If school's don't return on March 8th what will you do?

[cottonwoolbrain]

I am goign to be completely honest. I can't handle this anymore. I'm not sure what I'll do. I'm in tears every day now and the rest of the time just feel completely and utterly numb as if I'm doing everything on autopilot. Keep shoutinbg at the children - rate its going they'll get Stockholm Syndrome being coooped up with me as I am

DS (8) needs almost constant supervision to get him to do any work at all or even to sit in his chair. HIs school have great distance learning but I'm exhausted trying to get him to do it even with online classes. DD is 15. She's great at doing the work but is understandly stressed and lonely and worried about next years GCSEs and I feel like I'm getting the brunt of it.

I work part time and its the sort of job that requires high concentration levels. I can't just stop to answer questions about everything under the sun (including the flipping sun).

I'm breaking. Half term starts tomorrow. Hopefully a week of not home schooling will help and then I''ll be counting the days until March 8th but I'm so desperately worried they won't go back and I'm not sure what I'll do or how I'll cope.

DP helps as much as he can but most of its falling on me.

Sorry don't knwo what I'm saying except that i dont thknk I can hold out much longer and its messing up my children so badly.

I’m on furlough so I’m lucky I don’t need to worry about working and home schooling. It must be so difficult doing both. I’m home schooling and totally stressed, my son 10 isn’t interested and not engaging with school, he’s finding it so difficult. I feel like I’m not spending enough time teaching my 8 year old daughter. My daughters teacher phoned on Monday and I broke down on the phone. I cried, the poor teacher only phoned to give me a pass code. I’m so embarrassed now.

Equally there is an argument that more could have been made of the summer regards going to school when conditions were favourable.

There are absolutely no guarantees shutting schools longer would prevent a further closure.

@Freetigerking

I’m on furlough so I’m lucky I don’t need to worry about working and home schooling. It must be so difficult doing both. I’m home schooling and totally stressed, my son 10 isn’t interested and not engaging with school, he’s finding it so difficult. I feel like I’m not spending enough time teaching my 8 year old daughter. My daughters teacher phoned on Monday and I broke down on the phone. I cried, the poor teacher only phoned to give me a pass code. I’m so embarrassed now.

Don't worry honestly I can barely say hello to a teacher without crying on them!

@ElliFAntspoo I fear you could be right, I don’t think the government are going to be as blasé about opening everything up like they were last year.
My DC is CEV, has Down Syndrome and autism, he’s been out of school for a year now, I can see him going back to school for the last half of the summer term and maybe September until October half term then off again.
He’s 15, I’m sure I could push for the vaccine for him but it’s unlicensed for under 16’s, I don’t know what to do, he may be nearly 16 but physically he’s the size of an 11 year old.
It’s not a race to the bottom but I wish I had the issue of homeschooling, I would give my right arm to be nagging my child to do their school work. He can’t read or write and never will, he can count to 3 on his fingers but can’t say the words, one, two or three. He’s non verbal. Honestly to those parents struggling, I do understand and you have my sympathy but please count your blessings.

@ElliFAntspoo

A lot of people do not understand that this is a long haul thing that is going on here. You may get them back 2 or 3 days a week, or maybe for a few weeks, but don't expect to not be in the same boat in October, and a replay trough next autumn and winter.

We can either look at what is actually happening around us, or we can watch our TVs and believe hear what we want to hear from the men behind the podiums, and hide under our duvets and pretend for another week that it'll all be over soon.

A staged lockdown release will be announced in 10 days, which will show a gradual phased opening up of society in four monthly stages between Easter and September. It will fail, and the failure will be blamed on the profligacy of the public to be reasonable in the summer, and be used as the reason why they need a firebreak lockdown in October, followed by another in November so they don't have a repeat of Christmas last year.

Then you'll have a repeat of last Christmas, and hard lockdowns next winter, and you'll be on here complaining and hammering away at your keyboards again saying I can't believe we wasted another year.

They told you at the beginning that this was the new normal. What part of that was not understandable? There will be rolling lockdowns and control measures for a long time to come. You can change your life and ditch the stress and plan ahead for the future, or you can hold onto your old life and fret about plans that no longer work and try to grasp at an old life that isn't coming back.

I really feel sorry for all the kids who's parents are piling stress onto them and demanding academic performance.

Why would it be just as bad as last Christmas, when we now have vaccines? Even with the problem of the variants, what are you basing your prognosis of there being absolutely no improvement on? What is your scientific expertise that allows you to declare that science will never be able to get this under any kind of control?

then they will catch up.

For us, it stopped being about catching up and started being about my son's mental health, the more people that write to their MPs and say this is not going to work till Easter, the more the government are going to have to listen and maybe start to help the schools come up with a plan

HauntedPencil
Thanks. I was sobbing, I don’t even think I was making sense talking to him. I felt guilty as I had been shouting at my son before for not engaging with school work.

@megletthesecond

Thank you Elli "...this is a long haul thing that is going on here". Exactly. We can't magic it away, but it will slowly improve.

Except that @ElliFAntspoo appears to be suggesting it will never improve at all.

@Thewiseoneincognito

I’ll be extremely relieved if they keep schools closed.

Relieved that they prioritised lives over public opinion.

I feel for those struggling I really do, but the reality is that schools feed the infection numbers.

