You probably have seen it by now.  It has been all over the Internet, and this is one time I think the Internet really should publicize something this awful.  I'm talking about the man from Southern California, wearing a t-shirt that said, “Your mask makes you look stupid,” who yelled at and harassed middle school students because they were wearing a mask. 
 
Some reports say that he has been harassing elementary and middle school students for months.  Another report said that he had been deliberately coughing and spitting on students, even sticking his head in car windows.  A parent claimed that when a police officer did arrive on the scene, the officer delivered a lecture to the students on First Amendment rights. 
​
  
Anger and Bullying are Wrong.
 
All of the facts haven't been sorted out yet, but no matter how you look at the situation, this is wrong.
 
Absolutely no adult should ever act this way at any time for any reason.  There is no excuse for this kind of behavior.  As one parent said,
 
“Clearly there is a problem here, not just a mental health problem but an anger management issue where he feels compelled to attack people who are more vulnerable than him….”
 
The students should be praised for wearing a mask, not criticized and not lectured about First Amendment rights.
 
Is the Man Insane?

No, that behavior does not show that the man is insane.  Remember, I talked before about the difference between bad behavior and insanity.  Let’s look again at the definition provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Ryan Howes, Ph. D.  Insanity is a
 
“…mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis [having lost contact with reality] or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior.”

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For more on mental illness, read:  Why Can’t We Stop the Pandemic?
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Do You Control Your Anger?
 
Anger alone is not a mental illness, but it can indicate deeper problems.  We all get angry.  Anger is a natural response to frustration.  The question is how do you control your anger?  Or, do you not control your anger?  Are you yelling at others in your family?  In your community?  Uncontrolled anger is a problem.
 
Uncontrolled anger can, however, lead to intermittent explosive disorder (IED), which is considered a mental illness.
 
“A person with intermittent explosive disorder (IED) has repeated episodes of aggressive, impulsive, or violent behavior. They may overreact to situations with angry outbursts that are out of proportion to the situation.”
 
On the video, the man was shown getting in his car and driving away before the police arrived.  He was not totally out of control.  He displayed enough control not to become physically violent.  Yet, he was definitely verbally abusive.  I think he also knew that what he was doing was wrong, that's why he left the scene.
 
Should someone like this be held accountable for his actions?  Definitely.  He needs an anger management program immediately.  Should he apologize to the young people and their parents?  Yes.
 

This is a case of Out-of-Control Anger, not First Amendment Rights.
 
We keep hearing claims of First Amendment rights.  Anger is not a First Amendment right.  I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t know whether what the man did was legal, but it was certainly very wrong. Let’s go read the First Amendment again.

“Amendment I“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
 
Cornell Law School gives this interpretation, just in case we are having trouble understanding the amendment.
 
“The First Amendment guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition.  It forbids Congress from both promoting one religion over others and also restricting an individual’s religious practices.  It guarantees freedom of expression by prohibiting Congress from restricting the press or the rights of individuals to speak freely.  It also guarantees the right of citizens to assemble peaceably and to petition their government.”  
 

Do you see the word “peaceably” assemble?
 
The First Amendment does not give you the right to harm someone else.  The First Amendment does not give you the moral right to harass children and youth.  Adults need to stop harassing children and youth while claiming they are only exercising their constitutional First Amendment rights.  Wrong.
 
In September, the people were also wrong who heckled and laughed at a young man who spoke at his school board meeting.  Yes, the young man had a First Amendment right to speak, but the adult audience members did not have a First Amendment right to make fun of him.
 
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See:  Do No Harm: Adults Should Not Bully a Child
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Frustration Does Not Give You the Right to Say or Do Whatever You Wish.

We're all frustrated over the pandemic, but that does not justify rude obnoxious behavior. 
 
No, face masks will not rot your teeth out, cause you to have trouble breathing, or make you look stupid.  Actually, wearing a face mask shows that you are intelligent and fully aware of the dangers from COVID-19. 
 
Face masks are safe, and they do protect children, youth, and adults from COVID.  Vaccines are important too.  Face masks cannot do it alone.  Make sure you’re vaccinated and have your booster.
 
Face masks are also not psychologically harmful, even if you wear them all day.  Face masks help children and teens feel safer, and yes, they should be wearing a face mask in school all day and even after school on the way home.  The youth were being smart and exercising caution.

