When there is such little good news in the world, you’ve got to clasp onto what you can, and I for one am delighted with the change. Social distancing and air ventilation remain important, but in a school setting, the wearing of masks has been the most challenging stipulation to live with.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen many of my pupils’ whole faces, and some of them have changed much more than I’d have imagined. They have grown up almost without us noticing. You forget how quickly teenagers’ features develop, and how alarming it is to see a 15-year-old with a full moustache.
Primarily, the wearing of face coverings impeded our ability to connect emotionally with students. The expression of humour, empathy, criticism (and the rest) is far harder to communicate when half your face is unable to participate. These are the nuances that help to create atmosphere and rapport during lessons.
I am enjoying the full use of my vocal projections as well - being able to hit the back of the room without straining. Similarly, I can understand some of my quieter students more readily, now that their voices are not muffled by masks.
I see pupils reacting to the change with a variety of attitudes. Some of them are plainly delighted to be able to uncover their faces and get closer to living something like normality.
However, a surprising number of them are choosing to retain face coverings for the time being. This is absolutely their right, as it would be with any staff members who wish to continue wearing masks in class. It might be that some of the pupils have simply grown so used to the masks that they feel vulnerable without them.
Face coverings also offer an element of anonymity that might suit some more introverted students. Others will clearly be wearing masks for personal reasons related to protecting loved ones.
The future for face coverings
It will be interesting to see how this develops, and what kind of ratio we ultimately end up with. Will we ever return to a scenario where nobody wears a face mask, or will this choice now be open to students in perpetuity?
It must have been particularly peculiar for new staff members and new pupils to wear face coverings. The ability to create friendships and bonds can only have been impaired. It’s inevitable that there are many teachers out there who have never seen their pupils’ faces, and vice versa, until this week.
Additionally, the limitations placed on social spaces such as staffrooms and canteens have created challenges in helping staff and pupils to settle comfortably into new schools.
The last few years have surely taught us that “normality” is now an elastic concept, and I don’t think anyone can rule out returning to teaching in face coverings at some point again. When that restriction was first put in place, it seemed like a huge barrier was being imposed in the classroom.
But we have learned that we can adapt, change and meet these challenges. If face coverings are ever reintroduced, teachers and pupils now know how to handle it. But for now, we should enjoy being able to breathe deeply, speak clearly, and return a warm smile from our students with one of our own.
Alan Gillespie is principal teacher of English at Fernhill School, on the outskirts of Glasgow. He tweets @afjgillespie
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