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

Smacruairi · 25-01-2021 10:22pm

TTLF wrote: »

Thankfully I do have more breaks during the school day, but it's just my motivation and overall appliance to doing all the work that's what I'm struggling with. School classes itself, while boring, don't burn me out, but the day itself and how it feels like it's just 1 big day over a multitude of weeks with no break of the cycle. Just me, my room and the occasional walk, but even with those I feel guilty I'm wasting time going on a random walk than working, even if it is good mentally.

Yeah it's the lack of the fun stuff, the chat, the downtime and all those little teachable moments that arise from comments made in class.we are all feeling it, you're not alone.

It's also January so don't worry about it, this is always when leaving certs start to panic, you'll feel better after midterm. Seasonal, and a lack of vit d.

If in doubt, watch Cobra kai.

am_zarathustra · 25-01-2021 10:22pm

TTLF wrote: »

Not sure why it decided to hit me like a train right now, but I feel a breakdown occurring inside me, so I'm gonna do a small rant to vent and ask some of my own questions.

I'm tired. I don't know why, but I feel like I have a headache everyday. My sleep has been as best as it can be, but it's harder than ever before. I can feel myself becoming slowly more unmotivated as time goes on. No clarifications and the leaks of "LC stuff will be announced tomorrow" really has my stomach in a knot right now. . I want to take a break from "the internet" and focus on family life and my work, but it's just too impossible with being stuck to my PC all day as is.
I'd love to change my routine, be more motivated and work harder, but I'm just starting at my screen everyday getting more work on top of more work on top of more work.

I used to enjoy doing homework mostly, It was nice to feel I accomplished something, but now even the smallest of work is starting to feel like a headache. I get it done, on time, I'm not slipping in my "grades" or classwork, I attend every class, but I just feel empty inside doing it. Silent classes all day, take notes down on my PC, chat to friends over Discord, do my assignments and stuff, all in the same region of my room.

I just feel so lazy and unproductive, despite working on things that are due. I haven't gotten around to much of any independent study, even if I do have some time because I just feel so tired and unwilling for no reason. If I was in school, I think I would be so much better, mostly everyone's in my boat here in LC, but that's no excuse to not feel upset inside personally.

I'm not sure what to do, some classes online teaching is going okay, others it isn't, will I have my orals? Do I try keep up with my oral work? I'm going over random things a little willy-nilly without a plan and I hate it. Sorry if this sounds like I'm complaining, but it's the worst feeling for me currently. I always anticipated these exams to be stressful, I just never anticipated THIS.

Is there anything I can do to try change my mindset? I'm getting all my classwork done, I would never ever let that be late, but I am finding it so tough to revise everything we've gone over. Now my Geography Field study is delayed again too.

Not to mention some of my teachers bless their souls, my maths teacher forgot to put up tonight's homework on classroom again, and I had to miss the class because I was getting blood tests done, we're going over "imaginary numbers" which is a chapter I really wish we didn't do in lockdown. My geography teacher forgot to put up the PowerPoint for coastal features again today, so I had to make my own notes from the book and I really wanted to read over the PP because it had some useful info.

My workload isn't too great either, not straining ofc, but it feels that way when you have little motivation, doing homework for 3-4 hours is enough to tire you out, and then you still need to study for some oral test the next day! :eek: I wouldn't have horrible issues with this, if we were in school, because the quality of teaching is 10x better and obviously it's harder to do things online remotely.

Some classes I'm getting very little work, like Irish. I don't think I've actually put any proper study into Irish for awhile, mainly because I'm stuck doing long business questions, writing out geography or trying to make my German oral notes as good as they can be so I don't fail the flipping thing :pac:.
I'm pretty sure my Irish teacher doesn't correct on weekends, he's young. I don't think I got back my Irish test we did last week yet, which sucks because I know I didn't do amazing in it. He gave us an option of closed or open book, I chose closed, but with all the work I was a bit overwhelmed and didn't get to achieve what I wanted that night.

I just want this time in my life to pass now, I shouldn't be subjected to this, it feels like pain. I want to study and retain information, I want to know if I should start studying for mock exams, It's just making me feel so, so tired.

/ end of rant.

