Chicago-area teen asks his school board to grant him “relational intimacy” by making masks optional
“Mask Life” by suburban-Chicago 8th-grade boy [name withheld]. Permission to post granted.
The heartfelt testimony below was written by junior at a DuPage County high school and submitted to his district Board of Education last week — the same week as a rash of mental-health deaths in the Chicago area. Name redacted. Published with permission.
About a week ago in English class, I began to see a few of my classmates take off their masks for a second or two. I was shocked by how emotive other students were, and found all the little details of their faces both socially informative and mentally stimulating. My mind was excited to see the faces of my classmates, faces I had never seen before. At this moment I realized what my high school had been deprived of: connection.
The truth is, most of what students learn about refraction, the pythagorean theorem, and CRISPR CAS9 is fascinating, but not practical enough to serve them in any actionable way. The one practical thing that high schools have historically granted students is connection: practice in social situations, both enjoyable and difficult, preparing them for social navigation at future universities, workplaces, and marriages.
With a generation that has already socially stunted themselves enough with their mobile phones, I believe masks should not be mandatory. Those who wish to wear them should be encouraged to, and those who do not should be free to take them off if they deem this necessary for their mental health.
I am confident in the strength of vaccines, and now that they have been administered, I believe that schools should grant masking freedoms to students as long as covid cases within each individual school building remain low.
I miss seeing others’ faces, and shudder to imagine that my fellow classmates might be as lonely as I am.
I ask the district to please grant me relational intimacy, and develop my social skills.
Thank you.
UPDATE June 30, 2024: The district was Community Unit School District 200. The board never replied to the letter, but board member Angela Blatner stated her opposition to unlawful mask and quarantine mandates at the next month’s public meeting.
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