Schools closed until March/April? (part 4) **Mod warning in OP 22/01**

Louis Friend

History Queen wrote: »

The hypocrisy is priceless.

How is there hypocrisy?

Even suggesting it’s hypocrisy is laughable. Teaching children is fundamentally important work for the country. Children basically aren’t being taught now because the unions and their members have let society down.

If teachers were doing Zoom calls from 9 to 2.30/3.30, I wouldn’t have an issue.

But instead they’ve let us all down.

km79

Louis Friend wrote: »

Yes, I do. I’m a parent. My friends are parents. My sister’s a parent. My wife is a doctor. I’m here on my own working and trying to teach kids. My wife is on the frontline. And our children’s teachers are hiding under their beds. Teachers led by their unions have betrayed society and are not doing their bit. Never forget. I certainly won’t.

Maybe the wifi signal is better under the bed

wirelessdude01

Louis Friend wrote: »

How is there hypocrisy?

Even suggesting it’s hypocrisy is laughable. Teaching children is fundamentally important work for the country. Children basically aren’t being taught now because the unions and their members have let society down.

If teachers were doing Zoom calls from 9 to 2.30/3.30, I wouldn’t have an issue.

But instead they’ve let us all down.

Ahh the aul zoom call means we are working train of thought. Good of you to let that one slip out before 9am.

km79

Louis Friend wrote: »

How is there hypocrisy?

Even suggesting it’s hypocrisy is laughable. Teaching children is fundamentally important work for the country. Children basically aren’t being taught now because the unions and their members have let society down.

If teachers were doing Zoom calls from 9 to 2.30/3.30, I wouldn’t have an issue.

But instead they’ve let us all down.

A survey was done of parents in my child’s primary school
The overwhelming response from parents was that they do NOT want days of live classes and zoom calls. For a multitude of reasons no doubt

You speak for yourself . Not the majority of parents I know

Have some salt with that huge chip on your shoulder .

Idbatterim

Louis Friend wrote: »

How is there hypocrisy?

Even suggesting it’s hypocrisy is laughable. Teaching children is fundamentally important work for the country. Children basically aren’t being taught now because the unions and their members have let society down.

If teachers were doing Zoom calls from 9 to 2.30/3.30, I wouldn’t have an issue.

But instead they’ve let us all down.

agreed, teaching is not just your normal job and it cannot be moved online. Look , getting full pay for doing fcuk all is great. My mates who are getting it in other jobs admit it. I just hate the lying and "wont someone please think of the vulnerable" - but the kid loving teachers , it now suits to "wont nobody think of the kids" ...

Anyway, its a government decision not to vaccinate them earlier and getting back to work. The teachers just wanting to get full pay for doing very little, is nothing unique to them, we would all be the same. However many jobs can be done remotely with little to no, downsides.

This is not true with teaching kids!

you can read about the surge in self harming kids in the uk, as young as ten here... of course it would never be discussed in the irish media...

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55864573

puzl

Our kids' teachers have been very available and very engaged. We get work every day, corrections and commentary the next day, zoom calls. In fact, our kids hate the zoom calls and we have to excuse them from it because they have enough to be traumatised over at the moment.

They are parents too.. they have young kids that can't go to childcare too. They have to do their best, just as we do. I'm half arsing my job from 9-12 so I can help my kids learn. We all have to do our best. The teachers unions have never behaved admirably and I won't defend their approach now, but to the teachers I've had direct contact with I say bravo and keep it up and we appreciate it.

And now that the over 70s can't get the Astrazeneca vaccine I say it should be given out to public facing people like teachers, bus drivers, shop workers, meat packers etc. Get that done in early March and we'll have a very real chance at normality for our kids and not some temporary race back to school only to be shut down again 4 weeks later because of "worrying numbers".

Mrsmum

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Is there a consensus on the thread for when Primary Schools re open?

Early March would be my hope.

insullation

How long are most primary schools taking for their February Mid term?

Necro

Mod:

Idbatterim and Louis Friend, rein in the hyperbole or don't post in this thread

Louis Friend

I won’t post in the thread again, thanks, if that’s what passes for ‘hyperbole’.

