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Let's talk about safety, trauma, and choice. I saw an instagram post this morning from a teacher event where the organizers had wristbands for participants:
Red: keep your distance
Yellow: ask first
Green: I'm OK with masked people getting close to me.
(Thread)
Red: keep your distance
Yellow: ask first
Green: I'm OK with masked people getting close to me.
(Thread)
Some people commented on the post saying "oh wow I need to have this for my students when we come back to school!!"
Let me say in the strongest possible terms.... NO!
Let me say in the strongest possible terms.... NO!
One core principle of trauma-informed ed is choice. But a more important principle is safety. As the adult in the classroom, it is your job to keep children safe. This means setting and holding limits.
It is not safe to be physically close to other people outside your household right now, even if you're "comfortable." If your child said "my seatbelt isn't comfortable" or "my bike helmet isn't comfortable," this doesn't mean we just go "okay well then you don't have to wear it."
To be clear: schools should not be reopening when it's unsafe to do so. AND, if/when they do, it is our responsibility as teachers to keep our students safe. This is going to mean that we enforce the maximum distance possible between students at all times.
Please, please, please push back when you see people sharing nonsense ideas like this. You aren't trauma-informed if you are actively endangering people's lives.
