Mid-South student Dylan’s first day of high school was a lot different than he expected.
For starters, the 14-year-old tells ‘Wake up Memphis’ with Robyn Walensky there are “Teacher Bubbles.”Dylan describes the zone around the teacher at the front of the classroom as marked on the floor with “blue tape and you can’t step inside it” because of coronavirus concerns.
Dylan came to class armed with two masks, which are mandatory.
“I have a nice, cool California palm tree sunset mask, and I have my American flag mask as well,” Dylan says.While fun patterns may make the mask-wearing experience a bit more enjoyable, it still makes it hard to concentrate later in the day, Dylan tells Walensky.
“It was good for the first two hours, it’s harder to concentrate at the end of the day,” he explains.
Dylan says it’s “hard to breath, and stuffy” after wearing a mask for more than two hours.Social distancing is also being strictly adhered too with approximately ten students spread out in the classroom instead of the normal 20-30.
“There are a lot of precautions, but it’s for everybody’s safety,” Dylan tells ‘Wake up Memphis.’
Other steps being taken include alternating bell schedules to help mitigate crowds in hallways between classes, and “only three people can sit at a table in the cafeteria,” to which Walensky joked “Wow, that sounds like how inmates eat in jail and in prison.”
