Schools to close again.. Covid

Oh, well then clearly that’s what every teacher in every school did. I stand corrected.

Yeah. That's the only way I can see it happening. With the way my personal circumstances are, I would have no problem being exempt from it. But I'd be amazed if they got it past the unions as I can't see it being a runner for all (which is totally fair enough)

Edit: I also wonder will the can be kicked further down the line and will ETBs be allowed to make their own decisions on their schools?

Whatever they do, they'll be sure to announce it past the 11th hour, with zero notice for everyone involved

Jesus if the ETBs get a chance to get competitive about it who knows what could happen 👀👀👀 #myetbisbetterthanyouretb 😅

20K a day (and God knows what the actual figure is with PCR tests so hard to get) isn't the peak, jeepers...

What consequences were there for teachers who didn’t do anything during lockdown? I know plenty and nothing happened to them. They’ll do the same 1 email/week again next lockdown (if even that).

There will never be real consequences when other teachers circle the wagons and protect other teachers.

What consequences do you think there were?

No idea to be honest - just don't remember. But it's mentioned also towards the bottom of the main story on the RTE news app in the "it is believed" sense. Means nothing of course. They maintained last year until the 11th hour that schools would reopen and it was a lie.

I have been of the view since early December, from various signs (I know for example that schools were allocated money towards online learning just before Christmas, arrangements for Easter orals were announced before Christmas, and the Dept - in a moment of weakness - mentioned at Christmas about reopening but also "preparing for all eventualities") that schools wouldn't open in the new year. But I got tired of being told by people that "they wouldn't close again" or "I can't see that ever happening" so just went with "of course they'll open"/"they'll have to open" since that. We'll soon see what actually happens. Maybe I'm wrong but the government will have to have given up on the pandemic to open schools in the current scenario. It'd now be reckless to do so.

Stop targeting me personally for a minute.

Are you saying that ALL teachers who did 1 email a week to students were “sh1t” and did “a massive disservice” to their students?

Have you called this out in person to any teachers? Or are you just happy enough staying behind your keyboard are targeting me?

A colleague of mine with union connections is certain schools will stay closed. I got plenty of flack from other teachers for saying this before Christmas but it is being discussed from what I’m hearing at least.

There is no other teacher on this forum bragging about having logged in to fire off "one email a week" and have gotten away with it. You have come here and put yourself forward as the poster girl for them. I'm not targeting you, you have put yourself out here.

If another poster came here and said what you are saying, I would ask them to explain themselves too.

I didn't call you a sh1t teacher. What I said was that unless you are a sh1t teacher, then you did your students a disservice by giving them such crappy access to education while they were online.

It may be the case that for some students who received just one email a week from their teacher, the effort level was no greater than what would have went into a week's work if they were in school in person, so no harm done then (or is there?)

I will say one thing though - and this is why I think you are a troll - it is one thing to be too lazy to be ar$ed doing your job properly, but it's a whole other ball game to simultaneously go to the effort of bragging about that fact. Online. To strangers. At midnight. During your holidays.

I mean, how does that even work? Too lazy to teach when being paid to do it, but all about hanging out in the teaching forum when you're on your holidays. It's really odd behaviour and if you are for real, you are the single biggest reason why a personality test should be introduced in the teaching profession

Edited to add: No, I don't think that all teachers who did one email a week to their students are sh1t teachers. A close friend of mine did it. But she had no other choice because she had her children at home during lockdown and one of them was very young. But, she didn't go around boasting about it. She felt awful about it. And since September she has been doing Friday afternoon catch up classes with her exam year groups in the hopes of making up some of the time. Should she have to do this? Absolutely not, but the point is that she wants to. She has a work ethic.

I'd be one of the first to argue with the notion that teaching is a vocation, but seriously, anyone who rang it in over the lockdown without a seriously good excuse has no business being in the business.

You are right, I didn't answer your question, but I had edited it since you quoted it because I had forgotten. My answer is back up there if you care to read it.

I will absolutely enjoy the rest of my holidays. I have truly deserved them.

LOL. I won't be editing my post. So, if they do wish to read what I said they can read ALL of it, not just the bit you selected.

I know you know the meaning of the word attitude so I won't define it for you here. But the case of my friend is not a case of "attitude". Was it acceptable? No, it wasn't. She knew that herself. It's kinda why the traditional school model has never migrated to online before now. But unless she was going to cage her toddler, there was no other alternative other than an email.

Now I don't know what your email consisted of, but hers was plenty and involved pre-recorded lessons too. It actually wasn't an email either, they were scheduled Google Classroom posts. I just said email for quickness because I didn't realise what a bag of spiders this was going to turn out to be!!

My friend's situation was not ideal and her scenario showed the tragic side to the school closures - where otherwise excellent teachers were resigned to having to work with what they had, feeling immensely guilty about that fact and putting in extra work the following school year in an effort to make up for it.

You are not a teacher. Not because lazy teacher's don't exist, but because a true lazy teacher wouldn't be here 🤣 If you are a teacher then the world has gone even crazier than I thought it had.

I notice that you have been very quick to make yourself a victim out of all this, despite the fact that you opened this entire conversation with the sentence (complete with inference that you have no plans to change your ways):

"The one email a week thing happened in multiple schools both primary and secondary. Teachers here don’t like hearing this (and will defend lazy colleagues to the death) but it did happen and was fairly widespread. I did it myself with no consequences!!!

And if schools close again it’ll happen again."

You are not the victim here. The students who couldn't be further to the backs of their teachers' heads are.

Definitely not a teacher

Haha … that’s a lot of explaining there banana! And serious levels of revision of what you originally said (lucky we have your original posts!). I must have really hit a nerve!!

Anyway, parents will make up their own mind on your opinion that teachers don’t have to teach online when they have commitments such as children, parents, or pets to look after. Also, you seem to be claiming that teachers shouldn’t have to teach online if they have poor WiFi. Does this include teachers who don’t have laptops? Or are unable to work the tech? Or don’t want students seeing the inside of their houses? Or making recordings of their face or voice available? Or any other excuse????

Wow!! That would be a lot of teachers who wouldn’t have to teach during lockdown so .,,