About mask mandates

To the Editor,

The letter below is addressed to the new Wallingford-Swarthmore School District superintendent, Dr. Wagner Marseille.

Dear Sir:

I wanted to welcome you to this district and share some thoughts. I am 74 years old and taught for 30 years. I have two sons who attended school in the district from kindergarten through 12th grade, and now have four grandchildren enrolled in our district schools.

As a mom, grandmother, and longtime teacher, I had hoped that the district’s Covid safety plan would mandate masks for all K-12 students and adults while on school premises or transportation. My main concern with the plan that the district recently adopted is the phrase “should wear masks” to describe the masking requirements for unvaccinated middle- and high-school kids. 

That phrase suggests that the kids have a choice. I think this sets teachers up for a nightmare situation—when they have already been through enough: who is going to enforce mask-wearing? And if kids have a choice, some will wear masks and some won’t, which could easily create an us-versus-them situation, generating tensions among them at a time when things are already so tough for kids. 

The U.S. Constitution reminds us that it’s the government’s job to “provide for the common good.” I see that as your job as well. Parents may have a right to choose not to mask or vaccinate their kids, but they should not have this right in situations where that choice endangers my health and the health of my grandchildren. If they do not comply with measures designed to provide for the common good of the community, they should be required to keep their kids home.

I am awed by the thoughtful care the school board has given to this nightmare situation throughout 2020 and 2021, and by the amazing flexibility, care, and hours the teachers gave to our students. I am sorry that your first presentation to the board and the community had to be about how to address a worldwide pandemic in a divided community. I would have applauded a more stringent mask-wearing policy, but I would like you to know you have my support through this very difficult time.

Sincerely,

Dorothy Lee
Swarthmore