JDD wrote: » I do think my five year old might be dyslexic. Which has had made teaching the basics to her more difficult and time consuming - not least because I don't have the first idea how to teach her differently in order to take this into account. I made her cry one day when practicing her handwriting - I clearly didn't mean to but when you're trying to teach a child to draw a line straight down, and they consistently go sideways, or start in the middle, and this is just a tiny part of the homework you have to get done that morning, with only one of your children, and you are frustrated and tired from working until 1am to try and catch up on the work from your real job, it is clearly not sustainable. I refuse to put us all in those circumstances again. .
normanoffside wrote: » Many private schools have already announced that you can’t return to school if you have been outside the country in the previous 14 days. Parents will have to sign a form declaring this to be the case. It would be a simple measure to roll this out for all schools and parents would then know where they stand. If they want to take a holiday they can do so in July or early August. If they come back late August then their kids will have to miss a week or two of school. The problem at the moment is the lack of clarity.
mcsean2163 wrote: » The virus doesn't care but as we see in Italy where good statistics exist, the virus targets people in older age brackets. The risk of death is miniscule to people under 40. Surely in a worst case, that age bracket could work with the kids? Even a day a week would be of benefit and perhaps those at risk could do zoom classes. In Italy 86 people under 40 diedhttps://www.statista.com/statistics/1105061/coronavirus-deaths-by-region-in-italy/
YFlyer wrote: » How are you so sure?
markodaly wrote: » The solution could be this simple and indeed other countries are following exactly this.
Tellyium wrote: » I’ll admit I haven’t read the thread, but what.contingencies are being worked on, in terms of distance learning/ virtual classrooms etc? If the schools don’t open in September, can we use technology to have a virtual teacher/class set up?
Drumpot wrote: » Yeh, I would be very worried thatthey are going to wing this. Basically hope one of two things. That either actual scientific evidence proves beyond doubt that children/schools don’t really spread the virus or that we don’t get any significant surges that require schools to close. Is there some sort of informed task force looking into this or are we relying on people who don’t really know what they are talking about to figure this all out?
jrosen wrote: » I think schools have to go back in September with a full schedule, allow the teachers to use PPE. Soap/hand sanitizer available all the time. Any school that requires an upgrade to bathrooms/sinks needs to happen before September. Close all communal areas. Classes basically stay in their home room all day. If any teacher is considered high risk they should be able to stay home with full pay, any other teacher who isn't comfortable can take unpaid leave. But the schools have to be supported in keeping sick staff/students home and if there is a case or a suspected case the school closes.
jrosen wrote: » If any teacher is considered high risk they should be able to stay home with full pay, any other teacher who isn't comfortable can take unpaid leave. But the schools have to be supported in keeping sick staff/students home and if there is a case or a suspected case the school closes.
khalessi wrote: » Too much academic or not enough?Too easy or too hard?
Bananaleaf wrote: » The virus doesn't just target the older age brackets. The virus targets us all. I think what you meant to say is that the virus isnt fatal to anyone other than those in the older age brackets. Children can still host the virus. If they can host it, they can spread it. My father is a vulnerable member of society. If he catches Covid-19 he will die. If case numbers start rising, I wouldnt be happy for schools to reopen. Not because I am a teacher and I want more holidays, but because I don't want my father to die. Before it gets mentioned again, I know that the pubs, cafes, hair dressers etc have opened. Well, if case numbers start rising, I would want them closed again too. There are articles beginning to appear that speak of additional health complications in people who had contracted Covid and recovered from it, so I wouldn't be so sure just yet that it is only the elderly that need to watch their backs with this one
morebabies wrote: » I watched a lot of the Oireachtas Committee meeting yesterday about the reopening of schools, and they just kept saying "we are aiming for a full return to school in September". It's as though they have no contingency plans, that was my reading of it. Someone asked if it would be possible to provide a virtual or "recorded" curriculum, accessible to all students, in case of further disruption, and the idea was shot down immediately. They said firstly, schools move through the curriculum at a different pace, and secondly, there was no comparison between teaching in a classroom setting and online resources. It was really frustrating to be honest because surely it's obvious we need a plan in place in case there is a spike in cases this autumn / winter.
mcsean2163 wrote: » Bananaleaf, my wife is a healthcare worker who was treating COVID19 patients. Her mother has an autoimmune condition, my mother is over 80. We all supported her in her work. I essentially quit my job as childcare disappeared and grandparents couldn't help us. She never considered walking out on her job despite the risk to herself, me, our children and extended family nor would we have expected her to do so. People are always at risk of death through a variety of illnesses that circulate such as influenza etc. but generally we accept the risks and move forward. I think it is hard to contemplate returning to such a risky world the longer one is essentially sheltering but realistically, if we don't work, Ireland could be in real danger. In your case you may be one of the people that decide to work from home but in most cases if people are under 40 and not co-habiting with at risk people, I would expect that they could return to work. Don't know what anyone else thinks but surely above is reasonable? P.S. I said, "The risk of death is miniscule to people under 40." Isn't that much the same as your version "the virus isnt fatal to anyone other than those in the older age brackets. " Again those figures for anyone that missed it: In Italy 86 people under 40 diedhttps://www.statista.com/statistics/1105061/coronavirus-deaths-by-region-in-italy/ There were 33,700 deaths in Italy. 86 deaths were under the age of 40. That means 33,614 were over the age of 40.
Newbie20 wrote: » Online teaching is far from ideal but the Department need to at least have a plan in place for this possibility.
...Ghost... wrote: » What about the teachers who have high risk family members? Elderly parents they help take of. Spouses with pre-existing conditions. Even children with a strong case of asthma. Should they be forced to take unpaid leave, or to put their loved ones lives at risk? The schools not opening in September will be a massive inconvenience for me and my family. My OH would have to work from home and take up the family PC for most of the day. I would be unable to work, or study from home because the PC I work from would be in use and I would be looking after the kids who are not in school. I’d rather that than sending my kids to several different schools where they might pick up the virus after spending hours in an enclosed space with about 30 other people. If we drop the ball on schools for our own convenience, it could be very costly.
morebabies wrote: » On top of this lack of clarity, we got our bill for two secondary students annual bus tickets a few days ago, €650. In normal times, we wouldn't query it, but now we're holding back because we know so little about how the next academic year is going to look. Obviously buses can't manage social distancing, and neither can bus companies offer twice as many buses and drivers with the same income for school transport. Obligatory masks on buses is all that can be done I suppose.
Scoondal wrote: » My children will not be going back to school until covid19 is finished.
