I am masking up

Children wear flu masks in Starke, Fla., during the Spanish influenza outbreak of 1918. [ State Archives of Florida (1918) ]

Because I teach high school and we all know that teenagers know everything, I will be masking up when school begins for students next week. I am not leaving my health in the hands of a governor who could care less about teachers, or the students they teach. 

I continue to be stymied by the ignorance of adults. Kids I can understand because they are kids and they need adult guidance from the adults who are in charge of them. So if an adult doesn't want to interact with others and become a hermit in their home, let them choose not to wear a mask. I do not fit in that category.

I have been receiving vaccines of one kind or another since I was a baby thanks to the United States Army. It seems that every time we moved, we had to receive shots/vaccinations of one kind of another, especially when leaving Europe or going to Europe. I don't remember much about these except on one return trip from Germany. None of the Army nurses were available so we had to get our shots from a medic. His name was Sgt. Santiago and he hurt when he gave shots. He was very apologetic to my Mom, who told him not to worry that he had made me cry, but I have never forgotten that. 

I have had my Covid-19 shots. I am in a high risk category because of my age and slight COPD and I faithfully have not been out without my mask while teaching and out in the public. 

I am still wearing my mask. I don't go in the store without it on, not because I am scared of getting the virus, but because I have some respect for other people around me. I am not scared, but educated. 

Each year since I began teaching, I get a cold; it turns in to bronchitis and some years has turned in to pneumonia. I have had students sneeze on me, cough on me, throw up in my garbage can, leave used tissues on desks and on the floor, with no thought to the germs they may be leaving in the classroom or spreading to others.

I am NOT a germaphobe, but I do wash my hands, use Lysol to clean my desks and have done so since I began teaching. Last year, wearing a mask, I NEVER even had a runny nose. I had students who had to be reminded to put their masks on and numerous other incidents of students having Covid-19 or being exposed to Covid-19 and I remained free of any colds, flues, Covid-19, stomach bugs, or anything else the students bring to class. This tells me that masks work.

I don't like them. I don't wear them at home or in my truck. I can breathe just fine and wear a fresh one every day, sometimes 2 or three times a day, depending on my allergies, which they don't prevent. 

So even though I feel I am a better teacher without one, I will have one on next week when students return. They are not required to wear them this year. I hope parents understand the science behind the mask. I say a silent prayer for all of those who disdain science and reasoning and hope they do not lose anyone to this horrific virus but I am masking up.