Genuine question, how do you envisage things progressing in schools from here on? As in, how do you think more transmissible variants can be mitigated in schools?
No point discussing this until you understand the logistics and procurement constraints that exist over work like this.
Most classes have a consumer unit, so run a wire to celling to mount the heater panels. Don't the army, OPW and council have electricians. Weren't sites shut down for a good portion of last year, weren't the schools closed at the same time. They had the ability to keep us 2k from home they could easily have done upgrades in schools. Even if you could only do 80% of classes and get to the remaining 20% later.
The time to procure an electrical upgrade and get the work then done is far longer than the time we have spent in Covid already. That isn't even considering if we had enough electricians to simultaneuosly upgrade every school at the same time.
There were many other measures put in place than the ones you mention.
As for the spread in classes, that is only in the last few weeks as the Delta and other more transmissable variants make their way into the classrooms. The measures were effective in the fact of the other variants, but there is a reality here that no Government or no school can stop an infectious disease. Expecting unrealistic and ineffective measures to do so is a sign of reality disconnect.
As far as I can see, they keep the classes apart at break time, they use hand gel and open the widows. Yes there is enhanced cleaning too.The CO2 monitors aren't much use because it's either let them red line or freeze the kids. Are we going to have to close the schools everytime there is a NW/NE wind?
They could have added IR heater panels, electrical upgrade probably needed. They could have put in HEPA filters. Very little capital was spent to make things better.
Neither of my kids have been to birthday parties, very little of that has been happening. They have only had playdates with kids in their class. Trying to blame it on that is corck of sh1t.
A guy I work with has a big family, one of his kids caught covid in school, 9 in her class caught it last I heard 3 of his kids now have it, probably more by now. A lady me wife works with has had the whole class sent home and told to book PCR test there are that many cases in the class. That's all evidence I need to show the measures done simply aren't effective. It would have been far better to overspend on measure and not need them, it would at least slow the spread.
Any previous measures taken were wholly insufficient. Schools were still operating under the pretense that droplet and fomite transmission were the main pathways to infection up until recently. They wasted millions on hygiene theatre that makes **** all difference.
Its an airborne virus. Masks and air control are the primary weapons in preventing transmission.
That may be true of your school, but it is not true generally. Significant measures have been taken. As someone involved in a Board of Management, I am aware of many measures that have been taken.
Nowhere was safe from the virus, that has always been the case, but schools were and are safer environments than birthday parties, playdates, etc. which are unstructured mixing environments.
Other than parents sending their kids to school with hand gel and keeping the windows open very little measures were taken. Anyway my point was schools were never safe, they needed to be open for the kids benefit and the government willfully did sweet f a to improve things now we are all been bitten in the ass
Covid-19 spreading in schools only became an issue in recent months. Why?
(1) Reasonable measures were put in place in September 2020 in schools which ensured that the disease did not spread widely in schools. Unstructured engagements such as birthday parties and playdates were a much bigger factor in spread at that time.
(2) Protection fatigue has become a factor. Across society, social distancing, mask-wearing and handwashing rates have declined. They were important factors in school protection and their decline has led to an increase in infection in schools.
(3) The latest variants are more infectious and the measures that were put in place over the last year are less effective.
I've twins, once they started preschool it was one bug after another, most of which they gave to me. Along comes covid and the government tell us kids don't spread it. Every parent deep down knew that was not true. But seen them during the lockdown and how much happier they are in school I knew sending them to school was the right thing to do. I just wish the government had taken more measures make them safer for them and the teaches. Actually I'm very angry about that part.
If 1/3 of the cases are from primary school kids you and and another 1/6 th the parents they infect. So you are looking at 50% of cases related to spread in schools.
Great post. So much sense here. I might try the optional homework thing and see what happens.
This is the logic of your post.
(1) Schools are a hive of infections in December 2021
(2) Schools were not a hive of infections before December 2021
(3) The government lied when they said that schools were a relatively safe environment before December 2021
It doesn't add up. It probably isn't about logic, probably just a rant.
Solid post. Thanks for the insight.
Do you think some form of a supervised study hour incorporated into the school day instead of homework would be beneficial?
It could potentially keep the positive aspects of homework, while not encroaching on their leisure time either, and also add a bit of variation to their day.
