SLARS time?

km79

Chilli Con Kearney wrote: »

We were told last week, at the in service, that they were to be done in school time, school day, call it whatever you want. The reality is that it was portrayed as being done inside the normal day.

But schools will not have s&s money to use to free us up together. So the reality is that we will be expected to do it after school.

I'd consider splitting it into blocks then. Maybe 40 mins at lunch one day, then another period where we might all be free, then possibly a shorter block after school. That'll rack up the two hour SLAR and get the work done.

That would be a disaster

Mardy Bum

Chilli Con Kearney wrote: »

We were told last week, at the in service, that they were to be done in school time, school day, call it whatever you want. The reality is that it was portrayed as being done inside the normal day.

But schools will not have s&s money to use to free us up together. So the reality is that we will be expected to do it after school.

I'd consider splitting it into blocks then. Maybe 40 mins at lunch one day, then another period where we might all be free, then possibly a shorter block after school. That'll rack up the two hour SLAR and get the work done.

Very conflicting information. It can be held whenever suits but there is no paid supervision cover for it and S&S doesn't cover it therefore it can only happen after school for large departments.

Also it has to be done in one sitting. The SLAR coordinator training is very comprehensive.

km79

Mardy Bum wrote: »

The SLAR coordinator training is very comprehensive.

Are you being sarcastic??????
I attended one a few weeks ago. It was a joke. Waste of 2 hours.
I was well informed going into it anyway and it was a good job as I learnt nothing.
Couldn't get concrete answers on what I wanted .
The facilitator was unable to control the room which didn't help matters.........

Mardy Bum

km79 wrote: »

Mardy Bum wrote: »

The SLAR coordinator training is very comprehensive.

Are you being sarcastic??????
I attended one a few weeks ago. It was a joke. Waste of 2 hours.
I was well informed going into it anyway and it was a good job as I learnt nothing.
Couldn't get concrete answers on what I wanted .
The facilitator was unable to control the room which didn't help matters.........

Control the room? What was in it? Rowdy second years? Pity we can't act professional.

Mine was much better than expected and it illuminated a lot of grey areas.

km79

Mardy Bum wrote: »

Control the room? What was in it? Rowdy second years? Pity we can't act professional.

Mine was much better than expected and it illuminated a lot of grey areas.

There were a LOT of uninformed teachers asking silly off topic questions . One person for example thought the CBA was worth 20% !!!!!
The facilitator was unable to keep it on track which was their role .

All I really wanted clarified within the 2 hours was the SLAR time
He quoted the circular which I was familiar with
I then responded with the union clarifications which he apparently was unfamiliar with . So he quoted the circular again .

At the end of the 2 hours however he was happy he had hit all his “learning intentions “ . These people chose to take on this job so I expect them to be able to do it properly .
In contrast the lady who have the Science cluster day inservice was EXCELLENT .
She was extremely well informed AND therefore had no problem keeping things moving . I learned more about the SLAR in the 30 minute session on it that day than the “training “. In fact we even role played one . Instead of just talking through bookies we could read in our own time .
It’s like a classroom . A good teacher is one who knows their stuff and then has no classroom management problems .
I’m still annoyed at wasting an evening traveling in for it as you can probably tell !

I should also point out that the room was TINY and I mean TINY with no air con so that didn’t help the mood I suppose

Chilli Con Kearney

km79 wrote: »

That would be a disaster

How so? I'd rather do 2 hour sessions during the day if possible, than 2 hours after school. I mean, who the hell negotiated that?! More evenings on top of personal Croke Park hours, staff Croke Park hours, parent teacher meetings and extra curricular sports.

km79

Chilli Con Kearney wrote: »

How so? I'd rather do 2 hour sessions during the day if possible, than 2 hours after school. I mean, who the hell negotiated that?! More evenings on top of personal Croke Park hours, staff Croke Park hours, parent teacher meetings and extra curricular sports.