I'm so sorry, if it's any consolation from your comments on here I think you will be fine, you seem very dedicated and conscientious. These are qualities that will stand to you in life, far beyond these few months. I played multiple sports, alongside other extra curriculars and missed loads of schools and I was still grand, the couple of months beforehand are important for retaining detail, the work your doing now can still be broad strokes and you'll be ok.

This is a very hard time for everyone and the media is making this so much more difficult for students in your position, try not to engage with any more of the media nonsense this week. There will be no definite announcements this week. I plan one week at a time, I find anymore to be overwhelming.

I'm also a maths teacher, complex numbers are a difficult topic, very abstract. Feel free to pm if your stuck!

Your parents should be very proud of you and your maturity in this situation, I'd be very happy if any kid of mine was approaching this situation the way you are.

khalessi · 25-01-2021 10:23pm

History Queen wrote: »

I often wonder if other professionals get told how to do their jobs as much as teachers do? You only have to look online, both social and mainstream media to see the level of bile levelled at our profession.

As a nurse I was pretty much allowed to get on with my job. Occasioanally you would get an expert or someone who had a sibling who was a doctor. or a nurse. Nurses did get slagged off as being easy anytime we went out so I always said I was an apprentice motorcycle mechanic.

Panga · 25-01-2021 10:26pm

Your post has really got to me TTLF. I can feel your fustratation with the situation you're in, the stress. You need to prioritise your own health. Following the full school timetable online means far too much time sitting staring at a computer screen in isolation. It is not good for anyones mental health. You are doing more concentrated learning in a 40min online class than you would in a classroom with the banter and the little interruptions that occur naturally in every class.
Hopefully a decision will be made soon on practicals, orals etc which will alleviate some of the stress.
Our DES has completely failed us all, students, teachers and parents by sleepwalking into this limbo land. It was avoidable if they had listened and planned for a realistic alternative to the LC, but here we all are dealing with the stress of it all.

History Queen · 25-01-2021 10:28pm

khalessi wrote: »

As a nurse I was pretty much allowed to get on with my job. Occasioanally you would get an expert or someone who had a sibling who was a doctor. or a nurse. Nurses did get slagged off as being easy anytime we went out so I always said I was an apprentice motorcycle mechanic.

I don't mind people making queries or raising concerns but the absolute venom that I'm seeing now is ridiculous. Hmmmm... apprentice motorbike mechanic.... might use that the next time someone asks me what I do!

Smacruairi · 25-01-2021 10:38pm

[quote="History Queen;116048560".. might use that the next time someone asks me what I do![/quote]

When I used to get a taxi home from the pub I always just said I was an architect. Never any follow up questions or chat, was great.

History Queen · 25-01-2021 10:40pm

Smacruairi wrote: »

When I used to get a taxi home from the pub I always just said I was an architect. Never any follow up questions or chat, was great.

I'm here watching the Queen's Gambit on Netflix...maybe I'll use professional chess player as my alternative career....

jrosen · 25-01-2021 10:43pm

History Queen wrote: »

I don't mind people making queries or raising concerns but the absolute venom that I'm seeing now is ridiculous. Hmmmm... apprentice motorbike mechanic.... might use that the next time someone asks me what I do!

I would think in professions where there is a common person/goal there would be shared ideas/opinions/approaches.

I know my child better than anyone so if I’m interacting with a teacher/doctor/dentist and I don’t believe the approach they are taking will work or I think they aren’t doing what they should be I will have an opinion on that. We typically can’t just get a different teacher.

It’s a unique situation

rainbowtrout · 25-01-2021 10:44pm

History Queen wrote: »

I'm here watching the Queen's Gambit on Netflix...maybe I'll use professional chess player as my alternative career....

Snap!!!:D

jrosen · 25-01-2021 10:45pm

I also think people are concerned for their children and not just from an education perspective but their overall well-being.

This is not a natural life

TTLF · 25-01-2021 10:48pm

Panga wrote: »

Your post has really got to me TTLF. I can feel your fustratation with the situation you're in, the stress. You need to prioritise your own health. Following the full school timetable online means far too much time sitting staring at a computer screen in isolation. It is not good for anyones mental health. You are doing more concentrated learning in a 40min online class than you would in a classroom with the banter and the little interruptions that occur naturally in every class.
Hopefully a decision will be made soon on practicals, orals etc which will alleviate some of the stress.
Our DES has completely failed us all, students, teachers and parents by sleepwalking into this limbo land. It was avoidable if they had listened and planned for a realistic alternative to the LC, but here we all are dealing with the stress of it all.

