Thursday, November 10, 2022

Strange Times Indeed


Having taught for 30 years, I had my fair share of classroom experiences, both good and bad, as is the norm in a long career. Fortunately, most of the students I interacted with over those years were good and earnest, eager enough to benefit from educational opportunities as they anticipated their futures. 

Invariably, however, there were those classes that housed one or two students whose purpose for attendance was somewhat opaque; clearly, educational achievement was not their priority; disruption took precedence, resulting in severe compromise to the atmosphere and quality of learning. They were, to use the colloquialism, bad apples.

Similarly, today one is confronted with many examples of the minority trying to dictate the terms under which society operates. The 'Freedom' Convoy against Covid masking and restrictions readily comes to mind, its participants so passionate about protecting our freedoms that they held Ottawa hostage for three weeks. Perhaps their boundless energy came from the fact that they had been marshaling their reserves for just that moment, their prior efforts in fighting for freedom apparently non-existent. No doubt, they believed themselves agents of history.

Although the Ottawa occupation is long over, the disordered thinking that led to it is not. Consider, for example, the question of returning to mask mandates. The evidence is compelling that such a mandate is needed. Children's hospitals are being overwhelmed, and the all the signs point to a complete collapse as the flu and RSV cases mount, this in addition to the ongoing Covid cases our medical facilities have to contend with.

Despite all of the evidence supporting the use of masks to limit the spread of disease, no public official expresses any willingness to reintroduce mandates. Indeed, that reluctance flies in the face of polling results indicating that the majority of Canadians would support a return to mandates.

The poll conducted for CTV News found seven in 10 Canadians said they would support the return of face masks mandates to some extent. Fifty-two per cent said they would support the return of such mandates, 17 per cent said they would "somewhat support" them, while 22 per cent would be against them. Eight per cent would be "somewhat" opposed to the idea.

Here in Ontario, such a result does not sway Dr. Kieran Moore, our mislabelled chief medical officer of health, nor his political master, the often-hapless premier, Doug Ford.

Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that Ontarians are welcome to wear masks, but there is no recommendation for widespread mandatory masking at this time from Dr. Kieran Moore, the chief medical officer of health.

 Moore told the Star in a recent interview that he is “strongly recommending” those at risk of severe illness from the three viruses to mask indoors but says he is reluctant to install a mandate.

 Instead, he wants people to remember the “basic layers of protection” of staying home when sick, masking in indoor settings, wearing a mask while recovering from a respiratory illness. and good hand hygiene.

Once again, our overlords seem quite willing to cede to the wishes of the minority. In my classroom days, I, too, tried to reason with the disruptive elements I faced, with predictable lack of results. The stakes, a positive classroom environment in which learning took precedence over disruption by the minority, were high enough then, but they are so much higher now.

People's lives are at stake, but those whose job it is to protect all of us quail before the minority. That is not leadership. That is capitulation.

4 comments:

  1. Here's the theme song for this year's COP 27 climate summit. It could be of universal application -
    https://youtu.be/UCXeNosbE7s

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    1. It's dark, Mound, but appropriate for the times we live in. Thanks for the link.

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  2. It feels like everyone thinks someone else has to make the first move and/or CAN make the first move. Ford claims to be advised by Moore, but Moore is clearly taking direction from the Cabinet. Some regional Medical Officers of Health are begging for mandates to be returned instead of just issuing a Section 22 to MAKE them happen. Something's happened to take that option off the table, and I'd like to know what it is. As a shiny new school board trustee, I don't think I could get 51% support for even a motion to discuss mandates or even send out REAL covid education home with kids. I'm happy to stand up and take the heat, but I don't have enough power to change anything. Does anyone besides Ford?? And who is paying Ford for his inane take on things -- do we petition his donors in order to try to save the children who can't get a bed in an ICU or find meds anywhere??

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    1. While I have never had any faith that Ford et al. will do the right thing because the science tells them so, I am disappointed with this punting of the football. Theresa Tam says it is up to the provinces (true to a large extent, except for areas of federal jurisdiction) to decide, and regional medical officers of health punt to the province as well, even though, as you indicate, they could invoke a Section 22 order and apply it to schools, as one example. No one wants to wear the consequences of wielding their authority; we have now become a country where politics determines public safety.

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