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

khalessi · 08-02-2021 11:24PM

jusvi2001 wrote: »

'ASTI and TUI directed teachers not to co-operate with government plans before Leaving Cert u-turn'

Probably teachers union has a different opinion.

Actually Taoiseach had different opinion, he came out and said unions were right

khalessi · 08-02-2021 11:24PM

jusvi2001 wrote: »

https://www.thejournal.ie/teachers-union-back-to-school-leaving-cert-5318602-Jan2021/

https://www.thejournal.ie/schools-trade-unions-5329909-Jan2021/

As has been pointed out the last time these articels were quoted

The Jan 7th article was 2 days after CMO wrote that schools should not be reopened due to high movement of people and high community transmission.

It was then discovered that Normal went off on a solo run to try to bring back special needs and LC and didnt consult anyone. Taoiseach,, Tanaiste CMO all not consulted about this.

Taoiseach himself came out after jan 20th and said the Unions were right and NoFo has been put in her box

History Queen · 08-02-2021 11:24PM

jusvi2001 wrote: »

'ASTI and TUI directed teachers not to co-operate with government plans before Leaving Cert u-turn'

Probably teachers union has a different opinion.

Yes, they refused to cooperate with an ill conceived "plan", but they are working from home. Still working.

billy_beckham · 08-02-2021 11:38PM

mohawk wrote: »

Why would parents be blaming the teachers?? It’s a government decision to reopen or keep them closed.

Incorrect...

wirelessdude01 · 08-02-2021 11:43PM

billy_beckham wrote: »

Incorrect...

How so?

History Queen · 08-02-2021 11:44PM

billy_beckham wrote: »

Incorrect...

If the government order schools to open they'll open. If unions refuse and government persist the unions will be on unofficial strike action which has consequences which can include members being found to be in breech of contract. So it really is in the gift of the government to open the schools although technically the unions can prevent it, the potential consequences for their members would prevent them from doing so.

C__MC · 08-02-2021 11:44PM

As I said government must earn their crust here
Last May and June when cases dropped, they just ignored any potential return schools especially for primary sector. It was put on the back burner
Kind of getting a similar whiff 9 months later. No plans or dates fixed for after mid term which is ridiculous. I have a bad feeling it could run until after Easter for certain classes which would be a disaster. The novelty of working over easter sounds good but it wont be happening.

History Queen · 08-02-2021 11:45PM

C__MC wrote: »

As I said government must earn their crust here
Last May and June when cases dropped, they just ignored any potential return schools especially for primary sector. It was put on the back burner
Kind of getting a similar whiff 9 months later. No plans or dates fixed for after mid term which is ridiculous. I have a bad feeling it could run until after Easter for certain classes which would be a disaster. The novelty of working over easter sounds good but it wont be happening.

I can't understand the lack of timeline for reopening.

billy_beckham · 08-02-2021 11:45PM

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

How so?

Already been answered, look back a few posts..

wirelessdude01 · 08-02-2021 11:47PM

billy_beckham wrote: »

Already been answered, look back a few posts..

My dear Billy you really don't understand much do you?

billy_beckham · 08-02-2021 11:48PM

History Queen wrote: »

If the government order schools to open they'll open. If unions refuse and government persist the unions will be on unofficial strike action which has consequences which can include members being found to be in breech of contract. So it really is in the gift of the government to open the schools although technically the unions can prevent it, the potential consequences for their members would prevent them from doing so.

They have already prevented opening..

Stateofyou · 08-02-2021 11:50PM

I'm a parent, and I hoped the Unions would strike before reopening then if it came to it. I thought NF was making a horrible call and so she did. Wouldn't have sent my kids back regardless. I know lots of parents who feel the same.

wirelessdude01 · 08-02-2021 11:50PM

billy_beckham wrote: »

They have already prevented opening..

You do realise that the government could open primary and the vast, vast majority of special schools in the morning and not one thing could be done by either Forsa or The INTO about it.

billy_beckham · 08-02-2021 11:51PM

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

My dear Billy you really don't understand much do you?

Dude... Good to see you're displaying typical traits of the profession..

History Queen · 08-02-2021 11:51PM

The pandemic has preveted reopening. Unions refused to proceed with an unsafe plan which seems to have been a solo run by Norma Foley which is probably why the Government didn't force schools to open,as they knew, and the Taoiseach confirmed, the unions acted in good faith. The situation was unsafe.

hesaidshesaid · 08-02-2021 11:51PM

https://twitter.com/susie_dent/status/1358782056424222720?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Just going to leave this here...

khalessi · 08-02-2021 11:53PM

History Queen wrote: »

The pandemic has preveted reopening. Unions refused to proceed with an unsafe plan which later seems to have been a solo run by Norma Foley which is probably why the Government didn't force schools to opem as they knew and the Taoiseach confirmed, the unions acted in good faith. The situation was unsafe.

