Following his inauguration Saturday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a series of executive orders, including one that lets Virginia’s parents decide if their child has to wear a face mask at school.
Plenty of Democrats, including White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, weren’t happy.
Hi there. Arlington county parent here (don’t believe you are @GlennYoungkin but correct me if I am wrong). Thank you to @APSVirginia for standing up for our kids, teachers and administrators and their safety in the midst of a transmissible variant. https://t.co/6UeNIYoZCU
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) January 17, 2022
Now, social media posts shared by The Washington Free Beacon reveal how some teachers plan to deal with the influx of maskless children.
Many would label their response bullying behavior.
The Washington Free Beacon explains:
“Kids will not be allowed in mine [sic] class without a mask. No mask, no entry,” Prince William County English teacher Heather Lynn Reilly Osial said on Facebook. “If my boss has a problem with that, then she has a choice. Either she wants me there or not.”
The posts come as school officials in several counties, including Arlington, Albemarle, Fairfax, and Prince William, as well as the cities of Alexandria and Manassas, announced they will require masks on buses and school property. The Loudoun County Public School Board voted Tuesday to continue requiring masks. Youngkin says he plans to use the full extent of his gubernatorial power to give parents the choice over whether or not their kids wear a mask.
In a comment to the Washington Free Beacon, Osial said her comment was “taken out of context” and claimed the photo was “photoshopped.” She did not respond to a request for more information, including the original image. The pictures were originally posted by Instagram account @teachers_for_truth by Lilit Vanetsyan, the page’s manager and a Virginia teacher herself.
In neighboring Fairfax County, educator Julie Lawther sent out a provocative tweet.
“FWIW—If they aren’t willing to mask, I’m not coming out from my soon to be upgraded isolation bubble,” she tweeted. “No mask? You’re on your own… Good luck!”
In a separate post, Lawther jokingly added that she would use a cattle prod to ward off maskless children.
Meanwhile, Loudoun County biology teacher Carol Hensley posted that she wouldn’t get within six feet of a student sans mask. Hensley added that “If they want to talk to me, they’ll need to put a mask on. No job is worth my severely at-risk family’s health.”
And Arlington Public Schools English teacher Erika Enright said she would place unmasked students in the hallway, where they could do their work isolated from the rest of the class.