Our school board voted 5-0 to require masks for the next 30 days. Since August, the board has voted along 2-3 lines against a mandate at least twice. Today, with the county positivity rate above 20%, with our local public health officials asking the schools to mandate masks, and with teachers and community members presenting petitions, the board agreed to the 30-day mask mandate.
I think the 30-day window doesn't make a lot of sense. We are always three weeks behind the virus. Thirty days is unlikely to bring our county numbers under 5% where it needs to be. The board members said framing the mandate as temporary is a compromise for those who want no masks.
The meeting was held over the noon hour, which is also my prep period, so I was able to attend, as was a lead editor of our student news site. Students in my afternoon classes seemed positive about (or at least okay with) the new rule, especially as a less extreme strategy than moving to hybrid or online learning.
Tomorrow will be our first day of required masks. Our principal will not be in the building due to a pre-scheduled absence.
I'll let you know how it goes.
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The second event of the day involved the Tik-Tok video I'll post below.
On Tuesday, the National Day on Writing, I asked my students to spend a few minutes writing about what writing has done for them, how has it helped them, why it has brought them satisfaction at various times in their lives. As we then shared out our thoughts, it became clear to me that 15 students had produced 15 unique answers.
Spontaneously, I invited my students to share their "Why I Write" answers on Tik-Tok. We threw the video together in the final two minutes of class. (You can hear the bell ring in the video!)
It was a celebratory way to end the class period.
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I posted my first Tik-Tok on Oct. 7. of my darling grandson. It has been watched almost 200 times.
The Why I Write clip was my 12th post. As of tonight, it has been viewed 30,000 times, with over 5000 likes.
No one really knows why some Tik-Toks pick up speed like that, but as with anything widely spread on social media, it has garnered comments: some positive, many funny, and a few rather mean.
When my students came to class today, they immediately started talking about their video's popularity.
While filming, most of the kids removed their masks so they could be heard clearly. But the viewers don't know this, so many of the comments scolded the kids for not wearing masks.
Others suggested I (the teacher) had forced "lies" from the students because surely no one really likes to write (??).
As a class, we read the comments, both laughing and sharing our dismay. One boy said the negative comments tell us more about the sad people who post them than about us. When I offered to take the video down, or to shut off the comments, the students were adamant: leave it up!
I did stress that if any of them decide they want the video removed, or want the comments turned off, they can email me privately and I will do it without naming them. That is, every person in the class has veto power over our shared video.
The class period was one of those exquisite teaching days when students are honestly thinking, discussing, and learning. The class bonded as individual students shared their heads and hearts on an authentic issue from the real world.
Enough.
Be well.
Write.
Allison
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