How will schools be able to go back in September?

Dravokivich wrote: »

Sounds to me like someone is trying to avoid admitting there are too many kids in classrooms at any one time. What's the answer to that? It's not about retraining as a teacher, you need to look at capacity management.

If they can work out capacity management in pubs, then surely it can worked out in schools, bring half of the class in for a few days & remainder in for other days, other countries are managing it so why can't we, instead of just the blanket "wouldn't work" that we get for suggestions given to education sector.

jrosen wrote: »

Has any teacher had contact with their principal about reopening? Im curious if there is talks going on behind the scenes that at the moment the general public are not aware of.
I said before my concern is we get to September and there is no plan in place and its basically schools winging it on a week to week basis.

It is not up to teachers or principals to reopen schools, that is a decision for NPHET and Department of Education because I dont know whether people realise there is actualy a pandemic and over the last fornight a study has been release by researchers in China along with Johns Hopkins Univeristy researchers showing children are just as likely as adults to catch Covid19 and spread it. That along with increasing numbers of children in AMerica and Europe being admitted to hospital with Kawasaki like illness associated with Covid19 would indicated caution is needed.

I do realise this does not suit most peoples narratives but so be it.

I was thinking we should have tried to forego one of our summer months, the kids have been off long enough.

I would have tried to take them back at start of August instead of September.

khalessi wrote: »

The children are not off, uless you are an irresponsible parent, as they are being educated online,

That is a dreadful thing to say . There are homes with both parents working from home while looking after two or three children . Some have babies or toddlers to deal with . Parents are not teachers they were never trained to be . Most are doing their very best to deal with all of the difficulties and to berate anyone who cannot always be perfect as irresponsible is very unfair
I am a retired nurse , I wouldn’t expect a parents to be able to do my job .
People are out there struggling to manage and doing their best in a very difficult situation
My own daughter is working from home as is her husband . They have a young baby and a child in senior infant . Some days the homework just has to wait . So it is for many

khalessi wrote: »

Why is it dreadful?
Most parents are sitting their children in front of computers and getting them to do the work. Yes they are working and looking after children and al ot of those paretns are teachers, so we understand the struggle. My kids dont get a look in during the day. They do book based school work while I teach online/wfh and the online stuff either gets done in the evening or on the weekend. It is a balancing act. One computer, wfh and school going kids.

But the attitude of NIMAN to say chidren are off, is not only untrue but irrpesponsible. I have parents whose children have not made any contact with school despite numerous and various attempts but the school by the school to contact them. That is irresponsible but according to law fine as the parent is the primary educator. So yes any parent whose child has not made any contact with the school since 12 MArch 2020 or who thinks the kids are off are irresponsible, as neither the children or the teachers are off, they are online.

Hyperbole much

khalessi wrote: »

It is not up to teachers or principals to reopen schools, that is a decision for NPHET and Department of Education because I dont know whether people realise there is actualy a pandemic and over the last fornight a study has been release by researchers in China along with Johns Hopkins Univeristy researchers showing children are just as likely as adults to catch Covid19 and spread it. That along with increasing numbers of children in AMerica and Europe being admitted to hospital with Kawasaki like illness associated with Covid19 would indicated caution is needed.

I do realise this does not suit most peoples narratives but so be it.

I never said it was your job as a teacher to decide when to re-open the school. But I am curious if principals and teachers are in communication about the logistics about returning to school. If not what happens in September?

You can take guidance from the departments but ultimately each school is different and will face different challenges when returning to school. Im really perplexed why this isn't being discussed between principals and staff.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/teaching-unions-warn-reopening-schools-without-caution-could-lead-to-spike-in-covid-19-997702.html

This is interesting, teaching union leaders in UK and Ireland seeking clear guidance from the Education Department about reopening schools, and how to maintain social distancing, hygiene, etc.

"Almost one million teachers and education staff here and in Britain are warning that prematurely reopening schools without caution could lead to a spike in Covid-19."

As an outsider looking in the lack of proactiveness is concerning. Secondary schools will close the end of this month. So when exactly will the discussions happen? If all staff are off?

Ive had numerous talks with my employer about our return to work. My husband the same and most of my friends are also getting communications from their employers outlining some "possible solutions" for their eventual return to work. Its odd to me the education sector seems to have no plan.

jrosen wrote: »

As an outsider looking in the lack of proactiveness is concerning. Secondary schools will close the end of this month. So when exactly will the discussions happen? If all staff are off?

Ive had numerous talks with my employer about our return to work. My husband the same and most of my friends are also getting communications from their employers outlining some "possible solutions" for their eventual return to work. Its odd to me the education sector seems to have no plan.

God bless all of you and the great work you're doin, apologies that the education sector has not seen fit to keep you in the loop. Some of us dont need numerous meetings., they will occur via zoom. Re secondary school, they are closing but the teachers are not off. They will be correcting sumer tests then assisting the 6th years with their leaving cert. Im am sure you'll be informed of the outcome and how it affects your children.

History Queen wrote: »

Speaking as a teacher generally we are not consulted en masse or if we are (rarely) our concerns are not taken on board. We'll be the last to know.

I wouldn't read anything into us not being consulted. As usual a circular will issue telling us what to do and we will follow it. That is the way of things in the education sector. The Department must issue the instructions. Schools don't have the autonomy to act on a localised basis.


