Schools closed until undetermined date - was March 29th

ethical

Teaching Council are so far removed from "on the ground" teaching,now they are only trying to make themselves noticed with this speculation.

Why dont they just fcuk off right back to collecting their monies as thats all they are good at!

Mardy Bum

ethical wrote: »

Teaching Council are so far removed from "on the ground" teaching,now they are only trying to make themselves noticed with this speculation.

Why dont they just fcuk off right back to collecting their monies as thats all they are good at!

This was just a comment by someone on the Council. It wasn't an official communication.

Gael23

Will be very difficult to impossible for state exams to proceed in the traditional format. Something drastic will need to be done regarding the leaving cert.

Postgrad10

I’d wait until an official statement from the SEC’s communications office. I doubt they’d make an announcement through the Teaching Council and Breaking News.

Millem

Teachers will be under serious pressure in September....working full time and marking? Also how will they get superintendents?

Shn99

As a Leaving Cert student, It would be a lot more helpful if the likes of the Teaching Council ect laid off the speculation until the SEC makes an official statement. Lot of my friends have seen that article and there's a mentality starting to emerge that "oh we've ages so" and not working. ATM Im working as if there will be a LC in June but a lot of others will take a step back now after reading that article.

MacGyver007

Headlines were misleading and it seems that they have been corrected. Council has tweeted about it, stating that
"it has no role and no position in relation to the State examinations" and has not issued any statement about them

https://twitter.com/TeachingCouncil/status/1240279553546883073

RealJohn

MacGyver007 wrote: »

Headlines were misleading and it seems that they have been corrected. Council has tweeted about it, stating that
"it has no role and no position in relation to the State examinations" and has not issued any statement about them

https://twitter.com/TeachingCouncil/status/1240279553546883073

That’s no good though, now that the news is out. They’ll remember hearing the exams would be postponed. They won’t remember “that wasn’t an official statement”.

fall

SEC are due to make a statement before the end of the week. As I hear anything I will update.

solerina

Just to add my opinion...I feel that the JC will be cancelled and the LC will run as per usual in June, with greater space between the candidates. This is presuming we don’t go back after Easter. No way the LC will be delayed in my opinion, it’s too important, where as the JC, especially this new version is irrelevant under the current circumstances

acequion

fall wrote: »

SEC are due to make a statement before the end of the week. As I hear anything I will update.

Where are getting that information from? There is absolutely nothing new on their website.

jrmb

For what it's worth, the UK government has suspended exams which would have been happening in May and June.

doc_17

Anyone see the redeployment circular?

rainbowtrout

Treppen wrote: »

I think the JC will be left to in house exams. Possibly just a rehash of the mocks, using companies (maybe in partnership with SEC).

Be nice to give marking work to subs as they're taking a fierce hammering. I can honestly see many subs throwing in the towel and heading off abroad, rather than dealing with this ad hoc stuff ever again.

Don't think that will happen. One of the things we have going for us in this country is a level playing field exam wise and integrity of the exams. It's a very slippery slope if you bring in mock companies. I'd say the SEC would throw money, and bodies at it to get it across the line rather than go outside.

rainbowtrout

Wexford96 wrote: »

Just wondering about the Leaving Certificate Speaking Exams for French, German, Irish and other languages. Is it believed that they will take place sometime in the months of April or May?
Is it believed they will take place in the school or online?
Might they be pushed back to the examination season of June and included with all the rest of the written exams?
Thanks

If students were brought into the school building one at a time then it's no different to going to the supermarket at the moment. They could in theory run them through the Easter holidays. It's not like anyone is leaving the country for the next while.

spurious

The thing is, everything is ready to go for both the exams. Granted, extra centres would be needed to allow for distancing, but that is not insurmountable. It is far easier get Superintendents than Examiners.

Extra centres would cost money though, there's the rub.

Lc2020

spurious wrote: »

The thing is, everything is ready to go for both the exams. Granted, extra centres would be needed to allow for distancing, but that is not insurmountable. It is far easier get Superintendents than Examiners.

Extra centres would cost money though, there's the rub.

If the GCSEs and A Levels were cancelled, and the UK was heavily cricitised for its complacency in its handling of the situation, then I don't see how the leaving cert exams will go ahead in June.

It's easy to forget that a lot of the course has still to be covered in certain subjects. I'd ask for the SEC to think about students as opposed to what's most convenient for them.

Does this spell an end to 6th year graduations ?

6am7f9zxrsjvnb

solerina wrote: »

Just to add my opinion...I feel that the JC will be cancelled and the LC will run as per usual in June, with greater space between the candidates. This is presuming we don’t go back after Easter. No way the LC will be delayed in my opinion, it’s too important, where as the JC, especially this new version is irrelevant under the current circumstances

Not important enough..there won’t be Leaving Cert exams in June.

rainbowtrout

Lc2020 wrote: »

If the GCSEs and A Levels were cancelled, and the UK was heavily cricitised for its complacency in its handling of the situation, then I don't see how the leaving cert exams will go ahead in June.

It's easy to forget that a lot of the course has still to be covered in certain subjects. I'd ask for the SEC to think about students as opposed to what's most convenient for them.

Does this spell an end to 6th year graduations ?

6th year graduations are hardly the top of the agenda at the moment.

Teachers are still providing lessons through online classes etc. We don't know where the country will be by the end of April let alone June. It is possible that the LC could take place. If it doesn't there isn't a fall back mechanism for college entry, so what would happen then? Get 60k students to repeat 6th year? Have no new entries into college for a year?

Bananaleaf

doc_17 wrote: »

Anyone see the redeployment circular?

Feb 2020 one? It's 29 pages long and I'm up to my neck in virtual corrections here! - is there a specifc page number I should be looking at?

