conclusion that mask optional was the best directive for our district? We didn’t mean it after all.
All of the posturing gone with one emergency order signed by a tyrannous politician.
I hate to say this but districts are not going to flip back to ‘mask optional’ based on letters/emails/calls from concerned citizens. But keep sending them anyway.
MASK EXEMPTION
The Illinois Department of Public Heath has a page dedicated to just this question.
It’s titled “Guidance for Evaluating a Child’s Medical Tolerance for use of Face Coverings in Schools” and cites two main reasons why “pediatric providers may determine a child is medically unable to tolerate a face covering.”
The child has a medical contraindication, e.g., difficulty breathing at rest, and/or
The child is developmentally (physically or intellectually) disabled, such that they are unable to remove a mask if needed
Monday, the Illinois School Board of Education released updated guidance on the heels of last week’s masking EO. It has a long list of “exemptions to universal consistent use of face masks” which includes persons of disability and those students enrolled in IEP or 504 Plans.
Based on the guidance, not everyone who applies will qualify for a mask exemption. Is it worth trying for exemption even if a student does not neatly fit any of the listed exclusions? Absolutely.
But if rejected, what then?
UNENROLL, HOME SCHOOL OR PRIVATE REMOTE OPTION
There is no better way to hit a school district where it hurts than to unenroll from classes. Money from the state is evidence-based (total enrollment is an important piece of evidence) and non-payment of various student fees would add up quickly from a mass exodus.
But this is not a realistic option for most public or private school families. They live where they live because of the school system; households with two working parents don’t have the time or resources to be the primary educators of their kids, or want to.
One area of universal consensus as a result of Covid? How in-person learning far exceeds that of remote in overall educational experience.
GO TO SCHOOL WITH TOKEN FACE COVERING
My sense is this will be one of the two most accepted outcomes amongst the Freedom Of Choice group. They rightfully object to forced mask wearing, to government overreach, to wishy-washy district leaders. That all being said, at the end of the day, there are many who’d prefer not to have their kids served up as culture war symbols in the toxic politicization of the issue.
And there’s a way it can be done while mocking the absurdity of the masking rule.
The website fakemaskusa.com sells such product as the “Offensively Fake Mask” and the “Incognito Fake Mask” while stating on its homepage “much like all other cloth face masks, these masks do nothing at all - except get you in to schools, and work, and airplanes, and let you breathe!”
Irony over authority.
GO MASKLESS ON DAY ONE
This option, along with the fake face coverings, will be the most prominent when schools open in the coming weeks I believe.
To be the most impactful, maskless action should be in group form, with parental accompaniment.
An example of this peaceful protestation happened Monday in downstate Williamson County (located near Carbondale). Here’s video of three kids entering the first day of school without their masks:
Later, a photograph of the children with their suspension slips was posted on social media:
Some parents might find this situation exploitative (my argument earlier for the faux masks). Other are planning a similar show of defiance.
Parents of one district, D36 in suburban Winnetka located in Northern Cook County, recently sent a “Notice of Intent” letter to board of education members and its superintendent informing them of plans for a first-day-of-school maskless protest. The first day of school in that district is Aug. 25, leaving plenty of time for a resolution. But a copy of the letter, obtained by The Kerr Report, states the following:
The purpose of this notice is to inform you that beginning on the first day of the Fall semester, my children will not be wearing masks at any time while they attend school. Regardless of any position that you take on this matter, you have no authority under the Illinois School Code, the Illinois Administrative Code, or any other law, rule, or regulation to enforce a mask mandate on any person.
The intent of the letter from the parental group to district leaders is clear—either reject Pritzker’s EO or we will. There is no middle ground.
It is now up to that district to respond or ignore (the D36 parental group requests the district respond by Aug. 16). We could potentially see a contentious first day of school in districts all over Chicagoland and Illinois if parents unite, stand up for what they believe in and this is key, take action.
Forced masking may not equal taxation without representation as it pertains to historical significance.
But public protests over authoritarian misdeeds provide an essential story-based narrative link to our nation’s past.
What would the “Sons of Liberty” do in 2021 if their sons or daughters were muzzled by an imperious government?
I think we all know the answer to that.
For story ideas, article comments/feedback, media inquiries and more, drop note to jon@jonjkerr.com, or @jonjkerr on Twitter.
Nice write-up Jon! The gub'nr lies every time he opens his mouth, so how can we trust him?
Fabulous message. Let’s throw the tea in the harbor. I’m inspired