Are we back here again? Are we actually going to consider muzzling our children in masks again? Even though we know that masks impair communication and undermine learning, schools in Maryland and Alabama recently mandated masks. Are we next?
Over two years later, parents and educators are seeing the effects of wearing masks and learning in isolation – from academic to developmental delays to breakdowns in youth mental health. We now see the catastrophic results in our classrooms. COVID-19 and the disruptions to learning resulted in historic setbacks and erased years of progress. In Colorado, 27% of eighth-graders were proficient in math compared with 36% in 2019.
Before we start this nightmare again, consider these facts:
World Health Organization found that masks did not work in 2019: apps.who.int/iris/bitstream.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that masks did not work in 2020: wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26
COVID-19 death rates: Zero to 19 years old 0.0003%: https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/covid-19/
Masks may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but the best quality data shows that closing schools and mandating masks are ineffective. If you read Occupational Safety and Health Administration manuals, lab tests, observational data, scientific literature or even the mask boxes, you know that masks weren’t meant to stop airborne pathogens like viruses.
Masks create an atmosphere of fear and anxiety and do nothing besides contribute to delayed developmental milestones that have placed kids years behind. I say all this in hopes that parents and educators recognize how we failed kids, so that it will never happen again.
Donna Gulec
Durango
