California Teacher Finds New Calling Amid Pandemic Mandates

Students gather around a fish tank during class at Roots Farm in Palo Cedro, Calif., on Feb. 5, 2022. Courtesy of Roots Farm

As California lifted its school mask mandate and schools began to consider whether to modify their individual mask rules, one educator from Shasta County reflected on how the COVID-19 pandemic and school mask mandates led her to create her own education program.

“I believed that I was harming students by forcing the masks on them. I witnessed one student hyperventilating in class because of his mask,” Melody Fowler, an educator and parent, told The Epoch Times.