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

wirelessdude01 · 22-01-2021 11:45PM

khalessi wrote: »

As an aside, I fell asleep for a few hours today after school exhausted, and have banging headaches,

Anyone else the same?

No naps but I've very tired eyes from all the screentime.

wirelessdude01 · 22-01-2021 11:46PM

BonsaiKitten wrote: »

I've been enjoying the occasional nap alright! No headaches so far but I hope yours clear soon. I do find myself very tired at the end of the day.

Naps, the Mute All button, no commute and teaching in your PJ bottoms. I can't say that there's absolutely nothing good about online teaching...

No commute is the one huge pro to all this for me.
Having said that my alarm goes off at the same time as it normally would. Prefer the routine but it does allow me time to have a proper breakfast every day, stick on Morning Ireland and get a handle on any work that came in since I turned off the laptop the previous day before we get onto zoom.

khalessi · 22-01-2021 11:48PM

Beasty wrote: »

Yep - but that was all from dealing with this thread

:pac:

I know it is exhausting when people bash teachers:D

byhookorbycrook · 23-01-2021 12:38AM

political analyst wrote: »

Why would the DES discourage what was considered normal just over 2 decades ago?

Because it’s been proven to hinder a child and decimate their self esteem .

wirelessdude01 · 23-01-2021 12:40AM

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Because it’s been proven to hinder a child and decimate their self esteem .

Plus the amount of effort to jump through all the hoops means most who consider it just give up.

Bananaleaf · 23-01-2021 12:43AM

khalessi wrote: »

As an aside, I fell asleep for a few hours today after school exhausted, and have banging headaches,

Anyone else the same?

No headaches but yes I have needed a nap this and last Thurs and Fri after school, which are both my full days where I've no classes off.

Makes you wonder how the students are managing. We have periods off on our timetables and often bemoan having a full day. They've full days every day. Must be tiring. We are doing a full live timetable

I'd be a teacher who doesn't use the textbook that much and prefers to design my own powerpoints and worksheets, but I'm changing things now that we're online to give them some time off the screen

jimmytwotimes 2013 · 23-01-2021 12:48AM

Bananaleaf wrote: »

No headaches but yes I have needed a nap this and last Thurs and Fri after school, which are both my full days where I've no classes off.

Makes you wonder how the students are managing. We have periods off on our timetables and often bemoan having a full day. They've full days every day. Must be tiring. We are doing a full live timetable

I'd be a teacher who doesn't use the textbook that much and prefers to design my own powerpoints and worksheets, but I'm changing things now that we're online to give them some time off the screen

Full timetable while online is madness. Students will be worn out from all that screen time and won't get much study done, especially 3rd & 6th years.

Think some schools are more concerned with optics than effectiveness

History Queen · 23-01-2021 12:50AM

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Because it’s been proven to hinder a child and decimate their self esteem .

Really? I never knew that.

mvl · 23-01-2021 12:59AM

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Because it’s been proven to hinder a child and decimate their self esteem .

this is an interesting subject though; would same apply for scenarios where child is long term absent for various reasons: illness, travels with family for extended period of time ?
for example, parent goes on business trip, assigned 6 months to work in a different country - assume the child can't join the initial class level upon return ?

Bananaleaf · 23-01-2021 01:01AM

jimmytwotimes 2013 wrote: »

Full timetable while online is madness. Students will be worn out from all that screen time and won't get much study done, especially 3rd & 6th years.

Think some schools are more concerned with optics than effectiveness

It is absolute madness. I'm doing it but we have 40min classes and I only keep them 30mins to give them a break.

We were also told to give homework and take up assignments for correction on top of the live timetable. I'm senior enough to know better, but there are some doing this. I wouldn't do it to the kids and I wouldn't do it to myself.

What I have done is set up an 'extra work' folder in their Teams where the ones who aren't overwhelmed can knock themselves out and they can send it on to me for correction. No complaints so far and I wouldn't be expecting any either

jimmytwotimes 2013 · 23-01-2021 01:10AM

Bananaleaf wrote: »

It is absolute madness. I'm doing it but we have 40min classes and I only keep them 30mins to give them a break.

