Anti Dementors, Assemble!

[Mascotte]

I think I finished the last thread by accident...

DS is 5 and I have to keep reminding myself that the one on one he is getting is waay more intense then what he would get at school, so if by 1:30 we have both got to the end of our tether and I think 'fuck it, watch some Attenborough on youtube' that's actually OK.

DrearyWallAntler getting to 1.30 would be a dream here. Baby naps for 30 mins so that’s what they get!

I’m dreading half term, my DD is much happier on “school” days because she has something to occupy her. On non school days she just tends to drift and becomes very withdrawn.

On a brighter note I had a lovely walk in the park with DD and the dog. The cafe has reopened so I got a coffee and DD had a scoop of ice cream and we sat on the slope and people watched. It almost felt normal, it was nice seeing people who looked like they were enjoying themselves and kids playing football again.

I think the teaching unions would be better saying something like "these bits can be done, these bits might not work, because of x, y, z (i.e. physical classroom size Vs number of children, classroom furniture - I taught for twelve years, never saw single person desks) and say that parents will need to be the ones to choose if they wish to send their children into their school based on what the individual school can provide. Make it clear that schools will do their bit but can't do the impossible.

They need to focus on what protection/exemption they can provide for vulnerable staff, not insist that all staff are protected at all times, not when it looks like the risks are so small.

I left teaching about two years ago. I hated it by the end. I would definitely have been using this as a break from a job I hated and been loathe to return. I know I wouldn't be the only one.

@GoldenOmber Yup. It is so unfair on the kids here that school isn't going to be back until August.

I've just seen a local ex HT post that weird meme about nits too. I wonder if they think key workers sending their kids to school are somehow being irresponsible.

DS's school has just sent a text telling us that they will be sending out a questionnaire for parents to fill out regarding school reopening - whether we will be sending our children in and if we have any particular concerns. Seems a good idea as then they can gauge how many children they can prepare for. The head seems very keen to get back to normal as soon as possible.

@Drivingdownthe101

And that's absolutely fine. Honestly.

I wonder if they think key workers sending their kids to school are somehow being irresponsible.

I think a lot of them are really rather pissed off at having to actually stay open as childcare. I know the head of my youngest's school has made it as obstructive as possible, misinterpreted the rules to keep numbers as low as possible and sends us shitty emails every few days to remind us to NOT EVEN ASK if we need to go back to work as key workers now as she WILL NOT CONSIDER allowing anyone in the same postcode as the school without two keyworker parents and a note from both employers or telephone verification that both parents have to go out to work and shift patterns can't be rearranged to stagger childcare.

DD2 is now well into the vulnerable criteria because of the collapse in her mental health state - school still refusing to take her in.

It's gone from being the small and nurturing local school to a fortress of parent hating venom. I'm ashamed to be associated with it at the moment to be honest.

For those feeling blue some unis. are talking about January!!

That's it - I've become an anti-dementor dementor.
Just so f'ing depressed by the whole thing but especially re schools.
I've been really understanding of the unions' position, partly because I'm a bit leftie and Guardian-y and partly because after years of demonisation and constant curriculum changes (fronted adverbials?!) and lack of respect, I felt that it was understandable for the unions to want to flex their muscles a bit.
But this is ridiculous. In an ideal world I wouldn't want most of the teaching dementors posting on those threads anywhere near my DC considering their evident lack of any form of basic mathematical skills, critical thinking, or any care at all for the children they are paid to teach. However, we don't live in an ideal world and so I really wish they would just start behaving like grown ups.
Seriously, no, the death rate isn't 3%, and no you are not being sent to your certain death; you're being asked to try to positively engage with ideas about how you can do the job that you are paid for.
Sorry to rant. Just so so depressed to be living in a world where people are so care-less of the long term effects of their actions.

iamapixie well put, this is exactly how I feel too.

@iamapixie me too.

Our nursery and the school ds is going to in September thankfully seem to be run by normal people but everything you've said resonates with me as on FB, and on here it's all I've seen.

I wonder whether they realise how they're making the people they clap for on a Thursday feel? Because their kids are still going to school.

