@psychomath - I agree. I very nearly posted this (below) a while ago, but didn't think I'd have time to keep up with the responses....
When the full force of the economic reckoning hits, will school funding be cut further? Will it be argued that a great deal of teaching can actually be carried out adequately online (although of course, if you wish to pay for the personal touch, you can always go private….)?
Teaching has always seemed like a very safe profession for weathering economic downturns – you’ll always need Maths teachers, right? Except, what if Hegarty Maths and similar were actually doing a better job of teaching (at least, for all but the very highest-flying pupils) online? What if a Joe Wicks workout seemed a pretty reasonable PE option each morning, dispensing with the hours and hours of games, and the expenses of multiple PE teachers, playing fields, changing rooms and so on? What if French and Spanish could mostly be taught by online language courses, supplemented with a few actual lessons delivered by a peripatetic teacher? Why not do Science practicals in school, but have the rest of the curriculum delivered online? You’d then only need teaching assistants to provide crowd control, wouldn’t you?
It's already happening, of course. I work for a business that produces online educational resources. The business recently won a contract abroad, in which the physical teaching role (for one very niche area) was entirely replaced by an online programme. Will the current crisis force a faster pace of change?
Teachers trying to get back to work have my full sympathy. (And in addition to my online educational work, I also work within schools and would return there tomorrow, with no concerns). But apologies - this may be a little doom and gloom for a positive thread!