Throughout this pandemic I’ve noticed a majority of daily activities that we take for granted. Whether it’s sitting with your friends at lunch, having hands-on learning, or sharing a smile across the room, the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically changed the school routine for many students. Hello, my name is Bea Creighton and I am a senior at Saint Anthony’s High School, in Huntington New York. With my sophomore year coming to a sudden halt, my junior year being primarily online, and my senior year starting to adapt back to normalcy, my high school experience has been full of adjustments.
As students, we have been called upon to be more responsible and self-accountable in ensuring we navigate these times of turmoil and get the most out of our education. I think I speak for many when I say, the mask mandate came along with some unanticipated effects. For me, l noticed a different type of classroom environment. I learned to speak with better pronunciation and infer emotion from the top ⅓ of someone’s face. I learned to decipher strangers’ faces and recognize friends without relying on facial features. Being at a school with uniforms meant that there were very few clues that could help me recognize my classmates, especially as we passed each other in the halls. Although we were fortunate enough to have in-person learning, masks created a social barrier that was hard to overcome. I often would find myself picturing what my teachers’ faces looked like, which 3 years ago would seem like an unimaginable thought.
As students we also were asked to learn in a new way.
Firstly, I found the teacher-student relationship was strained despite the amount of effort either party put in. I don’t think I realized the power this relationship holds when it comes to learning and succeeding in class. Teachers seek student faces to gauge the pace of their teaching and students can signal teachers when they are losing interest, confused or eagerly engaged. Yes, we were in person but all of these signals were hidden by our masks. When it came time to ask for teacher recommendations for college I felt I did not know some of my teachers personally enough to be comfortable asking for a recommendation. There is no doubt in my mind that masks played a pivotal role in evoking this feeling.
For most students, the masks were tedious and served as a barrier for normal interactions. Once the mask mandate was announced to be over, I know these students were relieved and happy to return to normalcy. However, for some students, I know the masks served as more than a cover for their germs. Some students liked the security and the safety the masks gave them.
They did not have to worry about the state of their skin, they did not feel obligated to participate in class, and their facial reactions were sheltered from all. Attending school with masks could have established some confidence, since everyone practically looked the same. Having been able to blend in with a school issued uniform mask now would expose them literally and figuratively. For them the termination of the mandate provoked some hesitation and perhaps some anxiety. Their newly established confidence was stripped from them. I believe most students share some aspect of this fear even if they were looking forward to not wearing masks. The day before the mask mandate was to be implemented, my principal came over the loudspeaker and discussed respecting others personal choice and the zero tolerance policy for bullying. I did not even realize this could be a potential issue regarding wearing masks. This opens up another potential fear for the mask-wearers and the maskless, the fear of bullying. Would the maskless be called selfish, careless, and cavalier? Would the mask-wearers be called anxious, fraidy cats and too uptight?
Several of my friends opted to not wear a mask but did express worry that their “feelings” would now be showing and that they would need to be careful not to smirk or laugh during social situations or class. They felt “out of practice” of having to not react to other students’ antics or perhaps classroom boredom and saw the mask as something that helped hide their facial expressions and true feelings.
For me, when the mask policy was in place it felt unnatural roaming the school halls without my face covered. However, after being masked for two years, I felt overwhelmed with excitement to see my classmates’ faces again, see if the visualizations of my teachers’ faces were accurate, and begin the long-awaited return to normalcy.
As so many students endure yet another huge lifestyle change and return to this long-awaited sense of normalcy, some will be tasked to redefine what it means to feel confident. Especially for students in crisis, this can be extremely challenging as they encounter many barriers in their quest to feel like their best selves, in and out of the classroom.
When you support Catie’s Closet, you give students the resources they need to feel confident, whether they go to school masked or unmasked. Regardless of their choice, school’s policy, or everyday struggles, they can be assured there is a community helping to eliminate the visible signs of poverty so they can thrive.
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About the Author: Bea Creighton is a senior at Saint Anthony’s High School in New York, and the Program Administrator/Media Content for Catie’s Closet, Long Island.
