Schools to close again.. Covid

I just commented on what you actually said, and you called it “personal insults”.

Hey mods, feel free to punish me appropriately if any of you feel I’ve crossed the line between commenting on what this poster actually said and “personal insults”. I won’t protest.

You posted this yesterday:

“Just because you’re a lazy teacher and proud of it doesn’t mean that it’s widespread.

Whinging that you’re being targeted personally after bragging about doing a bad job doesn’t sound like any teacher I’ve ever met either.”

That is a personal attack in my book but we’ll wait to see what the mod says

Farcical really - TH saying not to meet up with even one other family inside tonight, and SD saying more than 30 people from different families can meet up no problem in a confined space from Thursday - when the situation will be even worse.

Her tweet earlier has me questioning if we are reopening. The fact there is a Tuesday meeting is I'd say, see what hospital numbers are like.

Up until this afternoon I was 80% we'd reopen. Now I'm definitely more 50/50. Seems like a repeat of last December.

Hope we open. Online learning sucks.

Ya, if I'm standing in my classroom at 9:00 on January 6th with students in front of me then I'll believe schools are open, I'm going to be skeptical about any announcements until then.

Donnelly and Foley, I suppose, expose the underbelly of public policy in that everything is underpinned by an agreed position. This is the "collective responsibility" thing is practice where you cannot say something until it is kosher to do so.

To be fair to Donnelly, he might privately know that you don't recklessly open schools on 20k cases and with hospitalisations likely to double in a week, but when in an interview it's a binary matter.

If you say "to tell you the truth we'll have to see, Gavin, it doesn't look great to be honest" it'd be the lead story on the news tonight. It's not the most edifying spectacle but it's how the public service works. That's why you get plodders who would get light-headed if they had to go off script reaching great heights, and often talented people disaffected by the stultifying restriction.

They are repeating the default position. I could say to you "schools won't open". Evidence? None. Just a hunch.

But "schools will open?" How do I know? Check your school calendar - there in black and white.

But it means that in a fluid situation politicians' comments are no guarantee of anything.

Let me put it another way, in 2019 or 2020 the Minister for Education did not have to have a meeting with public health officials and what she will inevitably describe as "stakeholders" two days before schools went back.

If worst comes to worst and we are closed do ye think some teachers will still be able to work from the school? We were live teaching per timetable last year and my WiFi at home is not good enough to support this so I'd need to work from school.

yeah I'd say that will be totally fine. If there is a closure again this year, I would like to think that the Dept will come up with a more sophisticated approach than 'full closure', which could well be what the Tuesday meetings are about. ASD classes and Special school settings should not go back online for example and if they are serious about a Leaving Cert, 6th years should be back too.

Yeah...or report the post.

Possibly, but the same point could be made about being in the pub at 19.55 and 20.10, but look at what they went and did there...

Reduced numbers = reduced opportunity for transmission and I'd imagine that is the way they will be looking at it

In theory I'd agree, but if numbers are as high as they are, LCs will be hit just as much as everyone else. Probably better to have them all online for say 2 weeks than have a handful in the classroom and some trying to listen in from home, or duplicating the work because you're putting it on teams after class.

No recruitment/appointment for the LC/JC exams yet either, or timetable for that matter.

I'd worry for primary school students if schools don't open. Younger kids in primary need someone beside them full time if they're to get anything from online teaching. And tbh some of the so-called online teaching was fairly abysmal in primary. An email a week type abysmal. It is really not fair to children to do this again.

People in schools are not getting progressively more inebriated as the day goes by anyway, though I'm sure some must be tempted.

Honestly I think the current numbers spell the end of the JC and LC with just the current changes and will likely result in predicted grades. I have never been so far behind with junior certs, every teacher is saying it. Absenteeism is so high it’s incredibly hard to make progress in any course (I have some weaker groups this year)

Our school and every school I know locally is on their knees trying to stay open and it’s only by completely unqualified substitution cover or teachers thrown in last minute l. I took a 2nd year maths class P6 in early December, they haven’t been ‘taught’ all day at that point. (Admittedly had one class a double). I couldn’t teach the subject they were supposed to have so I just scrapped any of my own work that needed doing and did maths with them instead

Im very high risk albeit boosted and I’d be very nervous of going back with these numbers. Catching covid (even a mild case) would also mean a two month delay on an operation I’m waiting for. Even so I hated online and think I’d still prefer to be in the building freezing and teaching through an N95. At least I know the kids are there as opposed to a black screen of 30 cameras off and ringing silence.

Thankfully we do have childcare sorted since the lockdown one chaos and that is available regardless of whether we are fully open. Albeit it will be more expensive for us as it’s more hours

Also have moved the LC music into the Easter break but no mention of the JC music or home ec exams except to say they’ll be run in school time. I’ve no idea how they get done with the current crisis of substitution and space (our school is bursting due to overflow rooms for covid)