Nashville Chess Teacher Goes Off On Mask Restrictions at Private School

This week a Nashville area chess instructor, Todd Andrews, finally had enough when it came to mask restrictions being enforced on elementary school students playing chess at one of the schools where he has taught kids in the past.

In particular, one Nashville area high school, the University School of Nashville, USN as it is commonly known in the city, which is located adjacent to the Vanderbilt University campus, has retained idiotic masking policies for its students who play chess while virtually every other private school in the city and the state has not.

That has frustrated many parents, which is how the below email came to be written. Several parents at the school loved the email so much, which calls out the idiocy of the USN leaders and their policy, that I thought sharing it was a perfect way to start off your Super Bowl weekends.

Enjoy.

Subject: USN Friday Chess

Hello USN Chess Families,

Please stop sending me emails asking when Friday Chess at USN will resume. Send those requests to the administration. I am just the lead coach - I can not get you a refund on your money or promise you a time when we will restart - contact Margee, Vince, Amy, Jeff... whoever is the lead of your school.

The health team at USN will not allow us to resume, because we are a K-9 group. They, however, have no metric to follow to determine when it is acceptable to resume. They just want to roll with the punches through year-3 of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, we have zero covid protocols in place at the Nashville Chess Center - no issues, 15-30 kids in attendance each Sunday, all camps selling out, is better than ever. Be there Sundays 1 - 4 PM for normal chess learning.

Our programs at Ensworth (65 kids), Harding Academy (80 kids), St. Paul (20 kids) have been operating fine with zero covid protocols in place.

We ran a 181 kid event in November at Lipscomb Academy with zero complaints and zero covid protocols.

You as parents have the right to do what you are comfortable with. I have a three week old baby and my father passed away last week, none of it because of Covid - unless you ask the state. I will not continue on as the coach of USN as long as my students are masked and faceless. I personally am ashamed to allow our kids to continue on in this nameless, faceless, masked up often online environment.

Do you not realize that every K-6 kid picks their nose, messes with their mask more and touches everything around them? There is not one person on this list ignorant enough to think that mask is keeping those elementary kids germs contained - it's just for a show and ignorant. Meanwhile, you are destroying their individualism - which btw, is why USN does not have a dress code?! The hypocrisy of this administration to keep the pseudo-scientists, bought out by Moderna, at Vandy appeased is appalling.

I have been the chess coach of USN for nearly 20 years. I carry little clout, but then I do lead programs at 30+ local schools and see a wide array of management.

USN has no management. They are scared to make a call on anything.

Meanwhile, your children are suffering for it at the price of $25K-$30K per year.

Those that know me well know I call it how I see it. It's why I have been in charge of what I do for as long as I have.

When I do not work at USN anymore, another school will glady hire me.

This may be the final communication you hear from me as coach of USN - and while that is sad, someone had to stand up and point out the bubble wrap chamber, overprotective, we can't play outside without a mask environment your kids are suffering through.

It's ignorant and I know the parents on this list are not ignorant.

Let it be Known,

Todd Andrews
Chief of Chess Operations
Metaversechessclub.io

...

I called Todd to make sure he was okay with me publishing his email -- full disclosure, my oldest son has attended some of the chess tournaments he has organized in the past -- and he said since the email went out he's been called by 12 parents at the school.

Every single one of them has thanked him for writing the email and ridiculed the school's continued masking policies.

The school, however, is not happy with them.

Which is perfect, because they shouldn't be, their administration is run by anti-science cowards.

Have great Saturdays!