Oh I’d rather do it during the school day as well don’t get me wrong
I meant splitting it over 3 days just won’t work
Anyway it has to be one 2 hour block so it’s a non runner

Chilli Con Kearney

km79 wrote: »

Oh I’d rather do it during the school day as well don’t get me wrong
I meant splitting it over 3 days just won’t work
Anyway it has to be one 2 hour block so it’s a non runner

Maybe not three, but certainly 2 hours would work. Say the department are all off during the day but not last class, they MUST wait until after school? That's mad. Like, just nuts. Start it and then pick up after school. That'd be absolutely fine. And realistically who is going to know or care?!

Chilli Con Kearney

km79 wrote: »

Oh I’d rather do it during the school day as well don’t get me wrong
I meant splitting it over 3 days just won’t work
Anyway it has to be one 2 hour block so it’s a non runner

Maybe not three, but certainly 2 hours would work. Say the department are all off during the day but not last class, they MUST wait until after school? That's mad. Like, just nuts. Start it and then pick up after school. That'd be absolutely fine. And realistically who is going to know or care?!

km79

Chilli Con Kearney wrote: »

Maybe not three, but certainly 2 hours would work. Say the department are all off during the day but not last class, they MUST wait until after school? That's mad. Like, just nuts. Start it and then pick up after school. That'd be absolutely fine. And realistically who is going to know or care?!

It is mad
Just like they would have to stay behind for croke park evening or a PTM even if they were off all day
This is why it will be so hard to get consensus on an evening for a SLAR meeting of it is to be after school
No evening will suit anyone so ultimately who decides of this situation arises ? The SLAR facilitator ( no IMO) or senior management (yes IMO)

Again I sought clarification at the training and didn't get it
Local issues blah blah blah

solerina

We actually had a union meeting about this very issue today. Our school steward said the local branch of the union directed that SLARs must at the very least start within class time, and really should be done totally within class time. He said that we need to stand firm or whatever happens will continue for future years.
This wasn’t my understanding of what was to happen but it has really caused a bit of a furore among the staff.

joebloggs32

solerina wrote: »

We actually had a union meeting about this very issue today. Our school steward said the local branch of the union directed that SLARs must at the very least start within class time, and really should be done totally within class time. He said that we need to stand firm or whatever happens will continue for future years.
This wasn’t my understanding of what was to happen but it has really caused a bit of a furore among the staff.

It really is a mess. It was my understanding that the professional time allocation meant that we now do slars on our time. If possible to start during school but otherwise it would be after school. As our school operates a four and a half day week we could do it on our afternoon off so at least your out by 3.30

Mardy Bum

joebloggs32 wrote: »

solerina wrote: »

We actually had a union meeting about this very issue today. Our school steward said the local branch of the union directed that SLARs must at the very least start within class time, and really should be done totally within class time. He said that we need to stand firm or whatever happens will continue for future years.
This wasn’t my understanding of what was to happen but it has really caused a bit of a furore among the staff.

It really is a mess. It was my understanding that the professional time allocation meant that we now do slars on our time. If possible to start during school but otherwise it would be after school. As our school operates a four and a half day week we could do it on our afternoon off so at least your out by 3.30

That is exactly what the professional time is for along with administration.

Is it enough? Definitely not.

Did the ASTI capitulate and agree to it? Yes

I don't understand the unions on this now. The TUI didn't even try to stop this when it had the chance. The ASTI are trying to save face clearly following the coup. All a little too late.

joebloggs32

Mardy Bum wrote: »

That is exactly what the professional time is for along with administration.

Is it enough? Definitely not.

Did the ASTI capitulate and agree to it? Yes

I don't understand the unions on this now. The TUI didn't even try to stop this when it had the chance. The ASTI are trying to save face clearly following the coup. All a little too late.

The real can of worms for me here is the teachers in a small school where they are the only one with that subject.
They have to travel to another school and in some parts of rural Ireland that could be a considerable journey. Will they be subbed free to be able to travel and will they get proper expenses. What if they don't drive and there is no public transport?

