To think school should offer more?

[supermanisdead]

My DD is yr8 at a large comp. she is set roughly 2-3 hours of work a day online which she does.

For the first 5 weeks there was zero feedback given until I messaged the head who said they were implementing it that day. Since then feedback has been very sporadic.

There have been no Zoom or google classroom lessons. I'm concerned about the lack of face to face teaching and formative feedback. She's had one phone call from her tutor.

I'm interested to know what other schools are providing to see if it's comparable.

A bit of background - I'm an FE lecturer and have to call my learners once a week and provide Almost all lessons in a Zoom format. I can't understand why secondary schools aren't offering the same?!

I honestly don't know how this can be taken as teacher bashing?

I understand teachers are sensitive at the moment. Being asked to be 'heroes' is total bullshit. But bei asked to give fb on work and a couple of Zoom lessons a week is too much? And merits a flounce from MN?

I too am working from home with two children as well as going in to work with the vulnerable learners and ones with EHCPs once a week.

I'm asking why Zoom and feedback is too much to ask for. I know teachers who would be more than willing to offer it - as I am already!!

No lessons or feedback and yet every teacher on here claims to be working 50 hours a week

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3894500-To-think-we-could-just-collate-all-the-teacher-teaching-related-information-here-and-have-done-with-it

Oh FFS, points 3 and 4, OP, since you seem to be hard of critical thinking.

@SachaStark

Sorry, are we not allowed to question how schools operate?

I'm sorry if you see it as 'fucking inflammatory' I can't control how you view things.

I won't apologise for asking a question that has been asked before. That's the way forums work sometimes. If you don't like the questions, move on to another post.

I work with 16/17 year olds. FE is mainly 16-18. So I do think I have an understanding

You don't. My friend who is delivering some live lessons has had to deal with rude comments, swearing and disruption, disaffected children deliberately trying to sabotage her lesson and the very real risk of someone recording and using her voice or image. Your students for the most part chose their course and are (presumably) vaguely interested in it. She can't check they are working and the vast majority wouldn't want to ask for help on a platform like zoom with all their peers present, even if they did it privately the teacher would have to answer somehow.

I think a combination of recorded lessons, online work, worksheets and the odd live session will eventually become the norm. I think there was a difference between offering a few weeks of something and now knowing that we are offering the rest of the term in this way.

I think the offer for secondary will gradually change and evolve over the coming weeks but a full days timetable of zoom lessons won't work and is totally unfair on disadvantaged families who won't be able to access all the lessons.

Just leave it now there are several threads on this subject and the answer is to contact your individual school but I would also suggest acknowledging that schools are doing what they can, if they were all being lazy don't you think that would be a bit odd given how hard they work normally?

I’ve been discussing this and I think this is going to cause even more of a divide between exam results and learning with private school kids who have been getting brilliant on line support.

Again?! Seriously, there must be nearly a hundred threads on this. Surely as a lecturer you should have the intelligence and common sense to know that if you have an issue with your child’s school you should speak to them not random people on the internet.

@SachaStark

I've read your 'points 3 and 4'.

I've weighed up the evidence.

I still feel that the benefits outweigh the potential threats (which if you were risk assessing, are negligible IMO). We use google classroom not Zoom and it works really well.

It's fine to disagree - can we please not resort to name calling? Ta.

Mine is in Year 8. Max 3 hours work a day - a percentage of lessons use MS Teams, never for more than half an hour of a 55 min lesson, and often to explain the work then they get cracking on it and might regroup at the end of the lesson to discuss. Teachers are available for questions online during the lesson. Work is marked and returned. No extra homework above and beyond that. To be honest, I think they’ve got the balance exactly right. Too many lessons in a day is mentally exhausting. They seem to be getting through the work at a good pace and support is there if necessary. They have online tutor groups a couple of times a week and tutors will try and catch up with each child individually during the week as well. Before the easter break they were setting more work per day and it became clear very quickly that it was too much, so they reassessed and scaled it down.

