timmy_mallet wrote: » Farce. Utter utter farce. Either they go in and you forget about social distancng or they dont. Ni middle ground. Try socially distance school going-age children with one adult present. Not possible. The government needs to get a grip on their recommendations asap. If you dont want your child there. Remote learning. If a teacher doesn't want to be there, fine, 100% salary till they feel safe, and get someone who does in
khalessi wrote: » Are you suggesting no social distancing for schools
Jizique wrote: » Why should teachers get 100% salary if they decide not to work? Apart from the fact that they have strong unions and good political links. If the schools are open and they decide not to work, how can the govt justify full pay?
BonsaiKitten wrote: » So who is doing the planning for students at home? I presume they'd have to be set work and not just told to go study. The teachers will be working their regular day in school, they won't be available for remote learning.
The HorsesMouth wrote: » To suggest social distancing for anyone under the age of 10 in schools would show an extreme lack of insight into the life of a child that age. Not to mention the state of some of our schools infrastructure. How can you explain to a junior infant to stay away from their friends? No you can't share that crayon. No you cant go to the toilet as one other child is in the bathroom. No playing in the playground. Anyone suggesting that this is OK to ask children to do need to get a grip.
timmy_mallet wrote: » Because it's a global pandemic and sacrifices need to be made. We can sacrifice a few Bob for those who cant (health issues) or are unwilling (union agiitators).
khalessi wrote: » I presume they will have to do both, it will be interesting to see what is suggested.
Jizique wrote: » Not much sign of the teacher making a sacrifice if they expect 100% salary for extended summer holidays
BonsaiKitten wrote: » Personally what I would do is have the Department come up with a set roadmap - plan out week by week what topics schools should cover. Any teacher who can't come to work due to health reasons joins an online school and plans/delivers content online for children not attending school that week. This leaves the in-person teachers free to focus on the kids in front of them. Might not be workable at secondary level but it could do primary kids some good. There's a load of holes in it (internet access etc) but it's hard to find the ideal solution.
khalessi wrote: » WHat extended holiday. Teachers are teaching online
BonsaiKitten wrote: » I think that would be wrong myself as it's doubling teacher workload...but I have a sneaking suspicion they'll be expected to find the green jersey and do it.
JTMan wrote: » The Sunday Times reports here (paywall): - Some or all pupils spending weeks at school interspersed with alternate weeks studying at home. - The 2021 Leaving Cert year is likely to be given priority in getting back to school, but the group is expected to look at a staggered return for non-exam years. So most students will be 50% remote and 50% in classrooms.
timmy_mallet wrote: » That's not a solution, it's a complete fudge that solves nothing. Either all on or all out, there is no middle ground. Which half? Which parents can choose which half, what sports do the miss out on. Half the education of children to save 2/3rds of the people that would be dead in a year anyway, and most of whom will be dead by September anyway (ohh, death, ohh, one life, ohhh, dont go there)
timmy_mallet wrote: » And maybe we can leave the 8 yr olds at home to do it themselves while their parents go to work too,.
jrosen wrote: » I dont know what the answer is. But I dont see how social distancing can be done in schools without the education of students suffering even more than they are suffering now. How long is that sustainable for? We had an email the other day saying that our students are currently lagging behind where they should be. If this continues into September that gap will grow even more. Should schools open in full and leave it up to each parent if they send their child or not?? I also think schools need to be far stricter with not accepting sick kids into class in the morning and also sending kids home. In other countries kids need to be fever free for 48 hours before they are allowed return to school. We should adopt that policy here.
jrosen wrote: » I also think schools need to be far stricter with not accepting sick kids into class in the morning and also sending kids home. In other countries kids need to be fever free for 48 hours before they are allowed return to school. We should adopt that policy here.
BonsaiKitten wrote: » If we have to take a week on/week off approach then that will be out of teachers control. Tbh I think social distancing is not workable in schools and we may be better off just going back en masse. Perhaps the department could actually properly fund soap and sanitiser this time...
khalessi wrote: » Its the parents who need to be stricter they are the ones sending them in dosed to the eyeballs on calpol then not answering phones when asked to collect their child
JTMan wrote: » If this is proven true then we can forget about schools reopening in September. Guardian article here about mystery coronavirus illness after three children die. Their symptoms are similar to toxic-shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, an illness with no known cause that mainly affects children under five.
timmy_mallet wrote: » Didn't the WHO issue a surveillance warning for this, and then withdraw it?
niallo27 wrote: » The WHO say stuff and withdraw it a lot. The are actually giving the real The WHO a bad name.
morebabies wrote: » I know some parents are clamouring to have their children return to "normality", but as an earlier poster said, what would be normal about socially distancing children in school? That could freak them out more than being at home and distance learning. I'm thinking particularly of the younger children. My 5 year old for example - the teacher would have to constantly roar at them to stay apart, my little man just wouldn't get it and would wonder why teacher had suddenly become so cross. I think we have to treat this pandemic as a wartime scenario, the economy will suffer, yes, but unless we're comfortable with a huge rise in the number of deaths, we need to plan for quarantine into 2021, and get the Dept of Education to start preparing for a longer term scenario of online teaching. As Dr. Holohan said a few weeks ago, it will be a case of rolling restrictions until a vaccine / effective treatment is found, so with the expected rise in flu and other viruses in winter, would it not be wise to avoid that potential disruption of stopping and starting classes and just accept the situation is unprecedented and requires unprecedented measures?