It's really a horrible situation we're in. My family know its hard for me, but when they're not in the same position they're idea of how horribly sick I feel doesn't really come across the same. Not to say they don't understand, but my sister turned around and told me "College Finals are more stressful, we've all gone through this."

I'd like to see her sitting her LC in a pandemic :rolleyes:

wirelessdude01 · 25-01-2021 10:53pm

See things are kicking off in Holland tonight. Demonstrations have turned violent in some towns.

km79 · 25-01-2021 10:54pm

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

See things are kicking off in Holland tonight. Demonstrations have turned violent in some towns.

Demanding teachers get put on the PUP ?

TTLF · 25-01-2021 10:54pm

Actually I also forgot to mention, A lot of LC students have lost their grinds help too with the pandemic, most students can't receive extra help unless the teacher is able to do it online, which isn't always the case :pac::(

I need some grinds to bring up my accuracy in subjects but that's out the window for now I guess.

History Queen · 25-01-2021 10:58pm

jrosen wrote: »

I also think people are concerned for their children and not just from an education perspective but their overall well-being.

This is not a natural life

Oh totally. I have a baby and toddler. I'm not diminishing parents concerns at all, I hope I didn't come across as if I was.

mirrorwall14 · 25-01-2021 11:09pm

TTLF wrote: »

Actually I also forgot to mention, A lot of LC students have lost their grinds help too with the pandemic, most students can't receive extra help unless the teacher is able to do it online, which isn't always the case :pac::(

I need some grinds to bring up my accuracy in subjects but that's out the window for now I guess.

TLLF I can feel your tension. Honestly from your posts you are doing the absolute best that can be expected. It’s no consolation, but I think the whole country is feeling it. Every friend in my two groups today I was chatting on was down and struggling. There’s good news, then bad news, then good news, then bad news. This close to the hope of an end of some sort is awful.

You are doing everything right. You are doing fine. This is not normal. To use the cliched ‘it is ok to not be ok’.

What do you want to do in college? What is your favourite subject? What’s your favourite topic? Try doing ten minutes of work studying that. Small small chunks.

As you were told in a previous post, online classes are intense. There’s none of the rustle of school bags or the banter or the interruption of the intercom etc etc to slow the flow. It can be relentless

One thing stuck out a little, could you and your friends organise a zoom for little break? Text chats are great (and I’m a texter rather than a caller at the best of times) but having been very high risk teaching from home since October there is a real loneliness in not using my voice more. The ‘best’ part of this for me is staff meetings and google meets with staff. Literally just speaking

Chin up. Come and rant here anytime. And I’m a maths teacher too and happy to help too

DraftDodger · 25-01-2021 11:14pm

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

See things are kicking off in Holland tonight. Demonstrations have turned violent in some towns.

Absolute clowns. Get the water cannons out :mad:

BonsaiKitten · 25-01-2021 11:23pm

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

See things are kicking off in Holland tonight. Demonstrations have turned violent in some towns.

I wonder when we'll hit that stage? Plenty of anti-maskers here who'd be happy to whip up anger.

Smacruairi · 25-01-2021 11:28pm

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

See things are kicking off in Holland tonight. Demonstrations have turned violent in some towns.

I hope our Dutch expert on the Irish response to covid is sent to negotiate with them. Very capable of interpreting documents for the benefit of all. And might have some very helpful suggestions.

downthemiddle · 25-01-2021 11:31pm

BonsaiKitten wrote: »

I wonder when we'll hit that stage? Plenty of anti-maskers here who'd be happy to whip up anger.

Fortunately we don't have a strong right wing element in Ireland. We have a couple of loons that most people don't take seriously.

wirelessdude01 · 25-01-2021 11:31pm

BonsaiKitten wrote: »

I wonder when we'll hit that stage? Plenty of anti-maskers here who'd be happy to whip up anger.

