The Students Want Mask Breaks Again!

As the school year progresses more and more students and even some staff have made comments about mask breaks which we’ve gotten rid of this year as the pandemics slows down. And with that schools, towns, states, and countries have gotten rid of lockdowns and most mask mandates around the world and within schools. This 2022-2023 school year has been the most normal since the start of the pandemic. So with these changes back to normal we sadly lost our two 10 minute breaks throughout the day. Mask breaks were technically, as implied in the name, intended to give us a break to take off our mask throughout the school day, but most kids used it as a break to talk with friends and release some energy that may have built up from sitting in class all day. I’ve noticed in all my classes that kids are asking teachers to go on walks or to do class outside for a period or to just take a break for a chance to unwind and relax. More and more students look less focused and more jittery, so a break is a positive. I think even without the mask at our school that mask breaks should still be an essential part of anyone and everyone's 6 ½ our school day. After the students get a break and don't have to wait for end of class or lunch to talk about what they want to talk about or take a walk, they come back to the classroom with less on their mind and no internal distractions, so their focus can be applied onto the lesson or whatever the teacher is having them do that day. I just don’t think it's healthy for the body and especially the mind to be sedentary and not be able to freely talk for almost 1/3 of your day.