Would you do it?

[jennylouisaa]

This is taken from the government guidance on returning to school.

The majority of staff in education settings will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work, even if they are not always able to maintain a distance of 2 metres from others.

I'm not interested in 'oh but they're being paid so they need to be working' comments. Genuinely, would YOU be happy to return to teach a classroom of 15 four year olds with no protection, no social distancing and having to rely on hand washing alone?

As a teacher I honestly cannot fathom why the government has made the decision it has.

Yes children have a right to education - but with the amount of hand washing, attempted social distancing, high anxiety levels and staff shortage due to shielding - there is going to be very little 'educating' going on.

Children won't be able to hug their teachers or friends if they're scared, they won't be allowed to hold hands or play their usual games on the playground, they won't be able to play with toys together and they won't be getting the education they deserve. So I also want to know what the point is?

So AIBU to think it's putting teachers at risk and AIBU to think the children aren't going to benefit anyway?

I think a lot of parents would happily jeopardise your health as a teacher and those around them to get their kids back to school even if there is still a huge risk.

What about all the other professions who have never stopped working? There are millions of people who never stopped going to work and very few of them had access to PPE.

Children can't just stay off school forever. Parents need to go back to work so the economy can get going again, and until schools and childcare goes back, that can't happen.

@DontStandSoCloseToMe I do understand that, and I think it's terrible you and other workers in those fields have been put in that situation without PPE. I'm not saying teachers and teachers alone should have it, I'm saying anyone working in close proximity without social distancing should.

@nicknacky no I'm saying they shouldn't go back when there's little point to it. When there's only 6 weeks left of teaching until the summer. In September the virus won't be gone but we will be in a better position with more time to adapt the syllabus and school social distancing measures, rather than having to hash a plan together before June 1st

Presumably other professions have access to soap and know how to wash their hands properly.
Are children going to take their own soap in like they do with suncream?

@wewearpinkonwednesdays I don't disagree that teachers should go back to work. I'm still in work for key worker kids. My point is the children aren't going to benefit a huge deal between now and the end of July in school. It'll be frightening for them and not much educating will get done. Giving it until September makes more sense and allows more of a plan to be in place

Thing is it's not actually effective unless used as it is in hospitals, are you going to change your gloves, apron and mask for each child you deal with? Scrubbing down between children? Prison 'potting' is a relatively common occurrence all of the time and those fluids contain all kinds of transmittable diseases and bacteria, you don't see officers walking the wings in hazmat suits just in case, the appropriate cleaning team will wear similar when cleaning it up because it's a known infection risk, like contact with Covid patients in a hospital.
I assess risk of serious harm for a living, and yes I would absolutely go back into a school without PPE unless I had any of the high risk underlying health conditions.

@Pippa12 thank you for what you do in your profession, it's amazing and I hope you and your team are able to stay safe. I'm also still in work for key worker children. My opinion is just that I don't see the point bringing the little ones in. They'll be very little learning and no social distancing. Plus if you're a parent who also had a child in years 2-5, you still wouldn't be able to return to work so I don't see the logic.

It will benefit many many children though, you are just thinking educationally. It will only be frightening for them if YOU make it frightening.

I was quite scared at first as a key worker with no or limited ppe but I am used to it now, actually quite relaxed. I am grateful to have carried on working, it hasn't reduced my concerns for my elderly parents but it has given me a normality. Our organisations sickness is at an all time low despite our contact with each other and the public. I can't imagine refusing to work unless I had the relevant health conditions.

Thing is it's not actually effective unless used as it is in hospitals, are you going to change your gloves, apron and mask for each child you deal with?
Exactly.

OP I think the way you keep saying the young kids will be frightened is projecting. YOU are the one who is frightened- most kids will not understand or be overly anxious about it unless you or their parents make them that way

@OP what did you expect from a PM like BJ? That he’d protect you and do what’s best?

@nicknacky I'm in fact thinking the opposite of education. I only highlight the lack of learning because that's what the government are using as a catalyst to send back to school.
I would never make it more frightening for the children than it has to be, I think people forget that us teachers go into the profession because we love kids, and want nothing but the best for them. I'm more concerned about how they will cope with rejection of hugs, handholding, sharing toys, having a different teacher in a different classroom, potentially with different children. At 4 years old change is scary, and school will be nothing like what they remember.
I suppose my point is, why rush them back in June? In September we'll have much more information and hopefully be further past the peak. I live in the north west in a town where the virus is definitely much more prevalent at the minute.

@Psainsta I have no problem admitting that I am frightened. But it's not projection. I am still in work for key worker kids and I see how hard it is for the younger ones, not understanding that if they fall and hurt themselves they can't come and sit on my knee or have a hug. It's heartbreaking.

Presumably other professions have access to soap and know how to wash their hands properly.

No it won’t be in the vast majority. My Dh is a police officer for example, he has no hand washing facilities when out and about and comes in to contact with dozens of people, adults usually (who are fair more likely to have the virus than children) many of who are the great unwashed general public.

Yes as I am not vulerable.

I suppose my point is, why rush them back in June? In September we'll have much more information and hopefully be further past the peak. I live in the north west in a town where the virus is definitely much more prevalent at the minute.

June to the end of of July is still 6-7 weeks of education and social contact. It's still an extra chunk of time for parents to be working and contributing to the economy before school holidays.

I'm in the NW too and I get your point about how prevalent the virus is - it is scary but the world can't stop forever. September is four months away - we have to get people back into work before then. The economy can't just stop for the next four months.

To make matters worse I've just been verbally abused in the supermarket. I went to the shop at lunch time to get a few bits for the kids and the office staff. I wore a mask (which I made at home) and a man twice my size and stature stood really close to me and started shouting at me. Said I looked stupid wearing a mask, called me a silly cow and said he didn't need one because he's an alpha male. He smelt of booze. How can people be so horrendous

called me a silly cow and said he didn't need one because he's an alpha male