My brain can't comprehend no school until September.

[Whatsername177]

I'm a secondary teacher and HOY. I'm not arguing about the reasons why schools are closed - they are closed to save lives and I agree. I realise I am lucky and safe. I am very grateful to those on the front line. But, I'm struggling with the fact that I can't do my job properly. Im struggling accept that this is it until September. I feel so low about it all.
I teach a practical subject, but I can't teach it online. Because Ireland closed their schools first, we had a bit of warning that it would happen here so I cobbled together a theory booklet that would last two weeks until the Easter holidays. At that point, I thought we'd go back. Now that we aren't, I've spent the last week creating a project I can deliver via google classroom for after Easter, which should hopefully be fun as well as educational and doesn't rely on resources they might not have. I've created video explanations as well as written instructions to help parents and pupils with SEN. I've developed a way to assess it and make it meaningful. I'm not allowed to teach 'live'. Not all kids can have the family computer for the whole day so it needs to be pre recorded so that they can access it when convenient. There have been a range of complaints from worried parents, some who have declared the work too easy and some who feel their kids have been inundated. I'm trying to find a balance, but it is hard to keep it simple enough to follow but also allow brighter kids to be stretched. It is also way more time consuming than teaching properly.
My lovely GCSE lot have been thrown into turmoil and missing 3 months for my yr 10s will have a massive impact. I rang my key kids yesterday and they all sounded so bewildered and are already missing their friends and fed up of sitting at a computer. Usually, I could put something into place to help these kids when they struggle, but all I could do was tell them to hang in there. I miss my colleagues and I miss my job.
And this is it, until September. Except for the few days I am allowed to go in to teach key workers kids. Teaching through a screen. But not really teaching my subject, just a variation of it.
I have two children of my own and I'm grateful that I get to keep them home and safe. I know this post seems silly. I will never wish for a snow day again.

Theres my pathetic moan. I've got it out. Please feel free to virtually slap me. I just needed to get it out somewhere and have no one to talk to in rl. My parents are both super high risk and have letters from the government. My dh isnt a teacher anymore and doesnt get it.

I’m in a similar situation although most of my course can be taught online (vocational area in FE) and we have to deliver live (although we don’t have to be on screen fortunately! )

It’s a scary thought about not being in till next year (would be August for us as we go back before schools) I think we are going to lose a lot of students who use this as an opportunity not to engage. I’d only been back from mat leave for two weeks and hadn’t actually started teaching again and it’s blowing my mind!

Oh OP, I'm a HOY too and I really get it.

Ive spent the week on the phone to parents and children just talking them down through the instability. There are so many children missing school already and it hasn't even been a week. It's hard because we care.

I'm lucky we have an outstanding and supportive headteacher who has completely excelled herself in recent weeks - it really makes me want to keep going.

Moan if you need to. 😊

I think a lot of us feel the same - I definitely do!

But all we can do is our best. It will always be too much work for some / not enough for others so I made it clear that if they couldn't do all of the work then please try SOMETHING and I would be happy.

I think people don't understand that even though our jobs are safe (thank goodness and we KNOW how lucky we are), as teachers our hearts and minds are invested with those that we teach, which means we know that their parents jobs aren't sound... that they are struggling and we want to be able to fix that for at least 6 hours of the day and give them a safe space and right now we can't.

It's tough but do what you can, do your best and Year 10 won't necessarily get so behind because the whole country is in the same boat and so they won't be behind.

I think your title may be a bit ott, but I understand your concerns as a parent and as a teacher, albeit at university, but who should be teaching lab practice.

Having said that, I suspect that we'll find out that children don't really need much of what is taught. There's too much emphasis on cramming and exams. As long as they are occupied, and keep up with some learning, they will catch up.

I know!! Will it be to September though? Really??

OP. I feel for you. DD is y10 and does Drama and Food Tech. Food has a lot of theory and stuff on Seneca they can do. Drama on the other hand?

The Drama teacher has posted up lots of stuff, and even I am feeling overwhelmed by it and don't know where DD should start (not helped by her being off for a couple of weeks prior to schools closing) - you need to do it to understand it really I think.

But, as PP said, the whole of y10 nationally are in the same boat.

Doesn't help you as a teacher feeling you want to do a good job though, I know. to you and all the teachers.

It would be good if they can go back in June, even for a month to settle back in. In truth, many state schools are not providing anywhere enough teaching - due to not having been able to invest in VLEs and in some areas kids not having access to technology and wifi. Kids are going to be very behind and completely out of practice. 12 yo has just done a science ‘test’ - an Educake quiz and couldn’t do bits that he’d not been taught. It’s going to be bloody awful if that’s going to the education provision for the next 12 weeks. Not as worried about eldest doing y12 humanities as she is a solid self-directed learner with a lot of motivation for the areas she is interested in.

Who said it's September?
It's speculation no one knows how long it will be . It's possible yes but I'm hopeful it will be the summer especially if a lot of people go back to work then who will look after the children?
I think if people think longer than the 3 weeks that's when they struggle . 6 months is a long time to think , this situation could go on a lot longer but hopefully the lockdown not so long .

