With numbers rising is it on the cards again?
110 % the right call to open by Foley, NPHET and co. We need to just see it out at this stage and get to a herd immunity. Hospitals arent under pressure and numbers in icu remain stable even though our case count is probably at 40k or so day.
Omicron is extremely mild. Zero justification for shutting schools. The most vulnerable of children siffer when that happens.
I cant figure out the logic by some stakeholders for not wanting to reopen etc. Obviously agendas at play.
If they want teachers to run assessments similar to last year, they would have to announce it earlier than Easter I reckon.
If they offer predicted grades, they'll put some spin on it saying 'given the amount of teachers that have been absent, it's not fair that your education has been interrupted, so we're going to offer predicted grades'. Nothing to do with the fact that if they had let us do online learning for two weeks to get over the hump, that the mess that is ongoing could have been avoided somewhat.
How would predicted grades for people unavailable for the exam work? Somebody decides on the day to be "unavailable" and the teacher has to retrospectively cobble together a grade for them?
Grades are prepared for all students, but can only be accessed with a confirmed positive or close contact text from the hse, rather than being the default.
I think the most logical thing would be that predicted grades would be submitted for all students and they could only avail of the predicted grade if they produced a medical cert/ had a valid PCR test which means their period of isolation covers the exam date.
A degree in Science no less.
Why would they stop at teaching one day a week. There is a staffing crisis in hospitals as well. And GPs are under serious pressure too.
Or is it just a case yet again that anyone thinks they can rock into a classroom unqualified and do a teachers job ?
Not having to be Garda vetted then as well
LOL
It could also backfire because punishing people for getting sick during a pandemic isn't a great way to build solidarity.
Hospitals are on a war footing. Why don't you volunteer to assist in a Covid ward, that would be a really positive commitment to getting us through the pandemic.
Try telling that to my friend in his 40s who is still unable to speak normally for anything more than a couple of minutes after his recent infection . Have you ever experienced that after a mild cold?
Oh we all know they should give ample notice, the reality with the department is they don't know their arse from their elbow and couldn't plan a piss up in a brewery so whatever "plan" happens will be a mad scramble just before it's too late.
To be fair I would say the actual dept officials probably can organise a plan,until political interference comes into play.
So the whole process is gone through in school anyway? If that happens everyone will get them. Otherwise you have a black market in close contacts in June. Going through the process anyway just invites this on.
There are also nitty gritty things like, say, on the morning of an exam if someone realises they'll probably be a close contact of someone should they go to the exam? If someone has symptoms and hasn't had an official PCR test is the government really going to say that they must do an exam in the meantime. So many potential problems with this idea.
The only 'plan' would be the pre-2020 default. Dept officials will not create a fresh scenario unless they have no other option.
100% I cannot understand how anyone would want to close schools at this stage. Although infection numbers are sky high the hospitals are holding steady. Nowhere near the levels in ICU this time last year and ultimately that is the most important metric.
We will work through the absences this month and hopefully proper exams in some form will run in June
I don't know why people keep saying "I don't know understand why people want schools closed at this stage". I have not seen anyone looking for that.
Some people feel that with more courage and better judgement decided by educational arguments rather than political considerations, a delayed reopening would have been sensible and more students would have been reached. But schools have opened. Argument over. You need to move on.
But the day the government opened schools with 40k+ cases per day in the community was also the day Accredited Grades emerged again. Probably would have happened anyway, as the Fifth Year students of last year had lost so much time already, but classrooms with so many gaps will bring reality home to even the most reality denying don't-alter-the-process or delighted-to-be-back! teachers.
But the "keep schools open" is a very small echo chamber at this stage. Sorting out the fallout from the decision is the current challenge. ICU numbers do not fill classrooms. People quoting those are missing the point royally.
You don't have to be an expert or scientist to understand common sense
From the very start there should have been weekly reports showing
1. What are ICU numbers
2. What are deaths of people from covid ? What are total deaths?
3. What are corresponding numbers from 2019.
Why do you think the above format was never produced? Why is it 2020 total deaths are only 600 more of the total deaths 2019
And 2021 when released will be right back to the average
I find it very sad the people in charge have behaved the way they have and the media and human rights activists have sat back and said nothing
Is there anyone with a science or maths qualification on here , if so surely you would agree with me
If not why not and please don't say experts say so,
I don't agree that a "delayed opening would have been sensible and more pupils would have been reached"
From an educational point of view these weeks will be extremely difficult and I know just because schools are open it is not business as usual. But for me schools open is the least worst option. Closures for any length of time are harmful with very little benefit at this time.
Problems with exams are going to be an issue anyway but purely on the issue of the next few days/weeks from an educational point of view I believe the best way to reach the most pupils is schools to be open. With school s closed, there is virtually no education at all for 1000s of kids.
Given that Covid is just a mild cold, why aren't you volunteering to help out in Covid ward in hospitals. I'm sure your multiple degrees would be of great value in there, and you've obviously nothing to fear in catching a mild cold, right? Still no explanation as to why my fit 40-something friend is unable to talk for more than a couple of minutes after his 'mild cold', no?
And feel free to present whatever data you like. With your multiple degrees, it wouldn't take you more than a couple of minutes to pull together and present this data, surely?
Like I said, schools are open. That argument is redundant now.
Delta is still doing the rounds too though. Without genome sequencing, there's no guarantee your friend had Omicron.
yes similarly no guarantee that he doesn’t - Omicron appears to be milder than delta in terms of ICU admissions doesn’t follow that everyone who ends up with omicron will have a sniffle - there’s a wide range of illness between a sniffle and hospital admission and ICU.
Does it really matter which variant he had?
It does when you have as an article of faith that there's no way anyone can get sick from Omicron. There are more hidden layers to some discussions that might appear superficially.
Not to me. Someone said Omicron was like a cold, you said your friend had more than a cold, I said there's a possibility your friend had Delta.
Predicted grades can't be announced too early, if they did so students would be doing the dog on playing the system with 100% monthly tests and parental pressure.
For once I think the department would be best to leave the announcement till the last moment.
...and to those students who "need certainty" , just keep studying and learning regardless of the assessment. Learning is good for you apparently.
I'm ploughing ahead with the course and I get the impression other teachers aren't easing up either.
Ya I put stuff up on teams too... I beg them to contact me if they get stuck or need clarification . But the absentees don't really engage.
This wan is a genius... and no this is not a spoof from Waterford Whispers
"Kildare's Fianna Fail senator and former teacher Fiona O'Loughlin is currently volunteering as a substitute, she says opening windows after classes may be a better option." KFMradio.com. Not allowed to post links yet.
It would nearly restore your faith in politicians!
Whatever happened the 1400ppm limit on the co2 sensors. Is that gone now?
I wouldn't think Ms O'Loughlin has jurisdiction over CO2 monitors being a senator! Once it's red, all out!!
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