Sra. Blanchard, Teacher

TC: What is your (initial) reaction to the masking guidelines?

SB: I am thrilled that we’ve gotten to the place where we can choose whether we can wear masks or not. It makes me hopeful that soon we won’t have to be dealing with COVID anymore.

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

SB: I’m wearing a mask for a couple reasons. First, to support kids that choose to wear masks. And also because I have elderly parents and a grandmother who’s 107 and so to have the opportunity to see them, I’m going to keep my mask on for a while.  

TC: What do you think of people who think differently from you: Those that are or are not wearing a mask?

SB: I think that everyone is making the best decision for them. And I’m really impressed by how respectful people have been and how understanding people have been about everybody’s opinions. 

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

SB: I defer to those people who have more experience and information than I do. I feel like we’ve got people that are trained to make those decisions. 

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

SB: This is probably hard for some students and obviously what I want them to have is a supportive and healthy environment. That said it is really hard to teach effectively online especially when students are in person as well. 

TC: What do you think the current mask guidelines will trigger in the future, if anything?

SB: I don’t really know. I guess, maybe we’re getting to the point where we’re just gonna have to be ready for anything and know that sometimes, hopefully not, we’ll have to have masks on again for a while.