This point is constantly ignored by the various teacher bashers on here as it doesn't suit their narrative.

wirelessdude01 · 08-02-2021 11:54PM

billy_beckham wrote: »

Dude... Good to see you're displaying typical traits of the profession..

What would they be?

Necro · 09-02-2021 12:01AM

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

My dear Billy you really don't understand much do you?

billy_beckham wrote: »

Dude... Good to see you're displaying typical traits of the profession..

Mod:

Both of you take a day off the thread and stop the back and forth pettiness.

wirelessdude01, you have been warned about this before and my patience is growing thin with the snarky responses - cut it out on your return or you won't regain access next time

TTLF · 09-02-2021 12:29AM

We had a meeting today to discuss our schools mocks. The meeting was held for staff first we were told, and a general consensus was made we would hold exams online on the 22nd when they were due to begin, however us 6th years apposed this idea.

There was 3 reasons behind this,
1. Mocks aren't allowed to be used for PG apparently
2. We found it unfair to be sitting exams at home (which most people, lets be real here, would cheat in if at home)
3. We demanded in-class time before any set of mock exams, needing to re-acclimatize to the normal routine in school, and also to get more class time again because we've been working off a reduced schedule.

I would like mocks to happen, mainly because I want to know where I am in my subjects, but also there's this side of me that feels horrible for not working as hard as I should be right now due to the situation, besides doing homework I get very little done, although this week has had be at a huge distraction watching it snow all day today, I swear weather is my calling or something, I absolutely go nuts for it, posting a lot in the weather forum here too if you've seen me, absolutely love this cold spell.

Thankfully with this weather I am a lot more upbeat, "Corona? I forgot that existed" is my mindset while I'm ogling over the weather charts as a distraction. I've also been binging new anime's too so my mindset right now is "positive."

I really hope we're back in school soon though, It's really quite a bummer I'm sitting here spending final year in my room on a computer and feeling stupider by the minute because I'm not working diligently enough. Writing in these forums has certainly made me feel an improvement in my English skills though!

From what my school has said, a "set of mocks will take place" however we pretty much only have a gap time window of 5 weeks... Feb midterm -> Easter holidays.

As of right now however, my mocks have been delayed and will not be online, and with that, I am quite relieved.

History Queen · 09-02-2021 12:31AM

TTLF wrote: »

We had a meeting today to discuss our schools mocks. The meeting was held for staff first we were told, and a general consensus was made we would hold exams online on the 22nd when they were due to begin, however us 6th years apposed this idea.

There was 3 reasons behind this,
1. Mocks aren't allowed to be used for PG apparently
2. We found it unfair to be sitting exams at home (which most people, lets be real here, would cheat in if at home)
3. We demanded in-class time before any set of mock exams, needing to re-acclimatize to the normal routine in school, and also to get more class time again because we've been working off a reduced schedule.

I would like mocks to happen, mainly because I want to know where I am in my subjects, but also there's this side of me that feels horrible for not working as hard as I should be right now due to the situation, besides doing homework I get very little done, although this week has had be at a huge distraction watching it snow all day today, I swear weather is my calling or something, I absolutely go nuts for it, posting a lot in the weather forum here too if you've seen me, absolutely love this cold spell.

Thankfully with this weather I am a lot more upbeat, "Corona? I forgot that existed" is my mindset while I'm ogling over the weather charts as a distraction. I've also been binging new anime's too so my mindset right now is "positive."

I really hope we're back in school soon though, It's really quite a bummer I'm sitting here spending final year in my room on a computer and feeling stupider by the minute because I'm not working diligently enough. Writing in these forums has certainly made me feel an improvement in my English skills though!

From what my school has said, a "set of mocks will take place" however we pretty much only have a gap time window of 5 weeks... Feb midterm -> Easter holidays.

As of right now however, my mocks have been delayed and will not be online, and with that, I am quite relieved.

Just to clarify, mocks were used for the predicted grades last year but not in isolation and were not to be unduly relied upon. If predicted grades happen this year we have no way of knowing what will or will not be included.

TTLF · 09-02-2021 12:37AM

History Queen wrote: »

Just to clarify, mocks were used for the predicted grades last year but not in isolation and were not to be unduly relied upon. If predicted grades happen this year we have no way of knowing what will or will not be included.

