Enough with the enhanced measures in schools!
This is a quick rant really as I should be packing for Sark but it’s been bothering me all day that there’s such nonsense going on in our schools at the moment with all the enhanced measures and this causing yet more anxiety for some children.
I do appreciate that there are mixed views on this and because my and my family’s experience of Covid has been mild that this may cloud my perception, when there are others who may suffer a little but more with it, but all I see is more harm being done than good.
Admittedly with his bigger brother being at home it is always going to be a touch challenging for Eben to get to school but since the enhanced measures have been implemented he has been home more than he’s been in school simply because we cannot get him there. He is very wilful and will not put on his uniform and will not make it through the door. In fairness we did get him to school the other day, but he refused to change into his uniform until he was in the school building and it was quite clear that he was staying at school and not coming home with us again.
It all felt a bit wrong to me, and a bit deja vu too, of encouraging a child to school and into an environment which I don’t agree with, simply because of the measures that make it difficult for a child to read a teacher’s face or receive the reassurance of a smile. I do wonder what world we think we are creating where the subtleties of facial communication are thwarted because of having to wear a ridiculous face mask. There is more to communication than words alone, in fact words are only a small part of how we actually communicate.
This too is half the problem because children are not stupid and they can pick up on the changing energy and the additional stress that teachers and learning support are under, having to implement all these measures and when they too - on the whole - have tired of mask wearing. I’m in awe that two years into this almost and more of them have not left the profession.
Children can’t leave so easily although I’ve a feeling many might. I have had mothers complain about the prisons that their children are now kept in devoid of fun and play. Certainly children’s freedom has been taken away which seems so discriminatory because adults can still carry on as usual…
I have signed the local petition and i would urge you to do the same if you feel the same way as me, the link is on teh Facebook page. I have also written to Education, Sport and Culture to voice my perspective on this because I feel I would be doing my children an injustice if I didn't say something.
The cynic in me feels they brought these enhanced measures in as a build up to launching the children’s vaccination programme, but that could well have just been coincidence. I really have no opinion on the vaccine other than I won’t be taking it up for my own children, they barely knew they had Covid and I value their immune systems, but we will each have our differing perspective.
I’m just concerned about this generation we are creating, filled with fear about a virus (let alone going to war) and what this will do to them in the future. We are told that children are resilient but they’re not as resilient as people like to think they are, ask any child psychologist or worker who specialises in trauma. Children are easily traumatised and while the effect may not be obvious initially, by teenage years they may well start to manifest. It’ll be interesting to see what the governments have created in their response to Covid and the impact this has had one children’s wellbeing and anxiety levels.
Certainly Eben’s displaying noticeable separation anxiety again, which is such a shame as we had managed to manage this to the extent that he was happy gong to school and even staying for lunch. Children need stability and it hasn't been stable, simply a change in teacher will throw him and that’s not helped recently, albeit beyond anyone’s control. But that which can be controlled should be managed in a different way to the one chosen. The horse has already bolted…even my dad’s doctor thinks face masks are doing more harm than good.
There we go. Rant over. Packing can no longer be delayed!
Let’s hope common sense and HEART prevail soon and those in power realise that their approach is not helpful to many children.
Love Emma x
