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

quarryman wrote: »

So it's all Norma's fault.

What exactly was suggested that was not safe?

Why are the majority of Europe schools open to vulnerable children but Ireland is not?

Why are creches and other childcare services open but schools are not?

Why is every other essential service in the country open with safeguards but every single school is completely shut?

Why can't schools open with teachers willing to volunteer their service?

It seems that no one is saying exactly WHY it's not safe to open.

You sound just like so many other posters who have been on here spoiling for an argument. It's lazy posting at this stage. For someone who seems so 'invested', you seem to be woefully uninformed about the situation.

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

You sound just like so many other posters who have been on here spoiling for an argument. It's lazy posting at this stage. For someone who seems so 'invested', you seem to be woefully uninformed about the situation.

Still not answering the question.

Stateofyou wrote: »

you have been given answers.

No I haven't.

Stateofyou wrote: »

our stats were the WORST in the world,

I don't think you're a serious poster, tbh, and you're just looking for a fight.

They aren't now:
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/cases-2019-ncov-eueea

Stateofyou wrote: »

why are you asking why it's not safe to open.
.

Because no one here seems to be able to provide the information. If it's so easy to find and I'm "uninformed" then how come no one can inform me.

I’ll bite.

I will feel safe going back to school when close contacts are being tested.

Norma needs to learn that consultation means talking to the people involved about the specific issue at hand and coming to an agreement. A chat with a stakeholder about the weather is not consultation. Announcements should not come as a surprise to the people she has been consulting with.

Another day in the schools closed til February thread......

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

As already told to you, the government have decided to keep school buildings closed. Neither Forsa or the INTO closed them or have kept them closed.

This constant and frequent line of questions is repetitive and boring at this stage. Read the thread as it has already been talked and talked and talked some more about.

And it’s these kind of “conversations “ that make the thread twice as long as it needs to be and makes it so hard for genuine posters to find the information they are looking for

Round and round we go
Bad lazy teachers BOOOOOOO

Stateofyou wrote: »

That's why I used the word "were." Reading comprehension is important.

That's why i said "aren't now". Reading comprehension is important.

Stateofyou wrote: »

Inform yourself.

Doing my best. Clearly this thread is not the place to get this information.

Stateofyou wrote: »

modest ability

Can you elaborate what you mean here?

Would it be possible in people’s opinion here to do a reset on schools i,e. Every student to restart their current year next September?

Two years with large chunks missing, little data for teachers of LC students to give continuous assessment etc.

quarryman wrote: »

So it's all Norma's fault.

What exactly was suggested that was not safe?

Why are the majority of Europe schools open to vulnerable children but Ireland is not?

Why are creches and other childcare services open but schools are not?

Why is every other essential service in the country open with safeguards but every single school is completely shut?

Why can't schools open with teachers willing to volunteer their service?

It seems that no one is saying exactly WHY it's not safe to open.

I don't know that I can answer these questions, but I will try and give you a bit more context around them as best I can/know.

So it's all Norma's fault. Not all her fault, but she did a pretty poor job communicating - not just with teachers - but with anyone it seems. I'm still reserving my judgement on her tbh ... I wonder how much she believes in the things she is mandated to do.

What exactly was suggested that was not safe? Full return to school was not safe. Returning SNAs (the most at-risk group within the school community) is not safe. With the new variant, a partial return may not be safe either and once it is safe for schools to reopen, it will need to be staggered and I'd imagine the grade of PPE used will have to increase too.

Why are the majority of Europe schools open to vulnerable children but Ireland is not? I don't know their numbers, but given we were worst in the world only a month ago and our proximity to Britain, I'm guessin that this has played a role. I don't have these figures but I think it would also be worth finding out how many children are recognised as 'vulnerable' in the European schools you mention. Which countries too? I don't know myself by the way

Why are creches and other childcare services open but schools are not? Have they unions? That could be the reason. The govt were the ones to extend the closure of mainstream to Feb and with that they paused the ECCE scheme so I'd say the ones that are left open are the ones who have bills to pay

Why is every other essential service in the country open with safeguards but every single school is completely shut? I might be wrong or am forgetting something here, but with the exception of the health service I think they are all private industry who make a profit. That is why they are still open and it is probably why they have better safeguards than schools. I saw a video that a local physio had made about the safety procedures they have put in place. They are unreal and they'll only be in the room with one person for 30mins max.

Why can't schools open with teachers willing to volunteer their service? In the interest of being fair, let's not call it volunteering because we are being paid. The fact of the matter is that it hasn't been deemed safe, that is why. It would be like me 'volunteering' to head 5km out of my zone to get chips for the estate. Bad example I know, but I hope you can see the point I am (badly) trying to make. If this was allowed, there would - understandably - be even more anger and frustration from parents whose children couldn't access a teacher or SNA. Does that mean it shouldn't happen for those we could make it work for? No, it doesn't, but sadly this is the way it has gone. Not just with education, with everything. People can't see beyond their own circumstances and if I can't have it, Paul down the road sure as hell can't either. Think of those the days of your youth when your brother got a strawberry icecream but you didn't and it wasn't fair and you'd cry and whinge that you wanted a strawberry icecream too because he got one and it wasn't fair, so your mam took the icecream off your brother and nobody got one.

It seems that no one is saying exactly WHY it's not safe to open. It isn't safe to open because the ICU numbers are too high and they are not sure what the craic is with the new variant. If the ICU numbers are low, they gradually return the schools and there is a spike in ICU admmissions, at least we have the capacity for them, we learn the lesson, we close again. A bit reckless to open the schools while ICU is strained. If it goes wrong, there are big numbers needing to be admitted and we run out of space - well, that is not good. It doesn't matter how much the virus itself affects children and school-goers. They transmit it just like everyone else and that is enough.

daydorunrun wrote: »

Would it be possible in people’s opinion here to do a reset on schools i,e. Every student to restart their current year next September?

Two years with large chunks missing, little data for teachers of LC students to give continuous assessment etc.

In a word no. System isn't capable of facilitating something like this. At the very bottom of the tree, there isn't enough space to hold incoming junior infants for an additional year.

A new report issued by the CSO and tucked away in the back pages of the times,course it wouldn't make the front page was interesting.

8/10 dying have an underlying illness and many if them had 3 serious underlying issues. Now dont worry the other 2 well let's break it down.

NOT A SINGLE RECORDED covid death between 0-24. There have been 25 deaths out of 194k positive clashes between the range of 25-45 as a percentage that is.....0.012 yes 1/10th of a percentage and yet schools are not opening...how os this in anyway an issue as long as single family bubbles are adhered to.

The bottom line here is teachers do not want to work and this is evident in the constant homework given out with little feedback.

In most schools a teacher has their laptop hooked to an interactive white board, why can they not give PPT presentations over Zoom or Webex or teams...actually teach the children the concepts rather that shrieking the responsibility over to parents.

It's a disgrace the way kids are being abandoned.