school closures

Powerhouse wrote: »

I think it is important to read the article and check what the sources are. When you do that you realise that all it is is the journalist in question whipping out the relevant circular and using it to apparently give weight to absolute speculation. The article has, in actual fact. zero credibility. When the Minister, rather than a random journalist, says it you may begin to take it seriously.

I would say in reality that there is zero chance of the Dept of Ed calling on extra days to be done over Easter especially at such short notice when dates for projects, orals etc. as well as personal arrangements during the holidays already decided. And especially when the call was made because of a red alert and schools were not left with the choice for two of the days.

I certainly know that I'd hardly have half my own classes coming in over Easter if this happened. I have several times over the years brought LC students in over Easter and never had I more than half of them.

Agreed.

I guess the article is a non-story.

evolving_doors wrote: »

Still sets a precedent amongst staff.

I'd equate lunchtimes with Easter holidays.
In fact lunchtime should be even more sacrosanct as you mightnt have a break the whole day. And that's U.N.healthy.
That's fine too if you're making things easier for yourself but you know how it goes:

Mr. Acequion is giving lunchtime classes Miss:
Are we getting lunchtime classes?
Is he behind on the course?
Are we behind?
Are we ahead?



You could easily say the same for many subjects, not just English.



I know the way it goes, but students talk and it can get out, especially within the same department where there's more than one class of the same year.




Ah ya I've no doubt you're committed and I have done extra lunchtimes before. But it was in relation to your concerns about precedent.

We all know it's a stretch to get everything done 100% but I have a seeking suspicion that the school year is going to be lengthened.

Point taken and it's Ms acequion. :pac:

And ya you are right that in most ways it does equate to the same thing. Though I would completely disagree re equating lunchtimes with Easter. Easter is official school holidays and all Irish schools are officially closed. Start opening them for this and that and hols quickly become eroded. It would be like starting Saturday or even Sunday tuition. And indeed lunchtimes are also sacrosanct. I absolutely hate doing anything other than having my lunch and zoning out on my lunchtime.

So far though, I know for a fact that no collegue has ever felt under any pressure to do the same as me and hey I would only do this sort of thing once in a blue moon! But you have got me thinking and I mean it when I say I wouldn't dream of doing anything that would put a collegue under pressure. There is more than enough pressure as it is.

When you say that the school year will be lengthened do you mean this one or in general? Because if you mean in general,I fully, but sadly agree. Our summer holidays will definitely be shortened and even more quickly if people go around shouting out this ludicrous,even if true,notion that teachers are really only entitled to 30 days. I'll be able to retire in 5 years,you younger guys are utter eejits if you don't fight tooth and nail for your holidays! Re this year, I don't see where they'd have scope to lengthen it. Like Easter, it's too late at this point as many people have other plans made. Though watch someone come along and say we really aren't on holidays then either!

evolving_doors wrote: »

Maybe not lengthen the school term but move inservices, CPD etc to outside school time.

Aren't we there though with all these W.O.W. webinars for example for junior cycle on at 7pm at night? If it's THAT important why isn't it scheduled at a time and in a medium EVERYONE can access ?

I am not adverse to voluntary CDP - I am a member of the most active subject association in the country and attend a 2day conference annually in my own time along with local branch meetings. I do resent missing out on CDP like this though. 7pm is inaccessible to me.

The bullshít paperwork and courses are certainly eating into quality of life. Despite my complaint here a couple of years ago about doing numerous "child protection" in-services, I just did another one last week in the form of that 2-hour 'Children First' website one that we all have to do. Downloaded "certificate", attached to email and sent it to the principal. Another box ticked by me, and by the principal. After so many previous child protection courses with precisely the same content, ticking those boxes is the only thing that matters here. Make no mistake about the mentality governing educational policy now. More substantially in terms of time, my existing LC projects take a considerable amount of after school correction time, helping each student fine tune draft after draft.

In terms of personal after school time all these JC assessments, even if they're not as important as LC projects, have precisely the same consequence: much more of our after school time will be spent, except now it's on filling in numerous boxes on paperwork and essentially being glorified clerical officers making sure each strand and each nuance of each aspect of the course gets signed off. So far with the aims and objectives it has an eerie JCSP feel about it: everybody's happy if you just fill in those forms.

If this whole new English-style JC is going to eat into personal quality of life it will ultimately encounter a similar fate of class teaching time being used to do the bureaucracy. The Polyanna Helen 'Won't anybody think of the children' Lovejoy types with their enthusiasm for giving more of their private lives to ticking all these boxes should perhaps have a few little children of their own and that would soften their coughs. This week, for instance, your "days off" from school because of the weather would be countered by childcare centres being closed and therefore you'd be a full-time carer on these supposed "days off".

At my 7pm webinar this evening, for instance, I had the joy of two toddlers in the same room, one of whom was fascinated by the touchscreen aspect of the laptop.... As for having a webinar at any time, any time at home is, without exaggeration, not suitable. By 9pm when the kids are all asleep my day is physically and mentally over and I go to sleep too, expecting to be awoken several times during the night (as just happened) and then awake for 6:45am so kids are in crèche between 7:30 and 7:50. The kids are collected before 18:30, when crèche closes, so the only time for school work is between those hours - and a 50-hour working week for a teacher is more than enough, thank you very much.

And what's the betting that after all these English-style "reforms" come in the next big outrage about education is falling standards? If the bureaucrats expect to increase our arse-covering/box-ticking workload hugely and not expect us to lower the threshold on quality of work (after all, it takes much more work from the teacher to keep standards high) they don't really understand human nature or the limits on human energy levels.

Jeez i cant see schools open Monday !

ASISEEIT wrote: »

Jeez i cant see schools open Monday !

Oh don't even go there!! :eek:

Are all you guys over east? Because here in the south west it's not bad at all. Lots of cars out and I've just been out for a walk. There's snow but it's light and the roads and footpaths are grand.

So, I certainly hope to be back to normal by Monday.

km79 wrote: »

I'm between Athenry and loughrea
All roads impassable

It's only Friday evening yet. A long way to go until Monday.

ASISEEIT wrote: »

All schools? Or schools in certain areas of the country?

techteacher wrote: »

will only be some schools all principals will decide sunday evening after the news..

Thank you. Schools will close by local arrangement. Good and wise decision. But it won't help me, unfortunately.

Snowed in, in North Clare. It's still snowing. I have never seen weather like this the in 53 years of my life. There's no thaw either.

I know it's only Friday but.......

ASISEEIT wrote: »

Can't see that happening in the north west. We've had hardly any snow, if it wasn't for media coverage, it wouldn't have been a relatively normal day of snow here. 95% of it is gone where I am.