School Begins in Muscogee County with Controversy over the Wearing of Masks Inside Buildings

Face-to-face school in Muscogee County has started up this year, but some parents are concerned about their children returning to school if they are mandated to have to wear masks. Others also need to be concerned about their children returning to school and being in the presence of children who are not wearing masks.

Certainly, if children are able to get or "catch" colds, lice, chickenpox, and all other manner of grade school maladies from other students, they are also widely exposed to the possibility of COVID-19 or the Delta Variant, whether they are eligible for vaccinations or not.

Barbara Skok, a parent with a kindergartener and fourth grader in the Muscogee County School District is quoted as saying "Several parents spoke during the public agenda part of the meeting Monday evening sharing their concerns about mandatory masking in schools...We tried to attend the first day of school on Friday for Maximus and on Monday, today, for Catherine and they are not allowed in the school because I will not allow the school district to make medical decisions for me and my children. I make them. So, whether they put a non-CDC compliant piece of cloth over their face or not, that’s my choice."

Skok is not said to have mentioned whether or not any of the parents of the other students have a choice as to whether or not to allow "unmasked" children around their own, or if even the teachers or other staff members should be taken into consideration as a result of her choice.

Others are also able to choose whether or not they or their children should be exposed to a child who is not wearing a mask.

The Possibility of Wholesale Rejection

It certainly is a parent's choice whether or not they need a 'piece of cloth' over their child's face, but other parents and students and employees have options as well. 

It may be the case that schooling during a pandemic is hard enough on children without them coming to class only to be rejected by classmates whose parents prefer that their children DO wear masks. 

That may call for a need to have separate classes for the masked and the unmasked.

It can also be "optional" for a child to be separated from other children because they are not wearing a mask, but wholesale rejection is also an issue that the parents of unmasked children need to take into consideration as we go through this phase together.

The result of such rejection on children is often low self-esteem, chronic self-doubt, and depression, effects with impact that last well into adulthood.

MCSD Superintendent Dr. David Lewis is also quoted as saying “This is not something I take lightly ... The important thing to remember is that -- what sometimes gets lost is continuity of operations."

PIEDMONT HOSPITAL REQUIREMENT

When it comes to lawsuits that can, and will, inevitably be filed ... the stance of the Muscogee County school district is to plan to be safe now rather than sorry later.

OPTING OUT causes a Quarantine Mandate in Palm Beach, Florida : 

Florida's Governor Refused Mask Mandate - “My son just wants to be in school, wants to be with other kids. While [DeSantis] is saying it’s about choice, he has eliminated the choices for me and for my family and for my son,” says Florida parent Alisha Todd on why she’s suing Gov. Ron DeSantis."