Alqua

joebloggs32 wrote: »

The real can of worms for me here is the teachers in a small school where they are the only one with that subject.
They have to travel to another school and in some parts of rural Ireland that could be a considerable journey. Will they be subbed free to be able to travel and will they get proper expenses. What if they don't drive and there is no public transport?

I asked about this at our JCT day. They (of course) had no answer. Even if you only looked at the finances - some teachers can't end up worse off than others. If they have to give all of these teachers travel expenses, the new JC is going to cost €€€! They did suggest contacting the local education centre to see if we can be linked up with teachers from 'similar schools' in the area, but this is an urban area.

picturehangup

In addition to SLARS, we have also now to deal with new JC webinars after school hours.
Had one in my subject a few weeks ago, between the hours of 7-8pm. Surprised nobody has raised this one already.
This is more CPD time creeping in under the radar, unpaid, of course, with no thought or concern for those who may have other family commitments, young children etc. Sorry if I am off-topic, but did the unions agree to this?
I think we are being pushed and pulled in every which way and direction, and it is very, very unfair.

joebloggs32

picturehangup wrote: »

In addition to SLARS, we have also now to deal with new JC webinars after school hours.
Had one in my subject a few weeks ago, between the hours of 7-8pm. Surprised nobody has raised this one already.
This is more CPD time creeping in under the radar, unpaid, of course, with no thought or concern for those who may have other family commitments, young children etc. Sorry if I am off-topic, but did the unions agree to this?
I think we are being pushed and pulled in every which way and direction, and it is very, very unfair.

You don't have to do them at that time. They are put up in YouTube. Can be viewed during your school day which is exactly what I'm going to do

PureClareGold

picturehangup wrote: »

In addition to SLARS, we have also now to deal with new JC webinars after school hours.
Had one in my subject a few weeks ago, between the hours of 7-8pm. Surprised nobody has raised this one already.
This is more CPD time creeping in under the radar, unpaid, of course, with no thought or concern for those who may have other family commitments, young children etc. Sorry if I am off-topic, but did the unions agree to this?
I think we are being pushed and pulled in every which way and direction, and it is very, very unfair.

The recordings and resources they used are all available on their website that we can use to HELP us in our job. We can watch them during school time with our colleagues if we wish to improve as teachers.

6am7f9zxrsjvnb

People whining about having to do
a SLAR after school need to acknowledge the 33 FREE CLASSES they had shaved off their timetable this year!!

judeboy101

Brynlee Prehistoric Sister wrote: »

People whining about having to do
a SLAR after school need to acknowledge the 33 FREE CLASSES they had shaved off their timetable this year!!

33 classes is 33 less times I get to teach my students. I'd rather teach.

judeboy101

PureClareGold wrote: »

picturehangup wrote: »

In addition to SLARS, we have also now to deal with new JC webinars after school hours.
Had one in my subject a few weeks ago, between the hours of 7-8pm. Surprised nobody has raised this one already.
This is more CPD time creeping in under the radar, unpaid, of course, with no thought or concern for those who may have other family commitments, young children etc. Sorry if I am off-topic, but did the unions agree to this?
I think we are being pushed and pulled in every which way and direction, and it is very, very unfair.

The recordings and resources they used are all available on their website that we can use to HELP us in our job. We can watch them during school time with our colleagues if we wish to improve as teachers.

So by that logic, watching porn will make me a better and more considerate lover?

Moody_mona

Brynlee Prehistoric Sister wrote: »

People whining about having to do
a SLAR after school need to acknowledge the 33 FREE CLASSES they had shaved off their timetable this year!!