Necro

Louis Friend wrote: »

I won’t post in the thread again, thanks, if that’s what passes for ‘hyperbole’.

Mod:

Fair enough, threadbanned

DraftDodger

Tombo2001 wrote: »

Speaking as one parent, not all parents.

If I was a teacher I would quickly stop looking at this discussion.

One thing thats been clear to me over the past year is that social media discussions are not representing certainly what I think, or what people that I talk to are thinking.

Social Media commentary has for me been one of the very worst parts of the pandemic, and commentary on boards has been at the extreme end of that.

Thankfully Boards in my opinion isn't a good representation of the general thinking of the Irish public. Yeah some of the stuff on here over the last year has been fairly extreme.

The one stand out of the whole pandemic for me has been the general attitude of a fair percentage of posters to the "ah sure they are old anyway and would have died" as regards the virus. Can't imagine living inside a head like that.

wirelessdude01

insullation wrote: »

How long are most primary schools taking for their February Mid term?

Depends on the school. Our calendar which was circulated to parents last April is for a week. Badly needed by all. We'll limp though next week.

deiseindublin

It's amazing to see it's all the new registrations that hate teachers. They either have form and were already banned, or don't have the gumption to use their regular account.

At least it means the teacher hatred isn't actually as common as it originally appears.

SusanC10

Both our Primary and Secondary have the full week off for Midterm. Both our kids need the break. They are exhausted.

jimmytwotimes 2013

Louis Friend wrote: »

If teachers were doing Zoom calls from 9 to 2.30/3.30, I wouldn’t have an issue.

Plenty are following full or partial timetables on live lessons.

mohawk

SusanC10 wrote: »

Both our Primary and Secondary have the full week off for Midterm. Both our kids need the break. They are exhausted.

We just have the two days and the think it’s for the best. I don’t think I could deal with looking at him playing on his console for a week. He turns into a Zombie on that thing. But he isn’t going to play outside for long on his own in February and I have work to do.

They will have a extra long weekend in June which they will probably need as it’s going to be full steam ahead for them until end of school year ( they started this years Maths after Halloween because the teacher felt they needed to complete the previous years curriculum before moving on).

TTLF

Took a bigger break from the educational form because I've been fixated on the real cold/snow possibility coming next week especially for me on the East Coast

I'll do a brief update on where I am now in terms to LC as it seems to be an underdiscussed topic as of current.

I've created a study time table that works along side my school hours and after, I'm thankful for this because it gives my day way more structure and I feel like I can actually stick to something, with this I get homework done and about 2-3 hours of study done across 2-3 subjects depending on my work load. I've even factored in a daily 30 min walk everyday for myself too and social time. The uncertainty of the LC is still in the back of my mind, but as of right now I don't really care as much about it because I'm fixated on working or following weather updates on the currently developing cold spell. This overall has really helped improve my mental health although it can be a little wobbly at times. I still think it's a bit of a disgrace that we've gotten absolutely no clarity although the "deadline" seems to be Tuesday. It is a little worrying however since TUI and ASTI unions want the exams to go ahead with some more amendments, which is very unfair to more disadvantaged students, but then again, what IS the correct way to go about this while factoring in people's opinions.

It's been a happy and sad week all round, my best friends grandfather passed away and it's a little upsetting I can't attend the funeral considering he went to my grandmothers in 2015. But it's out of my control.

Overall weeks experience is about a 6/10.

JDD

I have to say that the format and content of the work sent home for my SI and 3rd class kids has been head and shoulders above what was distributed last time out. A lot of that is because the kids have their books at home, so there's no need to try and upload worksheets on seesaw. They just fill out the relevant section in the book, upload a picture, and bob's your auntie.

The teachers are definitely doing a lot of work, but I'm a bit dubious about it being a harder job than being in school. I'm not a teacher, but I would surmise that it is less exhausting to plan a week's work, upload it, and correct it as it comes in, than it is to plan a week's work, print out all the worksheets, try and get a whole class of children to concentrate and participate, discipline disruptive children, commute to and from the school etc. But y'know, I'm not experiencing it, so I'll take teacher's word for it that it is more tiring to work remotely than it is to work face to face. Of course if you have kids at home, trying to do any work at all during office hours is a challenge to say the least, but not all teachers do.

