How will schools be able to go back in September?

brendanwalsh wrote: »

Can’t see schools opening in September. If they couldn’t arrange exams in July and August for only 6th form , there’s no way they’ll be able to have full school in September. Fully expect masks to be a compulsory thing also for re-opening of schools.

I think you’d want to cop yourself on. Schools across Europe are already reopened. Are you suggesting masks on kids?

BonsaiKitten wrote: »

I am a teacher, I think we'll be back in September, no rotas etc. Maybe some staggered start times? But I don't think social distancing can work properly in schools.

Teacher here too...fully agree with this.

What are you going in to school for?

The Irish Times seem to be running an orchestrated campaign to try and put pressure on the government to reopen up schools now in spite of public health advice to the contrary. A number of Irish Times journalists have been writing daily articles lobbying for schools to reopen now. This is playing itself out on social media too with a number of the same journalists solely preoccupying themselves with tweeting about reopening schools now. Then at today's press briefing the Irish Times had a journalist there who asked three questions of Holohan and each and every one of them was about schools reopening now and instead of in September.

LeYouth wrote: »

Someone's obviously fed up of being locked up with their children!

Or married to a teacher!

Hubertj wrote: »

I think you’d want to cop yourself on. Schools across Europe are already reopened. Are you suggesting masks on kids?

You'll find that a number of children will wear masks themselves especially vulnerable ones. This was already happening back in March in the lead up to the closure of schools.

I do think people are fed up with their kids at home but simply because they are trying to juggle too much. People are really struggling and parents are really worried. This is my take away from any conversations ive had with friends/kids friends parents over the last few weeks. I think if there was a plan people would be able to get behind it and it would settle nerves but its just so uncertain.

This is in no way blaming teachers as I know they are in the dark as much as parents are.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

This was asked before: are we talking going straight from lockdown in to the next school year without the kids getting a summer?

Just call it now.....Schools out, have the couple of months off now then get back in whatever new normal way is possible at the beginning of August. It’s not like family’s will be off to Spain on hols then. The best of the weather is usually in June and July anyway. When the new school year starts it could possibly be on reduced hours....why not get a small jump on it?

JP100 wrote: »

Not you of course but what's also happening online is that a number of folk seem intent on pitching this as a parents v teachers thing. What the latter fails to take in to account though is that most teachers are parents themselves and equally running the gauntlet of working from home and minding kids.

Thats been a big issue here, as Im a single parent and trying to manage school work and their work has been a nightmare. I find using Google classroom good but there are a lot of corrections and the kids school were using Seesaw which I found a nightmare to upload stuff to. One exercise teacher wanted us to photograph answers to quiz and I didnt have time to upload 56 photos. I am constantly behind on kids work and make me regret sending them to another school.

khalessi wrote: »

Thats been a big issue here, as Im a single parent and trying to manage school work and their work has been a nightmare. I find using Google classroom good but there are a lot of corrections and the kids school were using Seesaw which I found a nightmare to upload stuff to. One exercise teacher wanted us to photograph answers to quiz and I didnt have time to upload 56 photos. I am constantly behind on kids work and make me regret sending them to another school.

Little quick tip here. Download and use an all called genius scan for taking photos of stuff. Turns them into PDFs and you can add multiple photos to the one PDF. Greatly reduces the size of them. I find it great and my parents love the simplicity of it.

No teacher should be adding to stress at home for any primary going children. I've heard some horror stories of work going up on platforms at 9am, midday and again at 4pm. A particular school is expecting that every single bit is completed and returned.

I've taken the approach that what I put up is like a menu. Parents choose what their children do. Can be none, some or all. No pressure from me. Anything sent back to me is corrected but most parents send don't bother.

I've held zoom calls with mine and have about 50% of the class on at any given time. No live teaching on them as they are moreso for social interaction. The overriding emotion from my class is one of a sense of loneliness. They just miss actual physical human interaction with people from outside their immediate family. No amount of online bells and whistles can or will ever replace this. I worry about their mental well-being after this.

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Little quick tip here. Download and use an all called genius scan for taking photos of stuff. Turns them into PDFs and you can add multiple photos to the one PDF. Greatly reduces the size of them. I find it great and my parents love the simplicity of it.

No teacher should be adding to stress at home for any primary going children. I've heard some horror stories of work going up on platforms at 9am, midday and again at 4pm. A particular school is expecting that every single bit is completed and returned.

I've taken the approach that what I put up is like a menu. Parents choose what their children do. Can be none, some or all. No pressure from me. Anything sent back to me is corrected but most parents send don't bother.

I've held zoom calls with mine and have about 50% of the class on at any given time. No live teaching on them as they are moreso for social interaction. The overriding emotion from my class is one of a sense of loneliness. They just miss actual physical human interaction with people from outside their immediate family. No amount of online bells and whistles can or will ever replace this. I worry about their mental well-being after this.

We find our kids attack their school work alot better at 830 in the morning. They do their school work we correct it during our lunch break, send some to the teachers so they can comment on it, they also do school hub.

Their teachers reach out via zoom once a week are very positive to them and understand that parents work 9-6. No pressure from them.

Teachers sent post cards this week, did a music video week before and personal phone calls the week before that.

A very positive experience for us.

morebabies wrote: »

Just an observation, I definitely can't see masks working on a large scale if they are planning for children to have to wear them in September. After about 15 minutes the novelty will wear off, especially with younger children, they are not pleasant even for grown-ups, they make you feel your breathing is constricted, heat up your face, make it itchy, etc. Plus knowing what my son's boy's secondary school is like, they would be broken and snapped off their faces before lunchtime.

The recommendations are not for kids under 13

Beanybabog wrote: »

If we have staggered returns and limited days I think we’ll see a lot of people working part time or becoming stay at home parents. I don’t know how it’ll work for teachers though- if you have kids in one or two days to maintain social distance you still need the same teachers in 5 days- if they have kids themselves they’ll need their own childcare for the other days.

I’m personally glad they’re not going back now, although I appreciate how challenging it is for parents. I only have one in Montessori and while we miss it, the stories about the inflammatory illnesses in some kids is scary. At the very least this extra time off will show us what’s what, and by September we’ll know more and hopefully be able to say the risks are low

The stories about inflammatory diseases are scary, but they are never put in perspective. What are the numbers and what is the typical number?
Is it usually 5 annually, but is now double at ten? Double sounds scary but 10 out of 750k kids under the age of ten is not a high risk. Even if it doubles. Or it might treble from 2 to 6 - the media will run with treble and not 6.

Jizique wrote: »

The stories about inflammatory diseases are scary, but they are never put in perspective. What are the numbers and what is the typical number?
Is it usually 5 annually, but is now double at ten? Double sounds scary but 10 out of 750k kids under the age of ten is not a high risk. Even if it doubles. Or it might treble from 2 to 6 - the media will run with treble and not 6.

Probably more chance of getting hit by a car