There He Goes Again... Potstirrer.

That Ilya Shapiro.  Even with his job at risk, he just can't quit Twitter, it seems.  And demonstrating his over-confidence in sharing his opinions, instead of perhaps taking a time out to learn and educate himself more...

Ilya Shapiro@ishapiro·7h

Apparently Superintendent @peternoonan did this without gaining @FCCPS board approval? What kind of operation are they running?thefederalist.comFalls Church Superintendent Segregates Kids Whose Parents Opt Out of MaskingKids whose parents object to masking, like most of the country has been doing all school year, will be physically set a(part from their peers.

For somebody who admits he has helped to "break the national discourse" with his ill-advised tweets flaming off on social issues on a decidedly non-intellectual platform, Shapiro still seems not to get it.

First, "What Kind of Operation Are They Running?"  Seriously?  For someone who doesn't seem to enjoy having his own career steps micro-managed, maybe Shapiro doesn't understand the almost impossible position public school leaders are tasked with:  satisfying everybody, in a wealthy school district where nobody is likely used to hearing "no" and parents are not inclined to bend, even a bit.

That's not the question you'd ask if you honestly wanted to help all children in the classroom learn, Mr. Shapiro.  Stop flaming?

Secord, "like most of the country has been doing?"  Hm. No room on a Twitter feed to cite your statistics, but is it really true that most public elementary school children in America have not been required to wear facial masks this school year?  Hm.  News to me.  Around here (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois) , it's mandatory in public schools, and even as mask mandates fell into advisories, the school leaders, parents and children reluctantly accepted them as the cost of keeping the doors open and making "remote learning" a thing of the past.

I think the East Coast is even more restrictive than the Midwest, and California too, so I kinda call bu'shit on his presentation of facts here.  You can't pull the "I'm an academic expert" woolie-bullie on Twitter and drop fake facts because you wish them to be true, without getting called out on it.

Now, to the substance?

Isn't that a wonderful idea to keep the schools open, the kids learning, and as many parents satisfied as you can by allowing the maskless children to congregate while those who choose to keep the barrier over their face intact can be separated to further limit any potential exposure?  Win-win, no?

If the parent objects to their student being placed with other non-masked learners, they have the option of joining the masked group.  I'm sure the school has the non-cloth disposable masks ready if a student chose to join his masked peers.  Maybe Shapiro would prefer a parental notification policy, if the non-masked student chooses to put one on his face, over the objections of the parents at home?

Put the needs of the students first.

Job number one in public school is for the kids to learn.  Not for somebody to score career points over making hay over local decision-makers making the best choices for the overall needs of the student body. I doubt Shapiro cares much about the children actually.  I bet the teachers, and leaders, in that district do.

Again, we are talking the health of children, and the desires of parents to "protect" them, and it's quite natural that parents with different values who choose differently will find their children segregated based on those choices.

Find another pot to stir, and leave the locals alone to best help their students learn, Mr. Shapiro.  You don't look good keeping up the behavior that got you busted in the first place:  spouting off on social media to provoke a response and bully your way into "convincing" others you have all the answers.

You don't and more and more, you're revealing your racket.  It's not becoming to you, or your chosen field of academic leadership.  Leaders don't bully and potstir out of a desperate need for attention.

What you don’t know is that part of the massive resistance to parental rights and student freedoms — to returning to normal post-pandemic — is the segregation of students whose parents opt them out of masking.

Take the city of Falls Church, where I live, and where I unsuccessfully ran for school board last fall. Five days after Youngkin signed the order, the Falls Church school board adopted a policy allowing for masking opt-out as of February 14. That’s three weeks later than the order specified— what’s three weeks of defying the law among friends? — but still leads the region. That’s an admittedly low bar, with Fairfax County simply turning away or suspending students who arrive at school without a mask, but at least it’s something.

To its credit, and despite pressure from the Branch Covidians who populate these parts, the school board did not change its policy after a local judge in Arlington granted a preliminary injunction against Youngkin’s order earlier this week.

Lotta baggage this one's dragging behind him, but... Branch Covidians? Seriously?  That language would be fine for Rush Limbaugh's populist mouthpiece replacement Joe Rogan, but if you know the Branch Davidian history and purport to be a serious legal scholar, you just don't namecall like other parents like that...

Academic standards haven't fallen that far yet, and potstirrers shouldn't be given top dollar and  titles to lead when anyone following has to tromp through the crap the leader continues to drop behind him.

What kind of sick person does this to children? As our kindergartner son, who has a moderate articulation disorder for which he was diagnosed without lowering his mask, told us last month after we explained to him that the school board decided that he had to keep his mask on for three more weeks even though the “president of Virginia” was trying to enforce his rights to the contrary, “nobody should be treated differently. That’s what Martin Luther King said.” (I kid you not; this is not some made-up Twitter virtue-signaling; we’ve talked to him, and his preschooler brother, about MLK and civil rights, and imagine that some of this got covered in school, too.)

That’s where we stand in the America of 2022. Both parents and kids have had enough; we will neither be silenced, masked, nor segregated.

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ADDED:  It appears Mrs. Shapiro, Kristin, is active on social media too:

Kristin Shapiro@mrsshap·6h 

UPDATE: Thanks to pressure from all corners, including the Board, the school district has abandoned this horrific plan to segregate unmasked children: "No one will be singled out or spaced differently from others. We will welcome all students with open arms, just as always."

 Kristin Shapiro@mrsshap·23hReplying to @mrsshap@FCCPS doing their best “to make sure that no child feels marginalized or excluded” by segregating and ostracizing children who don’t wear masks. This is cruel. What kind of sick person does this to children? @JGunlock @carrielukas

"Sick person", and Branch Covidians.  All bullies know if you want to win, you don't use reason and logic, you namecall your lesser opponents in securing your "win".  Your kid gets to go through school, and life, with that kind of leadership in the home.  Tell me what you think you've won?  What students have you helped and was it worth it, the harm your chosen words caused?  (Maybe ask James Bennett, a man who found himself in a similar boat?)

America's discourse is broken, on that we can all agree.  Even those profiting off illegitimate political discourse, and those stirring the pot -- with their wives -- for fun, and attention too.  What have you really won demonstrating you refuse to work with others who disagree with you, and how temporary the victory?