Hopefully never based on the videos I've seen this evening. Cars being highjacked, driven into the centre of town, stuffed with fireworks and set in fire. Holy fcuk.

Usual stuff then of shops being looted.

TTLF · 25-01-2021 11:32pm

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

TLLF I can feel your tension. Honestly from your posts you are doing the absolute best that can be expected. It’s no consolation, but I think the whole country is feeling it. Every friend in my two groups today I was chatting on was down and struggling. There’s good news, then bad news, then good news, then bad news. This close to the hope of an end of some sort is awful.

You are doing everything right. You are doing fine. This is not normal. To use the cliched ‘it is ok to not be ok’.

What do you want to do in college? What is your favourite subject? What’s your favourite topic? Try doing ten minutes of work studying that. Small small chunks.

As you were told in a previous post, online classes are intense. There’s none of the rustle of school bags or the banter or the interruption of the intercom etc etc to slow the flow. It can be relentless

One thing stuck out a little, could you and your friends organise a zoom for little break? Text chats are great (and I’m a texter rather than a caller at the best of times) but having been very high risk teaching from home since October there is a real loneliness in not using my voice more. The ‘best’ part of this for me is staff meetings and google meets with staff. Literally just speaking

Chin up. Come and rant here anytime. And I’m a maths teacher too and happy to help too

Thanks for this post, I'm glad to hear there's a lot of students struggling out there like me, I'm a little reassured I'm not the only one in this "I'm not studying phase" because of demotivation.

I want to do Geography and Sociology in college, I love Geography and English, both my two favourites, but Business and if I understand the maths, is up there too. I'll try the smaller chunks thing, better doing that than nothing at all. I don't have a lot of options for college because there's only 6 courses that include Geography in Ireland so that's a bummer, but thankfully my course is only 390 so it's not too bad.

"One thing stuck out a little, could you and your friends organise a zoom for little break? "

A lot of my friends are computer heads like me, we use a more teenager-esque app called Discord which we call frequently on, text on etc. We even have a server we use. I use the app for logging photos of slides and saving work on my personal server too, so it helps because I can access it on any device if needed. It's truly an all in 1 device. I even have a lot of friends from around the world which I talk to daily to keep some sort of social interaction. However, since this was always the norm, it doesn't really help my situation since it's nothing out of the ordinary, and I'm more of the "I like seeing them in person" kind of guy when I can (with the exception of Online friends ofc)

If only I could see my girlfriend I would feel so much happier too :rolleyes: I await for that day :pac:

Birdy · 25-01-2021 11:51pm

Leo on Claire Byrne says it will be a phased reopening of schools across February and March due to the new variant.

They hope to start with special schools.

km79 · 26-01-2021 12:01am

Birdy wrote: »

Leo on Claire Byrne says it will be a phased reopening of schools across February and March due to the new variant.

They hope to start with special schools.

I seen that clip on twitter and I think it’s safe to assume not much will be happening for mainstream and possible any students this side of mid term
No timescale
A lot more consulting with education partners to do

helpful · 26-01-2021 12:04am

Now I missed the start of Leo’s interview but did he say that SEN children will be back around Paddy’s? A member of our group chat mentioned that but I’m not sure?
Anyone know what was said exactly?

wirelessdude01 · 26-01-2021 12:07am

Leo the Leak doing his best to believe the spiel he is spurting. Gives a rough timetable of classes returning without any timescale but then slips it in at the end that they might possibly need to speak to all the people involved!!!! Flipping bluffing and acting the big man.

downthemiddle · 26-01-2021 12:22am

The Claire Byrne Show is an absolute car crash tonight.

jimmytwotimes 2013 · 26-01-2021 12:29am

Leo seemed to say exam groups back in Feb at some point.

wirelessdude01 · 26-01-2021 12:37am

jimmytwotimes 2013 wrote: »

Leo seemed to say exam groups back in Feb at some point.

To me he was making it up as he went along. Maybe what he said will turn out to be true but he didn't seem all that composed when he was talking about schools

jrosen · 26-01-2021 1:16am

History Queen wrote: »

Oh totally. I have a baby and toddler. I'm not diminishing parents concerns at all, I hope I didn't come across as if I was.

No not at all

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