I agree.

A large amount of infections and hospitalisations in December were due to asymptomatic school children passing covid to their parents. Schools are safe for children, but aren't safe for their parents or teachers. I can't honestly see schools opening fully until all 40+ adults have had at least their first vaccine. Hospitals are just too full now for that.

elli

I agree but for one thing, we now have many many vaccines, we now have medical interventions that lessen the severity even once someone is very very ill. They are improving and refining the medical methods all of the time. We know how the virus works now, so we can preempt and outsmart its development in time. In a nutshell, we are not, and I repeat not in the same position as were last year. We have learnt many lessons, so on that point I agree the reopening will be much more careful, but that is where it stops. I don't doubt we will have restrictions in the future of some kind by the winter, but it will be nothing like this.

I think you are taking the most pessimistic scenario, perhaps as a protective measure, but you should not post it as fact. It is not fact, if anything the scientists have become much more optimistic.

@Sobeyondthehills

then they will catch up.

For us, it stopped being about catching up and started being about my son's mental health, the more people that write to their MPs and say this is not going to work till Easter, the more the government are going to have to listen and maybe start to help the schools come up with a plan

But realistically what kind of plan will help?

There isn't enough time to vaccinate all the teachers before the 8th or all the other safety measures that would help.

If rates don't come down enough, it is what it is.

What the government could do maybe is come up with plans that would take the work pressure off parents. So many employers are expecting business as usual, it's not right.

[quote Beyondfedupnow]@ElliFAntspoo I fear you could be right, I don’t think the government are going to be as blasé about opening everything up like they were last year.
My DC is CEV, has Down Syndrome and autism, he’s been out of school for a year now, I can see him going back to school for the last half of the summer term and maybe September until October half term then off again.
He’s 15, I’m sure I could push for the vaccine for him but it’s unlicensed for under 16’s, I don’t know what to do, he may be nearly 16 but physically he’s the size of an 11 year old.
It’s not a race to the bottom but I wish I had the issue of homeschooling, I would give my right arm to be nagging my child to do their school work. He can’t read or write and never will, he can count to 3 on his fingers but can’t say the words, one, two or three. He’s non verbal. Honestly to those parents struggling, I do understand and you have my sympathy but please count your blessings.[/quote]
Must be so difficult, I'm sorry. X

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56024772

www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines/how-they-work.html

It's not prioritising public opinion - it's a quite horrible balance of harms each time.

Here more people seemed to want schools shut.

No I don't think anyone is expecting BAU at all, but o do think they'll open in some capacity be it key years or past time if the cases keep falling on the current trajectory.

Not gonna lie, I'm burnt out. I have depression and anxiety and I'm doing everything I can to not have them take over myself, plus 99% of the time being with / schooling / helping / keeping company an overly emotional, lonely 6 year old. I really need schools to open in march

Shrug and carry on.

No point wasting energy on things that I have no control of.

It's not prioritising public opinion - it's a quite horrible balance of harms each time.

Here more people seemed to want schools shut

Agree. Keeping schools shut is not harm free. This site seems skewed for longer closure but government will prioritise schools first.

I'm sorry it's so tough for you OP.

Frankly since about September I've expected them to be off all this term, and frankly, much as it would be easier for me to return I think it's probably better in terms of virus management if schools don't go back until next term when hopefully virus conditions will be much better.

But that's easy for me to say as I have older kids, and schools giving quite good provision; I know it's an unmanageable nightmare for others (and probably would be for me if my kids had been 3 or 4 years younger) - there are just no answers that are good for everyone sadly.

Thewiseoneincognito

I’ll be extremely relieved if they keep schools closed.

Relieved that they prioritised lives over public opinion.

I feel for those struggling I really do, but the reality is that schools feed the infection numbers.

I agree with this too, God no it's not easy at all, but it's far preferable than repeating the mistake of reopening too early again. All any of us can do is our best, children will be fine in the longterm if everybody just remains sensible!

@Sobeyondthehills

then they will catch up.

For us, it stopped being about catching up and started being about my son's mental health, the more people that write to their MPs and say this is not going to work till Easter, the more the government are going to have to listen and maybe start to help the schools come up with a plan

Me too. My son is drowning in depression, he's a teen so there's only so much help he will allow me to give him. Cahms won't help unless he makes an attempt on his life. It's so hard.

If they don’t go back on the 8th March, I will be asking how my DD in Yr10 is going to manage her GCSE’s next year. Yr11 have been covered but no thought for the pupils in their first year of GCSE’s. If this year isn’t important/needed then why spread the GCSE over two years.

If parents can not get kids to engage what makes you think teachers can?

Because that is literally what they are being paid to do

@cottonwoolbrain

Sorry op one thing you said has stood out, I'm sure it's already been picked up on but why are you battling with an 8 year old to sit in a chair?

How does he work eg is it zoom lesson?
We are doing oak and dd luckily can do it when I get a moment free... However she does it lying down or in a nest she builds 😂 of blankets or however she wants... Life would be truly miserable if I tried to fiexe

@sittingpondering School have been sympathetic and I’m very grateful for that. We do the maths and English and what else of the rest we can. I’m exhausted, not lazy or whining
yeah that sounds like the best thing we can do. fingers crossed for getting though this