Fucking hell, “hard of critical thinking” isn’t name calling, it’s descriptive.

Anyway, you’re wrong. Most secondary schools have rightly weighed up that the risk is too great.

Just to try and answer a few things!

1. I don't think schools are being lazy. I have never said that anywhere

1. I won't 'leave it there' because people object to a perfectly reasonable question

1. I have contacted the school and will again

1. I came in here interested to know what other schools were doing, thanks to those who have given me some info. I'm also concerned the the gap will widen between those at private and those at state

1. The learners I work with are those with emotional and behavioural difficulties. They have generally been excluded from school and come to if for life skills and maths and English. I mute them on online lessons and use chat if they want to ask something.

Not all teachers have access to the tech either, especially in state schools. My school hasn’t provided laptops or anything like that.
(I could go on Zoom etc on my phone but I’d struggle to do things like sharing documents on screen.)

@recededpronunciation

That sounds like a really good set up.

My y8 DS is at a private school.
He has a zoom call with his tutor and tutor group every morning at 8.30, although one day a week he has music group in the morning so the tutor time is shifted to the afternoon.
He has three one hour lessons in the morning. There is never a whole
hour of zoom lessons, but either a quick zoom, a pre recorded lesson from the teacher or some notes, but the teacher is available to be Contacted by zoom throughout the hour so the kids can also questions.
There is one Lesson after lunch that is either music, art, drama, or DT.
Work is submitted and marked throughout the week, and if it is not done the tutor contacts the child and requests they hand it in.

Some parents think that this is not enough. I think it’s fine. My DS is working hard each morning and slacking off a lot in the afternoon, but I would much rather he was happy and keeping his brain ticking over than have more pressure on him.
It will all change in September when he moves to senior school anyway.

@recededpronunciation lee me guess. Private school?

I can't understand why secondary schools aren't offering the same?!

Plenty are, yours isn't. Why not discuss it with the school instead of assuming it's all schools?

2-3 hours a day at home of work set by teachers is more intense than the same amount of time in the classroom.

No.

DD’s school is doing a full timetable including lessons on Microsoft teams. I cannot praise the school and staff highly enough for their efforts.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the OP to poll what other schools are doing.

@justanotherneighinparadise State school. They are doing a fantastic job and I think we’ve been incredibly fortunate.

I’ve just read the thread? Why the arsy comments? It’s a real concern.

My kids are private and they have a full day of prerecorded lessons/live lessons/ work books sent home/live assembled and Mark work. However there is no pressure to complete it all.

Why can’t state schools offer that? Of children don’t have access to the internet it’s not fair that those who do should miss out. Some state schools really need to get their act together as this will make the divide between state and private bigger.

My kids don’t do half the work they are set out, they are junior school and I’m also working from home so it’s we wing it most days but the support is there. It should’ve the same for state.

We use google class room. Fifteen seven years olds and they don’t take the piss. Prerecorded lessons could be uploaded.

I think some parents have set the bar really low for their own kids and berate any one else who hasn’t

And I must say the teacher’s have all been great.

I teach in a big independent and we’re delivering our usual timetable through Teams, mostly through live video lessons. Student attendance is checked, any missed work followed up directly with HOY and parents. It’s working really well, on the whole. This can only work in a situation where each student has a laptop or tablet though, so obviously lots of schools won’t be able to do it.

@lovelyupnorth

Blimey that's a lot of assumptions in one post!

@Splillinteas

I totally understand why teachers are sensitive at the moment. But I feel perhaps some have over reacted to what I have actually asked.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the OP to poll what other schools are doing.

Then why not end the op with 'what are other schools doing?' Not why aren't secondary schools doing this.

For the record, state school, teams lessons, teachers available by email and phone as necessary and during lessons, loaned laptops, posted out printouts and books where needed. Normal timetable followed. Parents kept informed and listened to.