I appreciate that, but then why have the department indicated that some meetings may run after school time, indicating that some may take place during school? I'm not looking for an argument, I'm genuinely trying to understand how these, slars should be organised. The ASTI have a document (I posted a few pages back) that organising the meetings entirely outside of school contravenes the agreement. How are we supposed to organise the meetings to suit this?

km79

Moody_mona wrote: »

I appreciate that, but then why have the department indicated that some meetings may run after school time, indicating that some may take place during school? I'm not looking for an argument, I'm genuinely trying to understand how these, slars should be organised. The ASTI have a document (I posted a few pages back) that organising the meetings entirely outside of school contravenes the agreement. How are we supposed to organise the meetings to suit this?

Asked and ignored at Facilitator training
He was not aware of the union guidelines
Only the circular

6am7f9zxrsjvnb

Moody_mona wrote: »

I appreciate that, but then why have the department indicated that some meetings may run after school time, indicating that some may take place during school? I'm not looking for an argument, I'm genuinely trying to understand how these, slars should be organised. The ASTI have a document (I posted a few pages back) that organising the meetings entirely outside of school contravenes the agreement. How are we supposed to organise the meetings to suit this?

There’s 7 in our English Dept I was landed with the ‘coordinator ‘ gig.

In relation to the 3rd year English Collection of Texts,I’m planning on doing the following:

(A) Ask each colleague to supply me with 1 text for each of the grade descriptors.
I appreciate not every teacher may have a text for each category.

(B) Choose 7 texts to photocopy. These should try and cover the range of student ability.Every teacher should have one of their chosen texts scrutinized.

(C) In order to save time at the meeting,each of us should grade the texts in our own time BEFORE the meeting.

(D) Take vote on each of the 7 texts at meeting.This shouldn’t take longer than 30 mins unless there’s a 4/3 vote on a certain text..

Any thoughts? Would this be fair/dumb/clever/delusional!

Terri26

km79 wrote:

Asked and ignored at Facilitator training He was not aware of the union guidelines Only the circular

The time for SLARs outside of school is in the ironical agreement . ASTI was not signed up at the time. It would be nice if this was actually stuck to.

judeboy101

Brynlee Prehistoric Sister wrote: »

Moody_mona wrote: »

I appreciate that, but then why have the department indicated that some meetings may run after school time, indicating that some may take place during school? I'm not looking for an argument, I'm genuinely trying to understand how these, slars should be organised. The ASTI have a document (I posted a few pages back) that organising the meetings entirely outside of school contravenes the agreement. How are we supposed to organise the meetings to suit this?

There’s 7 in our English Dept I was landed with the ‘coordinator ‘ gig.

In relation to the 3rd year English Collection of Texts,I’m planning on doing the following:

(A) Ask each colleague to supply me with 1 text for each of the grade descriptors.
I appreciate not every teacher may have a text for each category.

(B) Choose 7 texts to photocopy. These should try and cover the range of student ability.Every teacher should have one of their chosen texts scrutinized.

(C) In order to save time at the meeting,each of us should grade the texts in our own time BEFORE the meeting.

(D) Take vote on each of the 7 texts at meeting.This shouldn’t take longer than 30 mins unless there’s a 4/3 vote on a certain text..

Any thoughts? Would this be fair/dumb/clever/delusional!

I'm assuming this coordinator position is pensionable?

happywithlife

picturehangup wrote: »

In addition to SLARS, we have also now to deal with new JC webinars after school hours.
Had one in my subject a few weeks ago, between the hours of 7-8pm. Surprised nobody has raised this one already.
This is more CPD time creeping in under the radar, unpaid, of course, with no thought or concern for those who may have other family commitments, young children etc. Sorry if I am off-topic, but did the unions agree to this?
I think we are being pushed and pulled in every which way and direction, and it is very, very unfair.

