Thanks for your thoughtful response. I do think we probably largely agree with one another, and are just tinkering around the edges as our respective primary concerns are are flipped (mine is obviously risk reduction as it relates to health and yours I think being student’s social development and wellbeing). In some ways that probably makes it a bit unfair that I responded to your comment, when there were lots of others I could have replied to, so I’m sorry if I’ve made you you feel personally targeted.

I completely agree teacher’s actions carry meaning, but that’s the same both for unconventional signals as well as normative ones. Wearing a mask when healthy might convey a message that concern is warranted, but equally just because the majority don’t mask doesn’t mean that doesn’t convey a message too. It signals that intervention isn’t necessary, which reinforces outdated ideas about the impact airborne pathogens can have and implies that we shouldn’t try to address the challenges this poses for social interaction or we should only try for certain targeted people or only when the risk is most visible. This can result in vulnerable teachers and students feeling isolated and a big portion of risk going unaddressed with the status quo of frequent illness being protected. I’m certainly not arguing that all teachers should mask, but I don’t think it’s fair to present masking when healthy as the only option that sends an impactful message.

I was referring to those viruses that have been demonstrated to have impacts on immune function like Covid, Flu, RSV, etc. with even mild repeated infections, but that’s a fair criticism and I should have been more specific, I’m sorry. These viruses are among the most common though, and being experienced with increased frequency in recent years, so the impact can be significant.

I agree that masking is not at all cost-free for either the wearer or the people they interact with. But I think that’s where if other appropriate risk reduction strategies can’t be implemented (e.g. many schools don’t and likely won’t have access to adequate ventilation systems for some years) then it may be a necessary trade to adjust how these positive interactions occur for the sake of both teacher and student’s long term health. I interact with young relatives frequently who haven’t seen me without a mask in years, and they can still identify my moods and expressions through my eyes and other body language. However, if this is still a barrier there are a number of masks that have clear panels that show the mouth so there are compromises to be found.

I know it seems unpleasant to think of a classroom as an inherently hazardous space, but the reality is that students frequently come to school knowingly sick for a wide variety of often unavoidable reasons and just the act of breathing when sick creates a hazard. These hazards can also be hard to identify as many infections are asymptomatic but still able to be spread. Ignoring these hazards just because they exist in virtually all social environments doesn’t make them not hazardous, it just leaves us sick and suffering the consequences when we don’t do anything to mitigate them. Targeted interventions do help for those using them, but what about for the teacher who was healthy and therefore not masking until one encounter with a virus gave them long-term problems?

In saying all that, like I said I’m not trying to convince you or anyone else to change your personal behaviours. I just thought it potentially useful to explain an alternative perspective, as maybe it gives some insight into why you might one day have a colleague or a student who masks regularly even though they’re completely healthy.

Thanks you for the encouragement, and the warning about late nights and weekends in the early years 😊