We were also told to give homework and take up assignments for correction on top of the live timetable. I'm senior enough to know better, but there are some doing this. I wouldn't do it to the kids and I wouldn't do it to myself.

What I have done is set up an 'extra work' folder in their Teams where the ones who aren't overwhelmed can knock themselves out and they can send it on to me for correction. No complaints so far and I wouldn't be expecting any either

Mad alright. Gone are the days when a teacher was trusted to assess the needs of their classes.

Now we have know-it-alls, with very little experience, calling the shots to the point where experienced staff have to hide the fact they're doing a good job and are conscious of students' needs.

Sorry

French Toast · 23-01-2021 01:47AM

jimmytwotimes 2013 wrote: »

Full timetable while online is madness. Students will be worn out from all that screen time and won't get much study done, especially 3rd & 6th years.

Think some schools are more concerned with optics than effectiveness

Nail on the head.

I'm doing two 40 minute live classes per week with Leaving Certs. Making up the rest with pre-recorded lessons and notes which they can access at their leisure.

Gave a questionnaire to fill out looking for opinions on it, they were all happy.

Smacruairi · 23-01-2021 01:55AM

https://checkbox.education.gov.ie/checkbox/remote_teaching_learning.aspx?fbclid=IwAR23wvwbCagg3FrZynXVvBwlJfHwtsIBLqDSSWCOTkY-sExgTk2fE-v2VzE

For any parents looking to give their feedback. I'm sure Hellrazer will be first at it

but all jokes aside, this is actually the best way, despite the fact that I think a lot of the questions are leading in light of the the actual recommendations from thr DES.

But seriously, if you're a parent, fill out the form.

Locotastic · 23-01-2021 02:07AM

jimmytwotimes 2013 wrote: »

Full timetable while online is madness. Students will be worn out from all that screen time and won't get much study done, especially 3rd & 6th years.

Think some schools are more concerned with optics than effectiveness

We're getting regular assignments, CBAs and homework here on top of classes during the normal school day for secondary. He's burnt out already, I think it's too much.

Leftwaffe · 23-01-2021 02:30AM

Locotastic wrote: »

We're getting regular assignments, CBAs and homework here on top of classes during the normal school day for secondary. He's burnt out already, I think it's too much.

We pulled the plug on the CBAs that were due to start after Xmas. Doing them online is madness.

We’re doing a live timetable table too. I do 30 or 35mins and set an assignment to be completed before the end of class. Gets them off the screen and ensures their working for a bit themselves. I don’t give homework (no LC’s) only on the last class of the week. Trying to mix it up with diff apps etc but it’s difficult.

What I will say is that this time is going so, so much better than the last time. I’m getting 90% attendance and probably 75/80% submissions of work. Which is no different to a normal day in school.

markodaly · 23-01-2021 02:46AM

Smacruairi wrote: »

Just to add, for those arguing the toss for school autonomy on his, on which I actually haven't made up my mind. It depends on how long term your vision is.

Allow schools the opportunity to open and close as many clamour for, you'll end up with grind schools not inhibited by DES guidelines open full time, and schools in less affluent areas facing the decision to close for health and safety or a risky open to try to keep pace.

That's why the unified platforms were called for. It might push some school with awful broadband reception a bit past their capability, but stops sth Dublin schools tearing away with even more economic advantages.

Where you live shouldn't dictate your education.

I get your point of view, but therefore the correct position is to keep all schools closed and stop some kids learning, because their eircode may give them an advantage over other kids?
Is that going into the realm of social engineering?

If a school in a county, say a rural county with low incidents rates can be confident of opening up, then they should. I thought teachers would have loved this new found independence to cut the cord from the Dept. of Education and do things their own way.
Rural schools, in particular, would benefit from this, not schools in South Dublin.

Bananaleaf · 23-01-2021 02:48AM

Locotastic wrote: »

We're getting regular assignments, CBAs and homework here on top of classes during the normal school day for secondary. He's burnt out already, I think it's too much.

