How To Ensure Students Wear Masks And Socially Distance

Smart Classroom Management: How To Ensure Students Wear Masks And Socially Distance

First off, whether and when schools open and under what conditions is a decision school districts will make. I’m not advocating one way or another.

Here at SCM, we deal with what is in front of us.

We accept what we cannot change and find a way to make it work that is best for students and teachers.

The likelihood, however, is that masks and social distancing will be the policy whenever you go back to school. This, of course, brings up some worrisome questions.

Over the past several weeks we’ve received dozens of emails asking how to keep students from pulling their masks down, trading them around the classroom, stuffing them in their pocket, etc.

We’ve also gotten many about the difficulty of keeping students socially distanced.

Although just words on a screen, the stress and worry behind them is unmistakable. There is a sense of dread among teachers that it’s not going to work, that it’s all going to be impossible to manage.

But I think it’s going to be okay.

I think upon entering campus again for the first time—with its hand-washing stations, directional markings, plexiglass barriers, and regimented movements—students will realize the seriousness of what they’re about to undertake.

Seeing the protocols in action will be jarring.

The dystopian otherworldliness of school during a pandemic will hit home. They’ll be struck with the realization—if they haven’t been already—that this, all of this, is real.

In which case, as long as your school stays vigilant and follows procedures, you may not have to do anything to ensure mask wearing and social distancing other than to teach it, model it, and explain its importance.

My recommendation then during the first week back to school is to just observe.

Determine if my prediction is true. Go through your otherwise normal first-week activities, but with a wary eye on your district-mandated protocols and if they’re being followed to a tee.

Be a stickler about teaching them and harping on their importance. But the moment your school becomes careless, the moment your colleagues seem nonchalant and students start inching toward noncompliance, then you must take action.

You can’t afford to join this group no matter how you may feel about the science or lack thereof, politics, or anything else. For you, it’s not about any of that.

It’s about your peace of mind.

Even though it may not always be misbehavior in the strictest sense, the best course of action if things get sloppy is to add two new rules to your classroom management plan:

1. Keep your mask on and covering your nose and mouth at all times unless given permission to remove it.

2. Maintain six feet distance at all times unless instructed not to.

Like all rules, narrowly define what each means and what breaking them looks like. Model explicitly. Explain what is and isn’t okay in minute detail. Take questions and check thoroughly for understanding.

Your students must know the precise moment they’ve broken a rule before you even have a chance to inform them. Then, of course, you must enforce your new rules consistently.

Otherwise, they mean nothing.

Making it part of your classroom management plan is the only effective way to ensure masks are worn and social distancing is maintained.

It also protects you and your school from guilt, public embarrassment, or even litigation should a breakout of the virus originate in your classroom and spread throughout the school.

Again, I’m not advocating to open schools right now or to hold off indefinitely. The truth is, I don’t know what’s best.

But I do know that when your state or district gives the go-ahead to return, the importance of good classroom management becomes more paramount than ever before.

You can’t be wishy-washy. You can’t kinda-sorta follow your classroom management plan. You can’t be careless or inattentive or afraid to enforce consequences.

You must be on it.

The second the school bell rings on that first day back, begin looking for cracks in the foundation. If administration and staff are all on board, there is an excellent chance students will eagerly wear masks and socially distance.

If, however, you see evidence that things aren’t how they were presented or promised, then add the new rules immediately. Control what you can control. That is, every square inch of your classroom.

Grab hold of your peace of mind and hang onto it for all it’s worth.

Because if you get sloppy or let things slide, the daily stress and fear of a million what-ifs will become overwhelming.

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30 thoughts on “How To Ensure Students Wear Masks And Socially Distance”

  1. We are teaching online at my school already, but staff children are in the building. They have been following the “rules.” Kids will do what is consistently enforced. It sucks to wear a mask, but I do it if I can’t be 6 feet away from someone in the school building. If we follow it, the kids will follow it. Change isn’t easy, but it’s doable. I’ve taught for 25 years, so if I can change, we all can. Good luck fellow teachers! It does get better.

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  2. Sound advice, Michael. I am at a K-12 independent school where money talks. If parents don’t want masks or virtual learning, it doesn’t happen. Students know they can complain to their parents about teacher rules and the parent will always win. I am hoping to find another teacher position before the school year begins. The culmination of this was their delayed high school graduation in August (thinking things would be better) and despite county mandates, no masks or social distancing was enforced by admin. We as teachers have to be the role models.

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  3. Thank you for reinforcing this advice to pay attention to stay safe this year. If everyone is vigilant then mask-wearing, social distancing and hand-washing will become the norm.

