Matthew Hankins, History teacher

The Catalyst (TC): What was your initial reaction to the masking guidelines?

Matthew Hankins (MH): My initial reaction was a bit mixed. On the one hand, I was kind of looking forward to being able to take the mask off at school and see everyone’s faces. At the same time, COVID is still here and still an issue

TC: Why do you choose to wear a mask or not wear a mask?

MH: It’s very situational for me. When I’m standing in front of the class and I’m not really close to anyone, I feel pretty comfortable not wearing a mask, especially because we have the windows open and everything. But other times, if I’m in a crowded hallway or just any kind of really crowded place where I’m really close to people, I would still wear it. 

TC: What do you think of people who think differently from you?

MH: I do both, so I don’t really have strong feelings one way or the other.

TC: Do you think dropping masks in schools was the best decision for the state to make?

MH: I feel like I’m not the most qualified person to be making pronouncements about that, so I’ll leave that up to the professionals. 

TC: Do you think that there should be an online option for community members that are not comfortable with these masking guidelines?

MH: In general, the hybrid is not my favorite. I think that instruction is not quite as good for people who are online sometimes. Of course, it varies, but if we as a community decided to do that, I’d be fine with it.