Yeah it is too much. But to be fair to schools, if they weren't doing it, they'd be slated.

Contact the school though, so they know. You probably won't be the only one feeling this way and his teachers will be able to advise what he can leave out/prioritise. I've been doing that very thing in my school with the 3rd years this week who were flagged as being a bit overwhelmed

Smacruairi · 23-01-2021 03:35AM

markodaly wrote: »

I get your point of view, but therefore the correct position is to keep all schools closed and stop some kids learning, because their eircode may give them an advantage over other kids?
Is that going into the realm of social engineering?

If a school in a county, say a rural county with low incidents rates can be confident of opening up, then they should. I thought teachers would have loved this new found independence to cut the cord from the Dept. of Education and do things their own way.
Rural schools, in particular, would benefit from this, not schools in South Dublin.

Marko, its a first, something we might actually have a rational debate on, and also, as I noted in my own original comment, something I'm not sure I'm right on! But let's go down this rabbit hole for academia for a while (but we both kniw that, and you know my thoughts on the DES, they can't afford such luxurious exploits as hypotheticals..)

Social engineering, I agree...but the whole calculated grades fiasco was a demonstration of that, DEIS schools marked up, sth dub schools marked down. Doesn't matter what you think, that happened with an algorithm that we hired off some bloke from Canada who lived with his mum.. And then we rechecked it and it actually got worse... I don't like the whole calculated grades and think they are nonse akin to your social engineering, lest there be any dispute.

With regards your "cutting the cord", I agree, but alas the DES doesn't let you do that. I want to teach my subject x way, the schools way? No, that doesn't conform to xyz of the specification. I think that wellbeing is best served by placing kids in a fun environment where they can interact with each other daily? Bzzzzzz no, it must constitute a minimum 40 minute period rather than 4 10mins so you don't count and we won't fund you.

I agree with your point of more autonomy, I actually think the public, the students, the teachers do too. As has been demonstrated over and over here, yes every job has a chancer, but most in education just want everyone to f off and let us get on with it and trust us to do OK. If you don't think the local parents association are strong enough to articulate, you obvs haven't been paying attention to legal matters.. Everywhere!

Principals are massively, massively contained by what they can do. When they try to bend something (on behalf of their own board of management), they get DES inspections up the wazoo. Therefore is it any wonder when they centralise so much why you constantly hear a plea for central guidance?

Last point. When we were growing up, the average age of the principal was 60odd.been there... Done thst. Maybe even made all the wrong decisions. Nowadays the average age is far less.. And very few are going the distance. Australia has already carried out surveys as to why this is if you want to know(hint councils appointing accountants over principals that aren't teachers to the main jobs).

You want autonomy, I agree, empower then. But empower also means support, but not a race to the bottom, or burn out the top.

Again, my dm is open if you think I'm talking balls

Talisman · 23-01-2021 03:55AM

Hellrazer wrote: »

Teachers arent doing their job from home though.

I have 3 in secondary school - since they were told the schools werent reopening the 1st and 2nd years have has 2 HOURS of online schooling per day despite the school saying that online classes would be in line with their school timetable - last time I checked they were in from 8.30 to 3.30

My 6th year (LC) has at most gotten 3 hours per day and some of those so called "online classes" are teachers that basically just said to and I quote "work away on your own and keep studying for the exams"

So dont give me this crap they are doing their jobs and working from home.

They arent doing a tap..they are doing as little as possible and taking full wages. Put them all on PUP unless they prove they are doing a full days work...that will get them back into the schools quicker than any negotiations.

Typical public servants - we all lose our jobs and salaries and they get to sit at home doing **** all and getting paid for it.

Boils my blood!!!

/Rant over.

Would you care to name the school?

wirelessdude01 · 23-01-2021 08:34AM

jimmytwotimes 2013 wrote: »

Think some schools are more concerned with optics than effectiveness

Ohh I wonder are you my neighbour!!!!

