- John is a fourth grader at Felix A. Williams Elementary in the town of Stuart
- On May 12 he gave an eloquent speech before Martin County school officials
- John said that wearing a face mask made him anxious and gave him headaches
- He said is was ‘unfair’ and hypocritical that some teachers did not wear them
- The school board voted 4-1 in favor of keeping the mask mandate until June 1
- COVID restrictions in schools are now a flash point for teachers and parents
A ten-year-old pupil in Florida has delivered an impassioned plea to his local school board to lift their face mask mandate, describing the headaches and claustrophobia the masks induced and saying they gave him anxiety.
The fourth grader at Felix A. Williams Elementary in the town of Stuart, 40 miles north of West Palm Beach, spoke before the Martin County school board on May 12.
Known only as John, the little boy said that he was ‘surprised by the rules’.
‘A lot of them didn’t make any sense to me like the fact that we’re not allowed to play on the playground or have student council or turn to face each other at lunch.
‘And we also have to wear masks outside at P.E. and on track.’
Under the district’s current policy, students are required to wear masks on school campuses and school buses, with the only exceptions being when they’re eating and drinking or during recess and physical education – suggesting John’s school was going beyond the recommendations.
The state of Florida removed its mask mandate on May 3.
