The Honorable Kate Brown

Governor of Oregon

900 Court Street, Suite 254

Salem, OR 97301-404

Dear Governor Brown,

I write to you today as a mother of five; three of whom are students in the Oregon public school system. I write to you as a mother of a little girl with Down syndrome -- a diagnosis that places her in the high-risk for a Covid 19 infection. I also write to you as a public school kindergarten teacher with fifteen years experience in the classroom, working alongside, advocating for and championing our littlest learners.

Governor Brown, I am writing to you today in strong opposition to the universal mask mandate you have issued for our children.

Whatever argument there may be in favor of mask-wearing for consenting adults simply does not hold weight against a universal mandate for children. We must consider our children as individuals and give equal credence to the potential for psychological damage and stunted cognitive development that can, has, and will continue to result from forcing our children to wear a mask while at school.

There will never be such a thing as a zero risk environment for our schools -- not with or without masks -- but imposing blanket restrictions on our children for six hours a day, five days a week is an egregious and alarming overstep when there is no data showing any causal relationship between mask-wearing and illness prevention in our schools.

A Case Study: Mask-Wearing in Kindergarten

I have heard the arguments that we can look to last year to see how mask-wearing helped our kids stay healthy at school. Before we make that claim and base policy on it, I urge you to consider that while causation and correlation can exist at the same time, correlation doesn't mean causation. They are entirely separate.

Last year, I taught a group of 25 kindergarten students broken up into two bi-weekly cohorts of 12 and 13. My students entered and exited through our classroom back door, never ventured into the common spaces of our school, were screened daily for any visible symptoms of illness, stayed six feet away from one another, only attended school twice a week for five hours, and wore masks.

While causation and correlation can exist at the same time, correlation does not imply causation. Causation explicitly applies to situations where we can show data that action A causes outcome B.

On the other hand, correlation is simply a relationship. Two actions can be related to one another without implying that one causes the other to happen.

It is important that we do not confuse the two. While we can say with certainty that our kids wore masks to school and many of them got sick less often or not at all, we can also say with certainty that they only attending school two days a week (down from 5), proper hygiene and hand washing protocols were emphasized, we actively screened children daily for symptoms of disease, AND kids got sick less often or not at all.

Correlation is not causation. There is absolutely no data showing a causal relationship between mask wearing and illness prevention in our schools, and to mandate their usage despite that knowledge is perpetuating a dangerous false narrative that places an undue burden on our children and removes parents entirely from the conversation. It is wholly unacceptable.

Additionally, in order for a mask to have any effect whatsoever -- we know that it has to be worn properly.

John Hopkins Medicine clearly outlines the steps for proper mask usage on their webpage. They are:

Mask wearing in kindergarten looks like five and six year old children behaving in a way that is developmentally appropriate for five and six year old children. It looks like masks being used as boats for insects at recess, lassos for glue sticks, slingshots, cloth lollipops and tissues for runny noses. They are touched and adjusted constantly, worn below the nose or on the cheek, over the eyes, sideways or upside down. They’re fidget toys for frustrated kids. They’re often not properly disposed of and/or washed daily. They are hardly hygienic. It is wholly ironic that they are being looked to as a barrier to disease.

Mask-Wearing: Psychological Impact

The dangerous psychological aspect of masks for our children lies in the learned idea that our world -- and the people around us -- are inherently dangerous. This perspective can lead to long-lasting anxiety disorders (which we see in schools now, from five year olds afraid to take off their mask to eat lunch to high school students experiencing debilitating social anxiety) to limited and/or impaired social skills.

For my five year old son, social distancing and mask wearing have been touted as normal for two out of his five years on planet Earth. We know that children use facial expressions to understand and make decisions about appropriate reactions as they learn to interact with their world. For my son and for my students, ⅖ of their lives and interactions with people have been experienced from behind a mask. This is a significant season of development where cognitive connections and important social development have been lost.

In elementary school, children begin to build pivotal social-emotional skills and self-regulation strategies that will contribute to their success later in life. Research shows us that social-emotional learning is of paramount importance for children in the early years of development. Self-esteem, personal relationships, and academic growth are all affected by a child’s ability to successfully interact with others. This is a learned behavior, and since a huge percentage of communication is nonverbal -- mask wearing is a hindrance to this vital development at a time when it is most important.

Equity

Furthermore, in a state where equity is touted as a foundational principle we strive for in our educational systems, I urge you to consider how UNequitable a universal mask mandate is for our individual learners.

For the child with ADHD, a mask is an incredible hindrance and distraction to the learning environment.

For a child impacted with significant sensory sensitivities, mask wearing is a behavioral trigger.

To a teen struggling with depression, a mask is another way to disappear.

To an anxious child, a mask induces fear.

To an English Language Learner, a mask is a barrier to communication.

To a child coming from a trauma background, a mask can be a debilitating trigger.

This is just the tip of a very large iceberg. If equity is the goal, a universal mask mandate simply does not fit the equation. Our children are not universal learners. They are individuals, with individual needs that require individual consideration from the people who know them best and have been given the privilege and great responsibility of championing and advocating for their needs. That voice belongs only to their parents.

The Bottom Line: Our Kids, Our Choice

Governor Brown, mask-wearing is a parental choice. The government cannot speak to the individual needs of our children because the government is not qualified to know what they are. It is inequitable and inappropriate to tell parents that in order for our kids to attend public school in person, they must wear a mask all day, every day.

I sign this letter in conjunction with a multitude of other families as a respectful reminder that you are not the gate-keeper for decisions regarding our children’s health and well being.

We are.

And we are taking them back.