On the homework debate, I can understand the parents view that the teachers/school are just looking for an easy life. I’m a teacher with 15 years of experience and I’ve tried every approach to homework that I could within my current place of works policy. Some things I’ve learned (these are generalisations which obviously don’t cover every child/parent/teacher, just some general trends). Also worth noting I’ve worked mainly with senior classes where lots of written work would be the norm.
So my current approach to homework is I give homework but it’s optional. If the children do it, great! I’ll correct it, give feedback etc. If they don’t, fine. I record that it hasn’t been done, keep the parents informed and that’s the end of it. And you know what? The child who doesn’t do the homework achieves just as well as a similar ability child who spends up to an hour each doing homework. Tables and reading are the only things that really make any real difference to a child’s achievement in my experience.
If you have a PCR on Day 5 they'd find it hard to argue. Antigen aren't as good as PCR tests so they ask you to do 3 over 5 days. One PCR at the end should be sufficient. But it could take 48 hours to get a result. Storm will have stopped testing today so there will be a backlog to clear as well. I'd do the antigen tests if I was you.
Yeah, I know dem's the rules, but what's the point of an antigen test after a negative PCR test? Just wondering what the reasoning is for myself.
Yeah thats all correct. Close contact procedures were changed a few weeks ago for everyone not just schools. Household contacts restrict movement for 5 days while doing antigen tests
Do the newest school rules make sense? Positive case in household. Son took PCR test, negative. School instructed son to stay home for a week and have three negative antigen tests. The PCR result is irrelevant.
Well as parents we do that in every other aspect of his life so I don't see the problem with letting him have 5 minutes a day to do something independently of us that his teacher will check anyway. He's 10, not 5, so I trust that he will do the work to the best of his ability and according to his teacher his homework is always of an excellent standard.
Maybe we have different definitions of 'so much' but I'd be perfectly happy if our 6th classer got 30 minutes of homework per day. Including weekends.
Is it unreasonable to expect our 4th class son to spend as much time doing homework during the week as he does playing soccer? And that's before we consider his other activities.
I think it's useful to build independence and take responsibility for getting something done in their own time.
Plus, ever since Covid, work in school has stayed in school, so we have less visibility of how they are doing.
It is good to show an interest in a child’s work - build encouragement, connect, observe, guide, and show pride and reward in work well done. When I train students I watch them work and ask what they think of the result -each day guiding, striving to be better until it becomes natural - instilling a sense of pride and self-value. The fruits of this labour shape character and bear reward at a later time. 👍
I'd love if ours ditched the homework. Mind you my lad only spends 5 minutes on it anyway but I'd love not to have to remember to ask if he's done it every day.
Why do you want your kids getting so much homework?
It was all a pack of lies to keep them open. And the really dopey lapped up the unscientific nonsense about how it was play dates and sleepovers were the issue.
Our govt and nphet have nothing but contempt for us, they really think we are absolute gombeens.
When all this is over, and a review of how things were handled is done, will it be found that the Government/NPHET blatently lied about the schools being safe originally?
Over the last few days, I have heard various experts say how the schools are a hive of infections at present, and they are accounting for a third of all cases in the country.
Yet they were safe as houses only a few months back, claimed many times by NPHET.
What changed? Or as stated, was it all a pack of lies to keep them open?
Ah, "fail to realize" and "would do well to remember". Some old school phraseology there.
Homework can be beneficial. One rencounters information in a different setting (home) and helps embed knowledge and skill. But too much of anything is counterproductive. School day could be shortened -too much emphasis on knowledge and not enough on cultivating wisdom. I wonder if students feel tirder after a days mask wearing - Whatever about benefits, I would assume oxygen intake is decreased with some significance with partially restrictive breathing?
Our School has become fairly lite on homework too, I am delighted, homework achieves nothing, gives parents a pain their ass, causes nothing but stress, my girls walk to school and walk home and according to their teacher put in a great effort at school and work hard. They are shattered by 4pm and up at 7am. About time schools gave it up completely.
Alot of parents fail to realize that a significant proportion of teachers who like to give out significant amounts of homework are sometimes compensating for what should have been done in the classroom. If the material was properly covered in the classroom that day, there's little need for much in the way of homework and this is particularly true in primary schools and in the younger classes. Parents would do well to remember this and that giving out lots of homework does not necessarily equate to a good teacher and good teaching.
Smiling reduces stress levels and stimulates endorphins as does being smiled at. Babies and young children love to see smiles 🙂