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Read:  Does Wearing a Face Mask Affect Your Ability to Breathe?
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I met a little 4-year-old boy one day at the grocery store while waiting in line.  He and his dad were both wearing masks.  I always wear a mask.  As we stood in line socially distancing, I couldn't help but notice that the little boy was crying.  Keeping my mask in place, I said, “Are you having a hard day?”  His father answered, “A lady made fun of him for wearing a mask.”  The psychologist in me came roaring to the surface as I replied, “Well that lady was wrong.  The smartest and best thing you can do is wear a mask wherever you go.  I wear my mask, even when I'm just walking around outside.  I'm very proud of you for wearing a mask.”  As I spoke, the little boy began to sniffle and stop crying.  I noticed that he also stood taller, especially when I said I was proud of him.  I went on to say, “I hope you continue wearing your mask.  I know I plan to.  Don't let anyone discourage you from wearing a mask.  Be one of the smart ones.  Wear a mask, everywhere you go.  Throwback your shoulders and let everyone see how proud you are to wear a mask and stay healthy.”  The little boy seemed to grow at least two inches and stood tall and straight beside his dad.
 
I don’t know if I helped that day, but I tried.  When you see someone wearing a mask, tell them “Thank you for wearing a mask.”

Children Are Worried--About the Virus

​A high school sophomore recently posted on Reddit and described his time spent in school.  I’ve listed only a few of his comments, but please read his entire statement. It's important. 
 
“I arrived at school and promptly went to Study Hall.  … there were 14 absent teachers 1st period…. Second period I had another absent teacher…. Third period I had a normal class …. First thing the teacher did was pass out COVID tests … 4 more teachers would pass out COVID tests throughout the day, which were to be taken at home …  90% of the bathrooms were full of students swabbing their noses and taking their tests. I had one kid ask me -- with his mask down, by the way -- whether a "faint line was positive," proceeding to show me his positive COVID test….  Classes that I did attend were quiet and empty.  … some of my classes had 10+ students absent.  ... we literally learn nothing. I spent about 3 hours sitting around today doing nothing….  I tested positive for COVID on December the 14th. At the time there were a total of 6 cases. By the end of break this number was up to 36. By January the 3rd … the numbers were up to 100 ….   Today there are 226.  …90% of the conversations spoken by students concern COVID. It has completely taken over any function of daily school life.”
 
This student is not the only person questioning whether we should be forcing in-class education in the middle of the omicron surge. Many schools needed to close: 

• “At least 3,229 schools were closed in the first week of January, the highest for the year….”
• Los Angeles announced as of 4 P.M. Monday, January 10th that “… 65,630 students and staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in the week before school.”

• The Rhode Island National Education Association is calling for remote learning.
• “… at Brooklyn Technical High School, the city’s largest, an estimated 600 kids poured out into18-degree temperatures [on Tuesday January 11th] to call attention to what they described as an unsafe and chaotic environment at their school with the ongoing viral surge driven by the highly contagious omicron variant.

 
The students are realizing that it is not safe to be in school right now.  When will the parents and administrators wake up and realize that school is not a safe place to be at present?
 
The count keeps climbing.  There are dozens of schools closed in my own local area.  Everywhere you look, schools are closing because it is just not safe to continue in-class instruction, especially since omicron has hit the staff as hard as the students.
 
An average of 672 children are hospitalized every day because of the omicron variant. 
  
Some people claim that omicron is not as serious as delta and not as harmful for children.  That is misleading. Remember, children are never placed in the hospital unless it is serious, and we also need to remember the danger of long-covid. Yes, omicron can cause long-covid.  As Dr. Anthony Fauci reminds us,  
 
"We should always be aware that when people get symptomatic infection … anywhere from 10 to up to 30 plus percent of people will go on to have persistence of symptoms [long-covid]….,"
  
We’ve examined the problem.  The claim that omicron is less dangerous for children is false.  It is also dangerous for students at school.  Now, let’s look at the solutions:  in-class or online.
 
This, in turn, raises the question:

 
Is there really a psychological harm in keeping students home for a few weeks? 
 
Some say that it is psychologically harmful to keep students home, but is it?  No, there is no harm.  Sorry, that’s just misinformation. 
 
As a psychologist, I want to talk about the misinformation floating around about how psychologically harmful it is for students to learn from home.
 
Yes, they miss their friends.  Yes, they are bored staying home.  Boredom and psychological harm are two totally different things. 

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Reason #10 that Reading Scores Were Worse in 2019:  Boredom. What Causes Boredom?

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No, teaching is not always the best online.  Some teachers have done a fantastic job online.  They are to be applauded.  Others have just passed out a stack of worksheets.  Worksheets do not teach.  They never have, and they never will.
 
Personally, I find teaching online harder than teaching in-person, but then, all of my curriculum materials are written for groups.  I’m a group specialist, so I naturally write and design curriculum that works best in a group setting.  I’m designing and testing some new online material.  Looking at the present situation today though, we must now ask, 

 
Is it truly better for students to learn from home or be sent to classrooms where they may get omicron? 
 