Yeah possibly, I'm just going off what my principal said, although pretty much everything is up in the air right now, the "logic" behind not being allowed to use them for PG was because it "essentially acts as a LC" or something. I don't know the whole story, but we all know it's a mess.

Honestly, just let me get into college please, it's just not worth the stress. :rolleyes:

As a wise friend of mine once said... "This too, shall pass..."

History Queen · 09-02-2021 12:43AM

TTLF wrote: »

Yeah possibly, I'm just going off what my principal said, although pretty much everything is up in the air right now, the "logic" behind not being allowed to use them for PG was because it "essentially acts as a LC" or something. I don't know the whole story, but we all know it's a mess.

Honestly, just let me get into college please, it's just not worth the stress. :rolleyes:

As a wise friend of mine once said... "This too, shall pass..."

A lot of schools are discussing not having mocks to maximise teaching times. Others are trying to run them online as yours suggested. Others are hoping to run them as they normally would. Until a decision is made by the Department it's hard to make a definitive call.

Hope you are managing the stress levels, it will pass. Best wishes to you.

Birdy · 09-02-2021 12:49AM

DES will probably release their plan on Friday evening when most schools log off for mid-term.

mcsean2163 · 09-02-2021 12:51AM

khalessi wrote: »

Just wondering who you think would be the biggest objectors would be?

I know that none of the kids I teach, and I'm involved with over 100 of them, would be happy to be in school for the summer.

I think it depends on how much they are isolating. Some kids are not allowed go out at all at the moment and have zero peer interaction.

TTLF · 09-02-2021 10:12AM

History Queen wrote: »

A lot of schools are discussing not having mocks to maximise teaching times. Others are trying to run them online as yours suggested. Others are hoping to run them as they normally would. Until a decision is made by the Department it's hard to make a definitive call.

Hope you are managing the stress levels, it will pass. Best wishes to you.

ah yeah, the snow's a nice distraction anywho.

j@utis · 09-02-2021 10:34AM

deiseindublin wrote: »

Yeah, they'd have to give hols now and/or pay teachers for extra work in summer. Can't see them having the budget for that, or teachers signing up for it.

Teachers will never agree to this! Imagine now, you're guaranteed summer months off, maybe even booked a holiday abroad and someone is telling you "no, no, you gotta take your hols in winter instead, and work the summer", they'll be like "feck that".

BTownB · 09-02-2021 10:39AM

am_zarathustra wrote: »

I'm talking about Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Northern Italy, Greece, the UK, Austria, which ones are you talking about?

Hopefully we will be opened soon after midterm but no point lying about the risks involved, that doesn't serve the kids or the community at large

Well at least two of your references are incorrect. Europe is slowly reopening. Not sure where you are getting your misinformation?

Austria - "Zoos are among facilities reopening in Austria, along with schools, shops, hairdressers and museums"

Italy - Italy eases restrictions in most regions as pandemic trend improves Much of the country is in level yellow with restaurants, museums, bars reopened. In the yellow regions, kindergartens and schools of all grades fully reopened on Monday, with 70 to 75 per cent students allowed to attend classes in their classrooms, and the rest following through remote learning.

Denmark's schools are to reopen for their youngest students.

France recently decided not to enter a third lockdown.

Lillyfae · 09-02-2021 10:44AM

am_zarathustra wrote: »

I'm talking about Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Northern Italy, Greece, the UK, Austria, which ones are you talking about?

Hopefully we will be opened soon after midterm but no point lying about the risks involved, that doesn't serve the kids or the community at large

The Netherlands fully opened their primary schools yesterday. They were never closed to children of essential workers, special needs children or at- risk children. Everything else has been closed since October, the schools closed 2 days before the Christmas holidays. Nothing has been allowed to open before the schools, everything else is remaining closed and the curfew is remaining in place until at least the 2nd of March

Edit: Secondary schools have always been open to special needs and at risk children, and fully open for practical education.

BTownB · 09-02-2021 10:52AM

Lillyfae wrote: »

The Netherlands fully opened their primary schools yesterday. They were never closed to children of essential workers, special needs children or at- risk children. Everything else has been closed since October, the schools closed 2 days before the Christmas holidays. Nothing has been allowed to open before the schools, everything else is remaining closed and the curfew is remaining in place until at least the 2nd of March

Edit: Secondary schools have always been open to special needs and at risk children, and fully open for practical education.

And to add, primary schools are also open in Greece.

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