> She told me that she didn’t want to get anyone sick or kill anybody. She was worried she would be held responsible for someone dying.
> What am I supposed to say? That 23 children have died from Covid in Canada during the whole of the pandemic and she is much more likely to kill someone driving a car? That kids in Scandinavia, Sweden, and the Netherlands largely haven’t had to wear masks at school and haven’t seen outbreaks because of it? That masks are not a magic shield against the virus, and that even if she were to pass it along to a classmate, the risk of them getting seriously sick is minuscule?
> I want to tell her that she can remove her mask, and socialize with her friends without being worried.
> But I am expected to enforce the rules.
While I can sympathize with how the student is feeling, the author seems to be forgetting (intentionally ignoring for the sake of their argument) that having a conversation with a student isn't breaking the rules. That explaining the facts to a young woman, nearly an adult, is what is expected of a teacher.
> At the beginning of the pandemic, adults shamed kids for wanting to play at the park or hang out with their friends.
Who was shaming children? local parents? government officials? I didn't see any of this shaming. In fact, where I live, more children were at the parks.
I think what's really missing in most situations is honest conversations about the way the world is right now, the fact that many people are afraid, others are dying and many more will die as a result of this virus.
Young adults should be encouraged to think about this situation, it's the world they are entering.