Well, I figure I'll keep a kind of basic record of my unschooling journey with my son here. I am not the model unschooling parent -- far from it -- but I'm doing my best to allow my son to grow up unencumbered by the dimwit programming and toxic shaming societies readily foist onto children.
Recently, due to financial/economic constraints my wife and I both decided that after years of unschooling/freeschooling here in Japan, my son would need to enter the public school so we both could work. The corona madness has made it difficult to gather students for our small language school.
There is no unschooling community where we are to help with things like this. No support network. This is how the state wants it, by the way. This is how states want things across the globe. The village that helps to raise each other's children is the ultimately the enemy. Everyone must be atomized and made dependent on the centrally approved teat, as it were.
To cut to the chase of this entry: the school where my boy was going to go did an abrupt about face (no pun intended) and said he would need to wear a mask at school, last minute. This had not been an issue up to this point, when he had gone there to "try it out" one day a week. But now, just before he was set to start, we get a phone call saying the mask is a necessity.
On the phone with the principal I couldn't believe how the guy pushed the issue. "Our son cannot wear a mask. He cannot breathe." Principal suggests clear face/chinrest visor. "He doesn't like things on his face." Principal protests that he wears helmets sometimes for safety in sports, etc, right? We ask why it is a problem if he is unmasked, and can they make an exception.
Dude honestly says: your son can be unmasked, but then he won't be allowed to talk. Because of particles coming from his mouth.
I suggest to him this is child abuse. Principal laughs.
This is the level of derp we are dealing with, folks.
Needless to say, my son isn't going to school. It's not a easy road, but it is worth it. And I am going to do my best. I'm also focusing more on writing and content creation now, so please check out my stuff on various social media as Voluntary Japan. Thank you for your support!
-Graham
Perhaps this is just merely task or what we called protocols imposed in many countries. For the safety of everyone and I thinks it is a legit practices to keep kids safe to wear mask before talking.