I think that all kids should just be given maths and English. The other lessons can wait

I'm a teacher too and am struggling with the very real prospect that online teaching is the way it will be for me until September. I've done a week so far and my classes and I are managing but it's so hard not to be able to see them and interact with them in the way I would in a classroom. And my subject's English - I really don't know how you teachers of practical subjects are coping at all.

This September thing is growing legs.

I wish people would stop stating 'facts' when they're supposition or rumour.

It's not helpful.

Teachers are saying September because that is what we have been told to prepare for. Of course it is subject to change. But, at the minute, teachers are being told to prepare a terms worth of lessons for after easter.

Ds is year 11, so it is definitely September for him. No school will want year 11's back even if they reopen.

Ds is autistic and was completely overwhelmed by gcses but now they are no more. He has always struggled to do school work at home as he sees it as his safe space away from school. It's very unlikely I will be able to get him to do anything much academic before September. He's been isolated for years though and will continue to be once everyone else is back to normal. Isolation is normal for our family.

I think that thinking September is good for setting minds to the task.

If it's 'just until May' kids may decide not to bother too much with schoolwork.
If it is until Christmas it seems such a large amount of time it becomes 'hopeless' (especially eg for y10s) so again they might just give up.

1 term of home-school seems 'doable'.
From a psychological point of view I can 'picture' it and cope. If it turns out to be shorter or longer then so be it.

Thank you for starting this thread and every one, who contributes with giving a frank and personal perspective of what it is like for teachers.

I am hugely grateful to dds teachers for keeping things going for her. Yes there are a few teething problems. However, they really are doing a sterling job.

You are also doing really well. You have delivered classes and reassured parents and students alike. Perhaps the lessons are not up to your usual standard. However you have the bare bones of a plan for next term and will be working through Easter to get it ready for delivery.

You actually sound extremely dedicated. My take is it is ok to feel bad at what you can’t do as long as you’re remembering to feel good at what you have achieved!

Well I think you need to let go of the idea of them being “ really behind”. Really behind what? The place we should be if everyone was in school ..... but they’re not. No one is going to be “ behind” because everyone’s in the same boat. My DD who is year 3 has had no online teaching from her school just a worksheet prepared that we’re going through. Now maybe that’s shit but I know the school have over 100 kids of key workers to take care of and I know that’s a priority right now. So we do what we can.... the parents are sharing resources like Twinkl which has a huge amount of stuff to work through. My DD is going to do a project on chocolate ..... is it in the national curriculum? No... but we listened to a podcast about it yesterday and she’s researching where it comes from and we’ll end up by making some Easter eggs ( so a mixture of theory & practical). My friend is quite “ crafty” so she’s planning some group craft on the Houseparty app. One friend has a PhD in Physics.... I know first aid and can cook. It’s all different but it’s all learning. So OP... you sound lovely but this is not all on your shoulders. They will catch up to the ridiculous, meaningless testing standards that our schooling system imposes on them. They will be fine x

Yr 10 will be 'behind' in terms of the content of the GCSE course. There are components that need to be covered that will now have to be squeezed into Yr 11. Yes, everyone is in the same boat, but all Yr 10s have lost 3 months their 2 year GCSE course (although the course is actually more like 20 months anyway - starts in September yr 10 then examined in May Yr 11). Yes, it is equitable for all Yr 10 across the country, but it is still a huge reduction in teaching time.

I know it’s different for the older kids but you can’t carry the worry of this... there’s too much other bigger stuff to worry about.

Now GCSEs are marked 'on a curve' they should still be giving the same % of 4+ and 7+ as they would have done without this happening, even if overall standards are a bit lower.

There will be winners and losers though. The diligent kids with access to resources will be less impacted than the less diligent or disadvantaged or those with SN.

Teachers are doing their best, school won’t be open until September. Parents can use this time and all the resources available online to educate their child. Kids are resilient they will get through this. As long as everyone is safe it’s all that counts.

Oh, sorry OP, forgot I was responding to a teacher

I was wondering whether for some subjects they might accept 'best 2 out of 3' questions or topics. So eg Food tech - written paper plus either the practical cooking or the investigation. Or RE best 3/4 topic questions attempted on each paper, that kind of thing.

I can't face September. They will miss their friends, I know it doesn't really matter content wise in primary school but one of my kids was already struggling so much.

I'm wondering that too, Teen. My course has three components, I taught it in a year a couple of years back when my maternity cover had dropped the ball in Yr 10 and it was bloody tough going. I'm teaching exam prep for the next term instead of practical devising work. It's the only thing I can do really.

They’ll be in much sooner than September as we are flattening they curve quite effectively.

I reckon May.

We're focussing on maths, English with a bit of science. The rest can wait. Instead the kids are doing 'life skills' stuff. Cooking, cleaning, bike maintenance, gardening. Nature projects while we can still get outdoors.
we're plaining cards, dominoes, backgammon, chess, monopoly.
doing jig saw puzzles and art.
It seems tough for kids, particularly the ones doing exams but this hopefully is a blip, a few months in their entire lives. Losing a few months formal schooling is not going to impact on them long term.
They're with their families and learning resilience and learning that things don't always go the way you want or expect so we need to adapt, change, get creative.