An Okotoks mom “pulled the trigger” and bought school supplies the day after hearing masks would be mandatory for Grades 4 to 12 when school resumes later this month.
Tammy Romaniuk said she’s been sitting on the fence on whether to send her daughter, Taylor, back to class until the announcement came down on Aug. 4.
“It is actually something we can control and for it to be mandated, then I don’t have to worry that some kids will have it, some kids won’t,” said Romaniuk. “It will be taken more seriously. It’s a level playing field.”
She said homeschooling during the spring was an “unmitigated disaster,” adding it caused frustration for both her and Taylor, who is going into Grade 7 at Westmount School.
Taylor thrives on the predictable routine of school and having her educational assistant (EA) nearby in case she doesn’t understand a concept – and mom isn’t a good enough fill-in.
“Like most kids, and especially pre-teens, they think their parents aren’t very smart,” said Romaniuk. “Not like the EA that she’s built up this trust and this working relationship with.”
Knowing her daughter would do better at school, Romaniuk made the decision to return once the mandated mask policy came down, indicating students in Grade 4 to 12 would have to wear masks in common areas like hallways or buses, but not in classrooms unless close contact would take place. Prior to the announcements, she’d felt the provincial government wasn’t providing students and families with enough support.
She said there is still more the Province should be doing to address concerns of safety for the 2020-21 school year.
“They could be limiting class sizes, finding unused spaces in the community to hold some of the classes, hiring back all the EAs, bringing in more janitors, getting more support staff,” said Romaniuk. “It may sound counterintuitive when everyone wants fewer people around, but we need more support staff.”
Sandy Grunleitner, whose four children aged 8, 11, 12 and 14 also attend Westmount, said she’ll be sending her children back but she’s still torn on the effectiveness of masks. She would have rather seen more spacing between desks and smaller class sizes to remove close contact within classrooms, similar to models practiced in Switzerland.
“The model in Switzerland worked amazing, they just spaced out desks and it’s beautiful how it worked there, but they probably just had the funding to do these things,” said Grunleitner. “They might have been able to hire more teachers and create more classrooms. With all our budget cuts it’s really hard.”
She’s most confused by the fact her youngest daughter, who is going into Grade 3, will not have to wear a mask to walk the very same hallways as her three older siblings, who will have to mask up. Though Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer, explained the reasoning was because children 10 and under are less likely to transmit COVID-19, Grunleitner said it seems early to be making those claims.
“I really don’t know if they really spread it less, can we really say that yet? It hasn’t even been a year since the virus first showed up,” she said.
She said it’s also asking a lot of younger children – even at the Grade 4 level – to wear a mask throughout the day without touching their faces or removing them when they shouldn’t, rendering the face covering useless.
However, Grunleitner admitted she’s excited to know they can go back to school.
“I’m really excited for my kids to go back and I truly do believe all these kids need to be back in school, they need the face-to-face with their teachers, they need to see their peers, but it kind of feels a little bit like you’re gambling, even with those masks,” she said.
Tamara Spencer has her own questions as to the validity of masking. Her daughter, who will be going into Grade 5, has become accustomed to masks because she’s worn them around her grandmother, but Spencer said not all students will have the same maturity about it.
“I get what they’re trying to do, but I just find it a bit counteractive when you look at people and how much more they touch their face with a mask on that I think you’re just opening a bigger can of worms by these kids playing and not utilizing a mask how it’s intended,” she said. “I just don’t think children have the capacity, especially for the age range they’re asking it for, I think they’ll either deliberately take it off or really not grasp the concept.”
She said the most important health and safety measure that needs to be emphasized in schools is proper handwashing and sanitizing.
If every school is equipped with hand-sanitizer and children are taught to use it regularly, it’s a much more effective way to reduce transmission, she said, noting she’s pleased to hear the Province will also be supplying sanitizer and thermometers to schools.
“I just think that’s more realistic to get kids to do than wear a mask all the time,” said Spencer.
For Dorota Kwolek, masks are not the answer.
Her son is entering Grade 8 at St. John Paul II Collegiate in the fall and Kwolek said she’s still considering all her options, looking seriously at homeschooling if his father will agree to it.
She said it makes more sense to just ensure people stay home when they’re sick or if they are immuno-compromised.
Masks don’t allow people to have regular interactions because facial expressions are largely hidden, and they carry a negative connotation of staying silent, she said.
“It’s kind of hard because on one side I would love my son to be around his peers but on the second side I don’t want him to be afraid to speak his mind and just to be himself,” said Kwolek. “I have no idea what is a good option and what will be the best.”
Krista Conrad, OkotoksToday.ca
COVID-19 UPDATE: Follow our COVID-19 special section for the latest local and national news on the coronavirus pandemic, as well as resources, FAQs and more.