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  4. What sort of consequences are effective at high school level for non-compliance in the classroom? Students can’t be keep late as our division is rural and most have busses to catch.

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  5. While I love your advice and try my best to adhere to it sometimes admin and parents can overpower your classroom rules. What to do when you get pushback?

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  6. This quote from the piece is especially relevant:

    “You can’t afford to join this group [careless, nonchalant, non-compliant] no matter how you may feel about the science or lack thereof, politics, or anything else. For you, it’s not about any of that. It’s about your peace of mind.”

    In order to enforce any Covid-19 mandates in a public school, the school district – not the union, not the superintendent, not the principals, and not the classroom teachers – should state exactly what the policy is and what the consequences are if it is not followed. With the district’s access to legal resources, an agreement could be created and then signed by administration, teachers, staff, students, and parents. Otherwise, permitting individuals – no matter how like-minded or politically correct or medical competent – to make policy will result in chaos.

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    • Absolutely. I think for our district it has been added to the student handbook, which all of our students and parents have to sign a form, indicating they will abide by it.

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  7. That sounds good but try socially distancing when you have 36 kids in a small classroom ha. Until people realize this virus has .02 global death rate these draconian measures will continue. You just do your best and yes be consistent.

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  8. In my district, which reopened for studentscthis past Thursday, masks are “expected,” not mandated, and teachers cannot punish or incentivize mask wearing. My observations are that most students kept masks on. Yet, a few boys took them down to talk amongst each other as soon as the first class began. Teachers can not say anything about wearing masks. So I didn’t. All staff are in masks and most students, so my thought is that those who unmask might realize it’s not the right thing to do. Social distancing is tricky , too, when I have classes with 28 and 29 students. We’re doing what we can to remind them, and we stagger class changes, but I know it’s not the true protocols. I’m thinking we will close for virtual learning within a couple weeks due to the spread. I completely agree with your suggestions, but how can I adapt them given my school’s, and county’s, stance?

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  9. I’m concerned with the students whose parents don’t believe in masks and even though it’s a county mandate, these kids will try to push the parents’ beliefs. What suggestions do you have for students who refuse to follow the mandate?

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  10. Sorry to disagree with you Michael, but I’m speaking from experience. I teach at a high school in South Africa and we have had students come back little by little and for the past week all grades are back, but only half at a time. We alternate one half the first week and the other half the next week, while giving work for those at home via google classroom. The learners that are usually rebellious by nature (quite a number of them) do not listen about masks and when kindly asked to comply by the safety measures in place, they mock one and go right on hugging each other, taking photos of the group with their cell phones and show no respect for the rules or the educators. Those that have a good attitude are compliant but those with rebellious attitudes are not.

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    • I agree, in a way. I teach elementary/primary school kids and in south africa, we’ve been open since July. The mask and sanitizing is easy to follow and they do, but social distancing is more difficult.
      Perhaps because they’re younger though, it’s easier to remind them and ensure they listen. I have made it part of Rule 2 and 3 according to the SCM rules and it helps.

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  11. I’ve been following Michael’s SCM principles for years, with great success. I’m a well-liked, popular teacher and my students learn. But this one has me flummoxed. School starts September 8, and my district won’t give us the re-opening plan until the last week of August. It will be one of four options between fully open and fully online. So we teachers must prepare for fully f2f, hybrid, and all online. My problem is that I cannot imagine my high school mandating masks. The county just mandated masks about two weeks ago and the pushback/noncompliance is huge. And that’s the adults. I live in a blue state but teach in a very red state that is seeing a huge spike in cases. So here’s my problem: I am 60 and have two serious underlying conditions. I’m at extremely high risk for complications if I contract Covid-19. Someone above gave a (dubious) statistic about the “low death rate,” but that doesn’t mean a lot when I know that’s ME. Plus, death is not the only risk, as we are finding out more and more everyday. I could end up with permanent heart damage or a whole host of other complications. So if, as I strongly suspect, we open on a hybrid schedule, or a full schedule where teachers rotate instead of students, and masks are “strongly encouraged” but not mandatory, what should I do? (I am posing this question to the community.) Thank you.

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    • Hi DebbieDoesHistory,

      Yes, these are the tough decisions teachers around me are having to make. Luckily, our Governor mandated masks in K-12 schools statewide. (Utah). My admin and district are fully behind the mask mandate. Our district is providing PPE for high-risk teachers. Even with this, there is no way to effectively distance…I measured my own classroom and did the math yesterday. But all of this may not have been the case without a lot of discussions and participation with the district and state school board and communication from the Education Associations. If I were you, I would definitely contact as many school board representatives and your association reps ASAP. I hope they choose to modify your schedule for everyone’s safety, if the data supports that. Then you won’t have to make a really hard decision.