I cannot see anything that justifies sending students to school right now.  I’m sorry, what we are doing is dangerous.  Listen to the students: do you not hear their fear?
 
“It doesn’t feel safe to be in school to be honest, … half the classes aren’t there. Some have COVID, some are afraid of COVID….”  Another student also said, “There’s no social distancing at all, the stairways are packed. There’s no point coming here if I’m going to get sick”….
  
Fear, anxiety, anger, and stress are what cause psychological harm, not sitting at home being bored or even sitting at home dealing with a less-than-perfect educational approach.  As for the loss in educational excellence, as my own research has proven, we can bring failing students up 3 and 4 grade levels in reading in one year.   The problem is that we will not change our teaching methods, but we will save that argument for another day. 

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Vowel Clustering Is Better than Whole Language and Phonics

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What causes psychological harm?
Let’s return to the question of psychological harm. Right now, researchers are looking at what causes psychological harm in schools.  Bullying, verbal and physical harassment in school, name-calling, the threat of gun violence in school, and even reading failure have been documented to cause psychological harm.  Reading failure as a cause of psychological harm is how I got involved in reading education and proving that there is a better way to teach struggling students to read.
 
Claiming that students are falling behind is not a good reason for risking student lives by sending them to school right now, especially since classroom instruction before the pandemic left more than 60% of students unable to read at their grade level in 4th, 8th, and 12th grade.
 
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Should We Be Sending Students Back to School? Part 1 

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For years, I taught a class at the university entitled Psychology of Adjustment.  Students frequently said that the course opened their eyes to why people act as they do.  The textbook that I used was Weiten’s Psychology Applied to Modern Life:  Adjustment in the 21st Century.  My students also said that they learned so much just from reading the textbook.  In my experience, college students rarely admit learning anything from reading the textbook.  It’s a well written book, very easy to read, and the new edition is still being used in university classrooms.  You can even purchase a used copy for less than $7.00.
  
I mention Weiten’s book because he describes very carefully how mental illness and psychological harm are derived from daily actions and encounters.  As Weiten points out, it is how you adjust to the situations that you encounter in life that make the experience healthy or harmful.
 
The mere fact of online education for a few months or even for a year or more is not psychologically harmful.  It is how you adjust or cope with online education that creates the problem.
 
Marching in the street adds to anxiety and stress—not helpful.  Refusing to allow masks and vaccine mandates in schools adds to the fear and anxiety of faculty and students—very harmful.  Remember, it is fear, anxiety, and stress that actually causes psychological harm, not sitting home working on a computer or wearing a face mask all day in school.  I’ll say it again, wearing a face mask is not psychologically harmful.

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Does Wearing a Face Mask Affect Your Ability to Breathe?

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Forcing students to go to school when they are afraid of COVID can and does create psychological harm.
 
Beware of misinformation.  Just because your favorite politician or even your next-door neighbor says that it is psychologically harmful to teach remotely, doesn’t make it true. 
 
What is the real psychological harm? I will tell you what is psychologically harmful—sending students to school when they are worried about catching COVID-19.  As the student said in my opening example, 90% of the rest rooms were clogged with students frantically testing to see if they had COVID.  That’s like sending students into a battle zone.  Yes, if I sit all day in class worried that I am going to catch COVID from the person sitting next to me or even across the room from me, such stress is psychologically harmful.  I’m also not going to learn anything while I’m worried about getting sick.
 
Finding out that your teacher died of COVID after being exposed at school is psychologically harmful.
 
Worrying about making your grandparents sick if you get COVID is psychologically harmful because the student feels responsible for harming someone they love.
 
Yes, there is lots of psychological harm taking place at school, but it is not from wearing a mask or online instruction.
 
Attacks by gun shooters are psychologically harmful.
 
Bullying and (both verbal and physical) harassment at school is psychologically harmful.
 
Remember, it is the fear, anxiety, and stress that actually causes psychological harm.
 
Worrying over whether they will be allowed to wear a mask to protect themselves can cause psychological harm.  Notice, the mask does not cause psychological harm.  It is the fear of catching COVID because they are not allowed to wear a mask that actually causes the harm.
 
Besides, if we change our teaching methods, we can bring all of the students up who have suffered during the coronavirus pandemic.  We can also bring up the students who were already behind before the pandemic.  Sitting in the classroom is not the key to effective education.  Teaching method is the key that enables every student to learn.
 
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Reading Wars Are Over!  Phonics Failed.  Whole Language Failed.  Balanced Literacy Failed. Who Won?  It Certainly Wasn’t the Students.