I've a few who are secondary teachers and one of them used that exact line the other day to describe schools who insist on full live live timetables, the likes of schools of insist on full uniform being worn while being online. Silly stuff.

mirrorwall14 · 23-01-2021 09:40AM

The live one actually I find very interesting. Based on the students own feedback last time around they didn’t want live all the time. So the school policy is one live minimum a week and work set either video/written etc for the other periods following the timetable. That was my plan originally

However my maths classes are now doing full lives and are unanimously happy. I do think it’s the subject in question though. And they aren’t watching the screen all the time, it’s demo/practise etc. Same as in class. So they are working in their copies taking down the examples then practising. I am still uploading demo videos for the few who can’t attend or are sick. Similarly to most on here the engagement is streets ahead of last year with 95% plus attendance.

The policy for homework for online learning is none for juniors and I think that’s what’s making the lives work for them. They prefer to put in the 40 minutes with me to help them than to try and do it with a video later.

The seniors are struggling a bit more but unfortunately it’s LCHL maths which is a ridiculous length course anyways and has no reduction in content. I’m never going to get the course done so if I slow up even more now it causes more stress later. It’s a catch 22. So I’ve slowed a little because I have to but equally I’m going a bit faster than I’d like online because I have to

CruelSummer · 23-01-2021 09:45AM

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-family-of-teacher-who-died-with-coronavirus-say-school-staff-must-be-priority-for-vaccination-12195441

Fit and healthy teacher who loved climbing mountains died two days before Christmas in the U.K.

TheValeyard · 23-01-2021 09:53AM

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Ohh I wonder are you my neighbour!!!!

I've a few who are secondary teachers and one of them used that exact line the other day to describe schools who insist on full live live timetables, the likes of schools of insist on full uniform being worn while being online. Silly stuff.

Who da fcuk would insist on full uniform from home??????

wirelessdude01 · 23-01-2021 09:57AM

TheValeyard wrote: »

Who da fcuk would insist on full uniform from home??????

Know of two secondary schools who insist on full uniform to be worn during live lessons. Principal has instructed staff to kick anyone off who hasn't. Also meant to kick them off if you can identify that it is a bedroom. Such rubbish.

beggars_bush · 23-01-2021 10:00AM

TheValeyard wrote: »

Who da fcuk would insist on full uniform from home??????

Stops the fashion show at home
Gets students into groove to work

mirrorwall14 · 23-01-2021 10:01AM

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Know of two secondary schools who insist on full uniform to be worn during live lessons. Principal has instructed staff to kick anyone off who hasn't. Also meant to kick them off if you can identify that it is a bedroom. Such rubbish.

That’s ridiculous. As an aside, our child’s school had a uniform policy I loved this year. Uniform and tracksuit alternating on mon/tue and thur/fri. Wear what you like on Wednesday. Its made it so easy to do the washing and track everything. He really enjoyed wearing his own clothes once a week. And he’s not one who likes making decisions every morning so he still likes the uniform days

TheValeyard · 23-01-2021 10:01AM

beggars_bush wrote: »

Stops the fashion show at home
Gets students into groove to work

There's enough stress at the moment for students with home teaching, the virus, worrying about the exams, etc. I'd be leaving uniform policies slide until back in the building.

Marty1983 · 23-01-2021 10:06AM

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Know of two secondary schools who insist on full uniform to be worn during live lessons. Principal has instructed staff to kick anyone off who hasn't. Also meant to kick them off if you can identify that it is a bedroom. Such rubbish.

Serious assumption that the student has a dedicated study area!! Must be a private school!

History Queen · 23-01-2021 10:08AM

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Know of two secondary schools who insist on full uniform to be worn during live lessons. Principal has instructed staff to kick anyone off who hasn't. Also meant to kick them off if you can identify that it is a bedroom. Such rubbish.

Oh for God's sake. That is pathetic. What are those principals thinking?

wirelessdude01 · 23-01-2021 10:10AM

Marty1983 wrote: »

Serious assumption that the student has a dedicated study area!! Must be a private school!

One is a DEIS band 1 school and the other is a standard secondary school.

Both teachers I know from the schools think it is ridiculous but members of the SLT drop in and out of their lessons to keep an eye on these things and they also kick students off the lessons for non-compliance.

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

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