My kids are fed up with the lockdown, but they're not exhausted from the school work. We start around 9.30, and by 12 they are both done for the day. I know other schools might be sending heavier workloads. My kids don't need a week off - the only thing keeping them sane at the moment is the routine. Now, teachers might need the week off, but that's a separate issue.

What my kids need is a week off when the restrictions are lifted. A week off in February when all they will do is watch tv/look at their tablets while it lashes rain outside is only going to tip them over the edge completely.

wirelessdude01

JDD wrote: »

I have to say that the format and content of the work sent home for my SI and 3rd class kids has been head and shoulders above what was distributed last time out. A lot of that is because the kids have their books at home, so there's no need to try and upload worksheets on seesaw. They just fill out the relevant section in the book, upload a picture, and bob's your auntie.

The teachers are definitely doing a lot of work, but I'm a bit dubious about it being a harder job than being in school. I'm not a teacher, but I would surmise that it is less exhausting to plan a week's work, upload it, and correct it as it comes in, than it is to plan a week's work, print out all the worksheets, try and get a whole class of children to concentrate and participate, discipline disruptive children, commute to and from the school etc. But y'know, I'm not experiencing it, so I'll take teacher's word for it that it is more tiring to work remotely than it is to work face to face. Of course if you have kids at home, trying to do any work at all during office hours is a challenge to say the least, but not all teachers do.

My kids are fed up with the lockdown, but they're not exhausted from the school work. We start around 9.30, and by 12 they are both done for the day. I know other schools might be sending heavier workloads. My kids don't need a week off - the only thing keeping them sane at the moment is the routine. Now, teachers might need the week off, but that's a separate issue.

What my kids need is a week off when the restrictions are lifted. A week off in February when all they will do is watch tv/look at their tablets while it lashes rain outside is only going to tip them over the edge completely.

Every teacher I know says remote is far harder and far longer hours than normal school.

I'll give two examples.

1. The likes of a 20min maths tutorial takes about an hour to piece together and then record.
2. Corrections are an utter headache. No whole class self corrections. Every single piece of work submitted receives feedback. This wouldn't be happening in school.

iguana

Stateofyou wrote: »

I am grateful that our kids are safe at home right now and still able to learn in a variety of ways. And tough as it might be at times the one to one with them has brought them on in areas too. If schools were open now or anytime in the recent past they wouldn't be sent in and most likely wouldn't have access to their teachers curriculum at home. On balance I feel being at home right now is the right course of action.

Just on this, I read a thread on Mumsnet this morning by a woman who's husband in his early 40s has been in ICU since the beginning of the year and is now not expected to recover. As he had kidney problems they had been extremely careful since March but just before the school Christmas holidays their youngest felt unwell. After Christmas the rest of the family came down with it. The woman has written about how guilty their youngest, a pre-teen, feels. It's not in any way that child's fault but the reality is now that her father is most probably going to die of a virus she believes she infected him with.

My son, as I've mentioned repeatedly on boards, is an only child and very lonely without peer interaction. I'd love him to be in school and interacting with other children. I do worry at times about the effect this has on his mental health and his long term development. But I don't want him back at school at the expense of any more children having to carry the grief and guilt of that girl.

Deeec

insullation wrote: »

How long are most primary schools taking for their February Mid term?

Our kids get 2 days mid-term at the end of next week . If we get the heavy snow that is predicted for early next week school work will be put on the long finger in our house to allow the kids have fun in the snow.

JDD

iguana wrote: »

Just on this, I read a thread on Mumsnet this morning by a woman who's husband in his early 40s has been in ICU since the beginning of the year and is now not expected to recover. As he had kidney problems they had been extremely careful since March but just before the school Christmas holidays their youngest felt unwell. After Christmas the rest of the family came down with it. The woman has written about how guilty their youngest, a pre-teen, feels. It's not in any way that child's fault but the reality is now that her father is most probably going to die of a virus she believes she infected him with.