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Soon, I plan to show you a lesson that I am developing for online instruction.  Yes, we really can teach from home successfully.
 
Student safety must come first.  Set politics aside.  Let the students learn from home till omicron calms down. 
 
Get vaccinated.  Get your booster and wear a N95 mask wherever you go.  Safety begins at home.  Keep the children safe.

Motivation is the driving force that explains why people act and behave as they do. Even though the image of a carrot dangling from the end of a stick in front of a person’s nose is often used as a symbol of motivation, you cannot actually motivate another person. ​

We need to reevaluate.  Would children actually lose that much educational value from 3 or 4 weeks of online classwork?  I say: no! 
 
Just to begin, let’s look at where education was before the coronavirus pandemic.  Education was not doing as much good as it should have been. As a psychologist, I study reading data because we have found that reading failure affects lifelong development from childhood to old age.  Yes, it really does.  When I was teaching university classes, I often sent my Lifespan Development students to a local nursing home to talk with residents about their early childhood experiences in reading.  As one man said, “We were the Bluebirds.  I have no idea why because everybody knew we couldn't read.  I still can’t read.”
 
Unfortunately, students are still having trouble reading.
Before the pandemic, according to the Nation’s Report Card, more than 60% of children were not able to read at their grade level in school in 4th, 8th, or 12th grade.  We have a major reading education problem in the U. S. 

“A 10-year-old Anne Arundel County elementary school student died from complications of COVID-19….  [he was]  a loving fourth-grade student who loved to play the viola and was part of Hilltop Elementary School’s Strings and Chorus group.”
 
“Over the past month, COVID-19 cases in children 0 to 9 increased by 40% with 17,379 cases in that period, and cases of children 10 to 19 increased by 38% with 25,102 cases in that period.”
 
So, whoever told you that COVID was not as serious for children—lied. 
 
COVID is very dangerous for children.
No, you cannot claim that Omicron is milder, either.  Omicron has shown itself to be dreadful for children.  Children are not placed in the hospital unless they are very, very sick. And, yet: 
 
“Children are also being hospitalized at record-high rates. During the week of Dec. 22 to Dec. 28, an average of 378 children age 17 and under were admitted per day to hospitals with the coronavirus, a 66% increase from the week before….
 
The problem is not just in one or two states.   Omicron has spread all across the nation.  Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston said they have a “four-fold increase in child hospitalizations.” Dr. Jim Versalovic, pathologist-in-chief at Texas Children's, says that "More than 700 children were in the hospital with Covid-19 during one 24-hour period last week….”  Similarly, Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, a primary care pediatrician from Columbia University in New York said, "We would be foolish to keep minimizing Covid-19 in children at this point in the pandemic....upper airway conditions can be more dangerous for children than adults."
 
So yes, the facts do show that COVID is a terrible problem for children, and it’s a nationwide problem.  Children all across the United States are getting sick, some seriously, and some even dying.  So, why are we sending children back to school in the middle of the omicron surge?

 
This raises the question:  If Omicron is that serious for children, wouldn’t it be better to teach online until the omicron surge calms down? 
We are sending children back to school even though they are being hit harder than almost any other age group right now. No one wants the schools to close, but we need to be reasonable.  We need to take children’s health and safety into consideration.
 
Why are schools not offering online education throughout January or until omicron relaxes its attack on children?  I’m not talking about returning to online education for the rest of the year—just till omicron settles down.
 
Are students really going to learn that much in 3 or 4 weeks?  No.
Schools are just a breeding group for omicron, and the authorities say that cloth masks are less effective against omicron.  Furthermore, many republican governors, republican judges, and republican state legislators have forbidden schools to require masks in the classroom.  I’m sorry, but that is like saying, yes, we want our children to get sick from omicron.
 
Forget all of this excessive emphasis about adults' freedom and adults' personal rights.  Children also have rights, including a right to be safe. We have a responsibility as adults and as a society to protect children.  Are we doing it? NO.
 
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Read:  How Dangerous Is Misinformation?
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Yes, my own research has shown that we can bring failing students up 4 grade levels in reading in one year, but to do so we must change how we teach students to read.  So yes, we can overcome all of the failure created last year and this year by the coronavirus pandemic.  If we change the methods that we use to teach students to read in the classroom, we can teach students to read.

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For more on how to teach children to read, see:  Vowel Clustering Works Better than Phonics with At-Risk Students  
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We need to keep our children safe.  Get vaccinated.  Get your booster, and please, do not forget to wear a mask.  Not just any mask, they are now telling us to step up to a N49 mask.  Make sure that your child is wearing a N95 mask everywhere they go.

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Misinformation Kills:  Has Your Child Been Vaccinated?  Or, Are You Waiting? 
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