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    • I would schefule a dr. appt and get a note in writing from them regarding your health risk and to your HR department and to your union leadership to find out your options. Our district is placing high risk staff in positions that
      will require no in person this year.

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    • If you aren’t able to get a non f2f position, wear the best N95 or KN95 mask you can find. Wear a colorful cloth mask or one of the cheap paper/plastic ones over it if you don’t like how it looks or if it has a valve. Wear a face shield. Wear a mic if they can’t hear you through the mask. Wear a labcoat over your clothes, maybe. Some teachers who have medical conditions are wearing scrubs so they can wash them or clothes that can be thrown in wash. Shoes and clothes off at door when get home and right to the shower, like essential workers have been doing. Do whatever protects you best and then teach if you need to work or can’t get a non f2f position, knowing you’ve done as much for yourself as possible.

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    • I went ot my principal first who became my advocate and went to the districr on my behalf. I will be doing a virtual learning program this school year. No contact. I love my Principal for going to bat for me. Now I contacted my district also, but I had only gotten to leave a message. My Principal really listened to my concerns and is concerned. I am lucky. Virtual and away from kids and others this year. I was asked to get doctor’s notes describing my condition because it could only help so I did. Be your own advocate and get others involved. I know there are many people in this situation, but trying is a must.

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    • Debbie, here are my two cents:

      1) Thank you for what you do and have done for students and education. I cannot imagine the impact your work has had and will continue to have as long as you teach. Many blessings to you for this.

      2) If you were *my* family member, I would say, “Hey, can we possibly make it work financially to take a one year leave of absence?” To me your life or long-term health would be more important than a year of income or seniority or progress toward retirement. If there was any option, I’d want to see you out of the classroom for a year because it does sound like you’ll be exposed to risks that are avoidable and significant.

      3) If a leave of absence isn’t tenable, I would A) advocate for change to as many union colleagues / school board members / community members as I could reach, and at the same time B) mask/face shield/hand sanitize/alter my pedagogy as needed to mitigate your risk as much as possible. While it may be true that many people face a small risk of COVID complications, you do not and your health and life matter on a cosmic scale.

      I hope this helps and communicates the love I feel toward you during this difficult, heart-rending time.

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  12. My school district has 52% students on campus learning and 48% remote learning. We had 2 full days last week. My 22 desks are 5 feet apart, no way can I get them 6 feet apart. If you are a teacher teaching on campus, there is no way that you will be able to keep to the 6 feet social distancing with your students, especially if they are using chromebooks or any electronic device. We had all kinds of problems popping up with the chromebooks and my 5th graders are not that tech savvy yet. My students have been great with wearing their masks, they are keeping them on even in the hallways. We have one way halls, I can social distance my students in a line when I take them to PE, lunch but during their passing periods (we have 6 blocks), there is no way we can social distance the students, as they are going to different classes. I must say that I have noticed these 5th graders realize touching is not allowed and they are doing a great job. So yes you do what you can and pray that everything will be okay.

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  13. As a specials teacher I am entering the classrooms on a cart. They are in classroom pods or cohorts and kept separate. But as specials teachers we will be exposed to every child within 3 days times. And they will be exposed to us. Luckily we are given a few minutes to wash hands between classes this year. So hoping classroom teachers set expectations appropriately or I will be struggling with the kids.

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  14. I teach in South Africa…masks are mandatory…our grade 12’s and grade 7’s (with other grades returning sporadically) have been back at school since May…it’s tough but necessary…to save lives.

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  15. Thank you so much to all of you who have given me advice and encouragement! I’ve ordered KN95 masks and face shields in case I do have to teach f2f, based on your advice. I’ve also ordered hand sanitizer. I cannot afford to not work so I will do my best. I’m also going to contact HR, the school board, and the principal, based on your recommendations. And I will get a letter from my doctor. THANK YOU ALL!! 🙂

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  16. I really enjoy your article and all the wisdom and practical advice they offer.
    I am a substitute teacher and I would really like the see a word or two about class management as a substitute teacher, because it seems to me that this is a totally or at least a slightly different “animal”.
    Thank you very much.

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  17. I’m an elementary music teacher that will be teaching on a cart and going into rooms this year. I tried searching your site for strategies for this, but couldn’t find anything. How do you enforce your own classroom management plan when you go into someone else’s space?

    Thanks!

    Reply

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