Thanks

Lc2020

rainbowtrout wrote: »

6th year graduations are hardly the top of the agenda at the moment.

Teachers are still providing lessons through online classes etc. We don't know where the country will be by the end of April let alone June. It is possible that the LC could take place. If it doesn't there isn't a fall back mechanism for college entry, so what would happen then? Get 60k students to repeat 6th year? Have no new entries into college for a year?

Fair enough, but in my dealings with my own teachers-they possess varying levels of competency in technology Jk
In all fairness, this remote learning cannot replace valuable and precious classroom teaching. We are also forgetting those students who've been off since the end of February.

Holding the exams a few weeks later won't throw everything out of kilter. It'll ensure students that need to finish their respective courses are attended to, and practicals/orals can be facilitated. I just hope Leo will shed some light on this asap

doc_17

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Feb 2020 one? It's 29 pages long and I'm up to my neck in virtual corrections here! - is there a specifc page number I should be looking at?

Thanks

No, the one that DPER released today about redeploying PS and CS workers to the fight against COVID. In theory we could be redeployed.

rainbowtrout

Lc2020 wrote: »

Fair enough, but in my dealings with my own teachers-they possess varying levels of competency in technology Jk
In all fairness, this remote learning cannot replace valuable and precious classroom teaching. We are also forgetting those students who've been off since the end of February.

Holding the exams a few weeks later won't throw everything out of kilter. It'll ensure students that need to finish their respective courses are attended to, and practicals/orals can be facilitated. I just hope Leo will shed some light on this asap

As is the same in every school in the country. You are all in the same boat. As it stands from Monday 15th March there was 9 weeks left in the school year. The bulk of the work is done in most subjects. Most leaving certs are not in school/formal classes the last week of school anyway and there is quite a lot of disruption from here on in with orals and practicals. It's far from ideal but it's not a complete disaster finishing school mid March, when you are still getting support to get you over the line.

It would be a far different scenario if one part of the country was shut down and the rest operated as normal.

Lc2020

rainbowtrout wrote: »

As is the same in every school in the country. You are all in the same boat. As it stands from Monday 15th March there was 9 weeks left in the school year. The bulk of the work is done in most subjects. Most leaving certs are not in school/formal classes the last week of school anyway and there is quite a lot of disruption from here on in with orals and practicals. It's far from ideal but it's not a complete disaster finishing school mid March, when you are still getting support to get you over the line.

It would be a far different scenario if one part of the country was shut down and the rest operated as normal.

We have an education system that would rather see students suffer and put their own health in jeopardy so as not to inconvenience examiners/the sec.
Yes the bulk of the work has been done. But it remains the case that course material still has to be covered and if students are receiving varying degrees of online support then no we are not all in the same boat.

We have mocks to get back. I also don't know of any school wherein most students are not attending formal classes.

joe40

Has anyone heard any UK plans for University/college entry now that GCSE and A levels have been cancelled. I teach in the North and have no idea what is going on.
With no exams and long term closure I can see the online teaching fizzle out very quickly for many students.
Where would their motivation come from?

rainbowtrout

Lc2020 wrote: »

We have an education system that would rather see students suffer and put their own health in jeopardy so as not to inconvenience examiners/the sec.

That's not what it is about at all.


If the exams run in June, it will be done under circumstances different to normal to allow students to sit them and not put their health in jeopardy.

Not sure why you think this would be an inconvenience to examiners? People aren't forced to examine, they apply for it and if they get it they get paid to do it. Remember examiners have to supervise exams. Their health is at much risk as students. Procedures will be put in place to safeguard all if they go ahead in June.

Bananaleaf

doc_17 wrote: »

No, the one that DPER released today about redeploying PS and CS workers to the fight against COVID. In theory we could be redeployed.

Ooooh, I see. I presume only those who:

Aren't self-isolating due to having Covid
Don't have a family member who is immunocompromised
Don't have children or have access to a childminder if they do
Don't have a rake of exam classes that they are still teaching online

I know we were sent an email asking for us to volunteer a few days ago. I would love to, but have family members I need to think of, I am only getting over a cough/cold myself and I've 5 exam classes to prep for.

I would however be only too willing to help out part time during the easter holidays and have enquired about whether that might be possible

km79

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Ooooh, I see. I presume only those who:

Aren't self-isolating due to having Covid
Don't have a family member who is immunocompromised
Don't have children or have access to a childminder if they do
Don't have a rake of exam classes that they are still teaching online

I know we were sent an email asking for us to volunteer a few days ago. I would love to, but have family members I need to think of, I am only getting over a cough/cold myself and I've 5 exam classes to prep for.

I would however be only too willing to help out part time during the easter holidays and have enquired about whether that might be possible

I have spent all weekend and the last 3 days preparing and delivering online classes
If my services are deemed non essential I would rather know now !

Can’t believe how quiet the dept have been
No update since last week ???

jimmytwotimes 2013

km79 wrote: »

I have spent all weekend and the last 3 days preparing and delivering online classes
If my services are deemed non essential I would rather know now !

Can’t believe how quiet the dept have been
No update since last week ???

Had a very busy weekend as well which, given circumstances, isn't too bad.

One dilemma for Dept is, if they announce LC and JC are postponed until late-August at least, then most students aren't going to engage with online work.

LaLa2004

As a parent, I'm hoping that the Leaving will go ahead in June, in some (safe) shape or form. Prolonging the preparation time for 2 months perhaps(?) would be painful. Currently students are more or less confined to the house - with little to do but study. You know that "textbooks looking at you feeling".

I know you'd need a crystal ball to see what state we'll be in by June. I know my worries are small in the greater scale of things.

Stay well everyone.