My son, as I've mentioned repeatedly on boards, is an only child and very lonely without peer interaction. I'd love him to be in school and interacting with other children. I do worry at times about the effect this has on his mental health and his long term development. But I don't want him back at school at the expense of any more children having to carry the grief and guilt of that girl.

While its particularly awful for the poor girl, I'm not sure I'd let this sway my opinion. If one of my children distracted my husband while driving and he had a fatal car crash, it wouldn't mean that I'd never let my children travel in a car again, despite the guilt of my child at causing the car crash. What that child in the Mumsnet post there needs is a lot of grief counselling.

You can't let anecdotes (as tragic as they may be) dictate public policy.

BTownB

Deeec wrote: »

Our kids get 2 days mid-term at the end of next week . If we get the heavy snow that is predicted for early next week school work will be put on the long finger in our house to allow the kids have fun in the snow.

With schooling being done online, there will be no snow days surely?

Deeec

BTownB wrote: »

With schooling being done online, there will be no snow days surely?

If it snows there will be snow days ( given by me) in my house - the kids wont be doing school work. Fun in the snow is just what the kids need.

I wouldnt blame any teachers for taking snow days either!

wirelessdude01

BTownB wrote: »

With schooling being done online, there will be no snow days surely?

If we have the snow that is being predicted, then my class will be told to do two things a day. Get out and enjoy themselves.

iguana

JDD wrote: »

While its particularly awful for the poor girl, I'm not sure I'd let this sway my opinion. If one of my children distracted my husband while driving and he had a fatal car crash, it wouldn't mean that I'd never let my children travel in a car again, despite the guilt of my child at causing the car crash. What that child in the Mumsnet post there needs is a lot of grief counselling.

You can't let anecdotes (as tragic as they may be) dictate public policy.

Well for one I doubt that child will never go to school again, so the not driving in a car analogy is not a good one. I bet if your husband died in a crash because your child distracted him, your child would feel awful and probably carry that guilt forever. Driving in a car again isn't really the point. The fact is that the more people mix, the more the virus spreads and the more people who are at risk will be infected. The more people will die. That family live in the UK where the new variant was becoming dominant at the time they were infected. And that variant is dominant here now. If we open up too soon, there are increasingly likely odds that a child (numerous children) will bring the virus home to a vulnerable family member and feel responsible for it. We can't pretend to care about the mental well-being of children, if we don't take into account all of the consequences of being open too soon.

Especially as we are only months off all of those vulnerable people being vaccinated and then being able to hopefully bring the virus levels in the community to negligible levels this year.

beggars_bush

insullation wrote: »

I think its very selfish of our school that they are only taking 2 days mid term in February when they had he option to take more. Instead they opted to take the remainder in May and they won't budge on it. Parents would love to get a week off home schooling in February.

Or take a week off in may when the weather is good?

insullation

beggars_bush wrote: »

Or take a week off in may when the weather is good?

Its the parents that need the week off from homeschooling as much as the kids at this stage. It just means less in class time for the children and to be with their friends. Just that the consensus seem to be that everybody prefers to be in class including teachers which I agree with. So why not minimise the home schooling and maximise the in class. Taking a week off in May is not much good when all the parents are working and chances are the children may still not be able to mix freely with there friends

hesaidshesaid

insullation wrote: »

Its the parents that need the week off from homeschooling as much as the kids at this stage. It just means less in class time for the children and to be with their friends. Just that the consensus seem to be that everybody prefers to be in class including teachers which I agree with. So why not minimise the home schooling and maximise the in class. Taking a week off in May is not much good when all the parents are working and chances are the children may still not be able to mix freely with there friends

I can see what you're saying here but once the school calendar is set there are all sorts of complications with changing it. It's a pain in the neck, but that's the way it is. The DES works in mysterious ways.

Let's not get into circulars for the sake of everyone's mental health!

Ultimately you are the parent, you can make a decision. If your family need a week off, just take it. These are extraordinary times. No school/teacher is going to argue with that.