@justasking111 I'm actually a mature student at the moment - if schools go back at this half the kids in class that the current guidance has them at - in September I won't be able to return to campus! I've had initial discussions with my tutor about it, either going back part time and splitting next year over 2 years (don't want to - I'm old enough and it would drop me out of my cohort I like), or taking a year out (been told the course would support me applying to do that) - or doing my placement work later. I'm kind of thinking that nowhere is going to be set back up to take placement students back by then (I'm speech therapy so loads are redeployed doing things like proning ICU patients at the moment or rehab for patients coming off ventilators) so they'll have to move the course timing around and do placements toward the end of the year anyway.

@iamapixie I wouldn't want my pet goldfish taught by some of the stinking attitudes of the loudest MN teachers (lots of lovely MN teachers - but by heck there's a core of unpleasant child-hating, parent-loathing, flower bombing gobshites). Thankfully my kids' teachers are lovely... the Head of one school is being a bit of an obstructive arse cowering behind a pile of policies at the moment - but the teachers are superb.

I was most definitely made to feel that I was being selfish sending my child in, so I kept her at home.

I’ve been homeschooling, it’s ok, but I can’t do my job, so I haven’t🤷🏻‍♀️. I’ve lots of sympathy with the teachers in my school, I’ve known them for years and most of them are bloody lovely. They’re just scared like the rest of us, but I wasn’t expecting the hostility that I picked up on.

It will be an interesting time to look back on, there will be under and over reactions all round, mistakes made. Largely I think people are just muddling through, however there’s a definite shutting down of debate, critical thinking, logic.

Dementors orgasming at the thought the welsh police will increase fines for travel £1k to 3k for those breaking the rules. gawd help us.

north.wales/latest-news/north-wales-police-and-crime-commissioner-calls-for-coronavirus-travel-fines-to-be-tripled-to-3000-15290.html?fbclid=IwAR0QrRfjFQhRMOF5r8a3Lx-Pr9lZEMq4EFfj_TEumsQhPLw9jbnBH2aLsrk

Well this is one way to deal with alleged rule breakers

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-52617552

I’m actually in floods of tears hearing Matt Hancock say we’ll never be able to hug anyone again.

Remember it is the most vocal Dementors going in for the Kiss (ooh, ironic!) that we're hearing from. Most sensible people who don't want to bother arguing it are not wasting their energy sticking their heads above the parapets.

I've whinged about a few of my teacher friends, but at least half haven't passed comment. ( I know a log through previous work or because quite a few school friends also went into teaching)

I'm finding the FB fuore calming down today.

@Mascotte the lamps a new one on me I'm not putting a lamp in my window ffs
Nurses do a hard job and I salute them but it's all getting to much now it's lost it's meaning.

@LilacTree1 that's just because nobody will ever want to hug Matt Hancock and his enormous dome-shaped shiny forehead. He's like the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It will happen, lovely. A week ago we weren't allowed to sit in a park, and now we are. Don't let the fuckers suck all the joy out of you, what little we're allowed to have left.

lilac if that’s true we might as well just give up now, who wants to live in a world like that? The scaremongering is dangerous and depressing, I really hope they start publishing suicide figures alongside Covid deaths, the dementors will have blood on THEIR hands.

lilac where has he said that? That might just tip me over the edge today.

Not bothered about the french kiss on both cheeks some friends go in for, never been comfortable with that. As for a hug well if it is a choice between a hug or sitting with loved ones then that is ok as well.

Not an issue for me, I have my husband and three children to hug. My mum lives alone and the thought of her having gone 8 weeks without any human contact breaks my heart. And my two younger children are too young to understand staying 2m away from her if we do see her so to be honest it would just have to not happen.

I don’t think he did say “no hugs ever again” - if you watch the clip (he’s being interviewed by Philip Schofield) he waffles a bit and says “I wouldn’t advise it” re hugging strangers, and then he pivots to “we really need a vaccine to get us all properly through this and the vaccine is looking really promising” - politician trick, find something positive you can sound confident about when you don’t want to/aren’t sure about answering the question.