But i do agree that instructions should be issued sooner rather than later

Do you not think this requires thinking outside the box? No 2 schools are the same so how can one set of instructions be followed by all schools? That is my point?
Do you not think as a teacher in your school you know your students best? that you know what would and wouldn't work within your classroom and your school? Surely now is the time for joined up thinking?

jrosen wrote: »

Do you not think this requires thinking outside the box? No 2 schools are the same so how can one set of instructions be followed by all schools? That is my point?
Do you not think as a teacher in your school you know your students best? that you know what would and wouldn't work within your classroom and your school? Surely now is the time for joined up thinking?

Teachers are well capable of thinking outside the box and will once the guidance comes down. No one is as thick as thinking one set of instructions will fit all schools, it will be jigged about with to suit the school, social distancing etc, not that you are implying that.

So to be clear, you want joined up, outside the box, thinking on a set of instructions which you feel since no two schools are the same are not suitable. Got it.

jrosen wrote: »

Do you not think this requires thinking outside the box? No 2 schools are the same so how can one set of instructions be followed by all schools? That is my point?
Do you not think as a teacher in your school you know your students best? that you know what would and wouldn't work within your classroom and your school? Surely now is the time for joined up thinking?

I don't think I made myself very clear. It isn't that I'm not willing, there isn't a facility for teachers to do this in a formal way. I've had informal conversations with my principal about it but becasue we don't know what protocols we have to adhere to we can't start figuring out how to implement them. Eg. Will students now stay in classrooms and teachers move? What class sizes will be allowed? by current social distancing guidelines I can only fit 4 or 5 in my classroom, my first year English class has 29 students. Do we provide less curricular contact and I teach the same class to 4 or 5 different groups? This has knockon effects on the curriculum and timetable if so. Is every student in every day? Will we have to do away with lockers (impossible to social distance while using them). Do all classes need to be staggered to allow for canteen access? Do classrooms need to be cleaned between classes? How much timedo we need to allow for that?

Local issues have already been identified and we (the school) are trying to fix them. We have an old building with narrow corridors, we are currently considering a one way system if needs be. Our toilet facilities are already lacking for our numbers and don't have hot running water. Do we use portakabins? (Hot water issue an easier fix I'm sure). Wecannot make definite decisions until we know what standards we have to meet.

I'm not trying to be obstructionist. I'll gladly help where I can to think of ways we can implement guidance... but the guidance must be provided first.

History Queen wrote: »

I don't think I made myself very clear. It isn't that I'm not willing, there isn't a facility for teachers to do this in a formal way. I've had informal conversations with my principal about it but becasue we don't know what protocols we have to adhere to we can't start figuring out how to implement them. Eg. Will students now stay in classrooms and teachers move? What class sizes will be allowed? by current social distancing guidelines I can only fit 4 or 5 in my classroom, my first year English class has 29 students. Do we provide less curricular contact and I teach the same class to 4 or 5 different groups? This has knockon effects on the curriculum and timetable if so. Is every student in every day? Will we have to do away with lockers (impossible to social distance while using them). Do all classes need to be staggered to allow for canteen access? Do classrooms need to be cleaned between classes? How much timedo we need to allow for that?

Local issues have already been identified and we (the school) are trying to fix them. We have an old building with narrow corridors, we are currently considering a one way system if needs be. Our toilet facilities are already lacking for our numbers and don't have hot running water. Do we use portakabins? (Hot water issue an easier fix I'm sure). Wecannot make definite decisions until we know what standards we have to meet.

I'm not trying to be obstructionist. I'll gladly help where I can to think of ways we can implement guidance... but the guidance must be provided first.

The fact your school has identified local issues and are working through them is a plus. I would see that as proactive tbh

jrosen wrote: »

The fact your school has identified local issues and are working through them is a plus. I would see that as proactive tbh

And most schools i know of are doing similar but it's all informal at the moment as principals (rightly) are awaiting official guidelines before they implement anything.

jrosen wrote: »

What I would like is some transparency on how this is going to impact my children and their education going forward. I would like to know what we are facing into come September. I dont think thats a lot to ask to be honest.
We are being told not to worry about their education? How can a parent not worry when no one has any answers.

Well its an unprecendented pandemic. I have the same thoughts about my children. Will they be going back to school in September, I know enough to know that that depends on how each stage of the reopening goes. If one stage goes bad it will be a step back to the previous onel. All along I said we would not be going back until October at the earliest and if it is September great.

No one is hiding anything, no one knows. It is not a case of not being transparent , it is a case of dealing with an unprecedented situation. I saw a post on FB the other day from someone who missed 4 years of school due to the war in Bosnia (Yugoslavia), they were saying not to worry as it can be made up, and they are now in university where they wanted to be.

I do know there are ways of mitigating it. Listen to your children when they read aloud ask them questions about what they read. Get them to explain various words. Play games, bake, give them responsibiities. Encourage them to sing or to write. Do jigsaws, board games.

Do simple experiments coke and mentos, baking powder and vinegar, let them paint. Give them a paint brish and water let them paint the garden walls. Tell them to put on a play, do sports with them, card games, play the floor is lava. Learning can be done in so many ways.

I am not being facetious, it is simple but it goes a long way in helping their education.

Teachers know the majority will pick this stuff up in no time. It will be accomodated in the learning. The minority will struggle but they will get there. Instead of bashing teachers, trust us to do our jobs, which we are doing at the moment. The children will be ok.

One of my children is in the minority group and they will struggle but they will be fine, not because I am a teacher, that side is not allowed as I am mum, but because I am a parent and wont give up on them. And that is what us parents do, never give up.

So when the doors reopen and they will, work with the teachers, dont give up on the kids because we haven't given up and wont and we are doing our damndest and will do our damndest to get them where they should be.