My Mask: The Hopes And Challenges Of A New Dad And Teacher

Scott Riggle lives in Plano. He is a teacher in a Dallas-Fort Worth area school district, and just welcomed his first child to the world in April.

“That’s when we actually started wearing our first masks is when we checked into the hospital. And they took our temperatures, gave us a pre-screened COVID wristband – which is going into the baby book – and they gave us a mask and said, ‘this needs to be worn anytime you’re not in your room.’”

“For those first six weeks we just had to basically dig the moat and pull up the drawbridge so to speak and say no one can come visit us.”

Courtesy Scott Riggle

“That’s one thing I’m definitely worried about going back to the classroom because, just for the students, not being able to see their facial expressions. Like, are they getting it? Are they not getting it?”

“At the end of the day, though, wearing a mask is a slight inconvenience that I would take any day over having COVID. It’s just a way of life now. Gotta do what you gotta do.”

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