I've raised it before and raised it online on Twitter too and got a quick and fairly smart reply back that all info will be uploaded to view at my convenience. I agree NO consideration to those with other commitments

PureClareGold

happywithlife wrote: »

I've raised it before and raised it online on Twitter too and got a quick and fairly smart reply back that all info will be uploaded to view at my convenience. I agree NO consideration to those with other commitments

So let me get this right, you can't attend from 7-8pm. No issue with that. JCT are recording each webinar and putting it up on their website along with all the resources they use on the night. You contacted them about it and they responded quickly to you informing you of this and you still think there is no consideration for people with commitments even though they are doing everything possible to make it available to those of us who can't log in on the night. Nothing they do can please some people.

happywithlife

PureClareGold wrote: »

So let me get this right, you can't attend from 7-8pm. No issue with that. JCT are recording each webinar and putting it up on their website along with all the resources they use on the night. You contacted them about it and they responded quickly to you informing you of this and you still think there is no consideration for people with commitments even though they are doing everything possible to make it available to those of us who can't log in on the night. Nothing they do can please some people.

Yes I still consider it an I appropriate time. Edchatie is hugely popular and begins at 8.30 for example. This allows those with other commitments - be it family/training/farmwork etc -- to get those jobs out of the way first. Looking at something online afterwards is wholly different than being able to.participate in the live chat. I will always think 7pm is unsuitable.
I am very active in personal CDP and attend many other courses in my own time and gladly do so. I engage with many online commentators etc in my subject area.
However I not like the element creeping in that to be seen to be on board with the new Junior cycle you MUST be on Twitter etc. I believe it is distancing older members of the profession and putting them at an unfair disadvantage. I don't like the official promotion of CDP in this way. Official CDP should be available to all. My fear is that as this is very much an evolving change the ultimate end product is still being moulded and formned. Too much influence from one area may be disruptive to that end product. I am not against change. Far from it. But speaking from personal experience having been involved in subject reform at senior cycle - albeit on the fringe at the time - I retain the impression that sometimes the enthusiasm of the younger teachers needs to be tempered with the experience of those who have been in the profession longer and can foresee the wider implications of change in an area. I may be a little vague here as don't want to be too personal. I dontg mind engaging with webinars etc but certainly in my subject on the day of inservive it was very much a "keep an eye on Twitter for updates" approach which is too narrow in my opinion and alienates a huge amount of experienced teachers who are not and imo should not have to be engaged with Twitter to be able to "up to speed" with the new reforms

PureClareGold

happywithlife wrote: »

Yes I still consider it an I appropriate time. Edchatie is hugely popular and begins at 8.30 for example. This allows those with other commitments - be it family/training/farmwork etc -- to get those jobs out of the way first. Looking at something online afterwards is wholly different than being able to.participate in the live chat. I will always think 7pm is unsuitable.
I am very active in personal CDP and attend many other courses in my own time and gladly do so. I engage with many online commentators etc in my subject area.
However I not like the element creeping in that to be seen to be on board with the new Junior cycle you MUST be on Twitter etc. I believe it is distancing older members of the profession and putting them at an unfair disadvantage. I don't like the official promotion of CDP in this way. Official CDP should be available to all. My fear is that as this is very much an evolving change the ultimate end product is still being moulded and formned. Too much influence from one area may be disruptive to that end product. I am not against change. Far from it. But speaking from personal experience having been involved in subject reform at senior cycle - albeit on the fringe at the time - I retain the impression that sometimes the enthusiasm of the younger teachers needs to be tempered with the experience of those who have been in the profession longer and can foresee the wider implications of change in an area. I may be a little vague here as don't want to be too personal. I dontg mind engaging with webinars etc but certainly in my subject on the day of inservive it was very much a "keep an eye on Twitter for updates" approach which is too narrow in my opinion and alienates a huge amount of experienced teachers who are not and imo should not have to be engaged with Twitter to be able to "up to speed" with the new reforms

At my cluster day the facilitator spoke how twitter is ONE was they pass on information. I signed up to their mailing list for my two subjects and receive information via email. Their website has any information that is put out via twitter so there are lots of ways they try to communicate with us.
Also in relation to the timing of webinars. From looking at twitter or seems they run these from Education Centres. Don't think Ed centres stay open past 9pm so that could be part of it. Also the people delivering the webinars are human beings who have to travel home afterwards so perhaps that was also a consideration.