to feel beyond annoyed every time someone says 'schools have never been closed'

[thisisthebestoftimes]

Because to the vast majority of children they have been. I feel it completely dismisses how serious this is for most dc and their families. Schools may have been open to 15 or so keyworker dc throughout this, and now to a couple of years worth of dc in years which seem completely illogical (except for the few hours years 10 and 12s have been afforded which is essential).

On Any Answers on R4 yesterday (an on iPlayer catch up) there were some shocking stories about schools setting zero work, zero communication. The callers had tried to contact the school and been stonewalled. Completely insulting to those people to chant 'the schools were never shut' -they are indeed shut for all practical purposes.

You can get on any answers and say what you want without having to provide any really evidence. I heard so right bollocks on that programme. Not really the greatest evidence.

I have seen plenty of concern with how children are engaging with remote work, but these people claiming that no work has ever been set seem to have crawled out of the woodwork in late may onwards when there is a political argument about how quickly schools should reopen. Highly suspicious to me.

@hopindown31
Forgive me for being suspicious about the motives of these people.

I most certainly don't think all teachers are lazy. I know quite a few and have a few as friends. Lots work really hard and some don't. Whenever I comment, I comment on my local schools only. I have said throughout that what our local schools have produced is very poor and not acceptable. That doesn't take from the fact that some schools have produced excellent home learning packs/online lessons or whatever. I speak to my experience and mine is poor and I have fed that back to the SMT and school governors.

My kids’ school are shut to me... and I have a Y6 child who should be back- head days he can’t accommodate them. She’s getting approx 6 hrs work a week set online.
DS y10 has 3 hrs in school tomorrow. With the possibility of another 3 hrs in 2 week. No online lessons, no feedback on homework. I think it’s appalling.
Literally cant say anything critical about teachers as it ends up being called ‘teacher bashing’ 🙄.

You purposefully or stupidly chose to not read what I said, when I said I was talking about MY school - not all teachers.... this is what happens. I personally know 2 teachers from MY LOCAL SCHOOL and they have admitted they are not working - following advice they do a weekly email which is produced quickly and mass sent out... true. You might not like it but it is true.

May be true, may just be made up by some anonymous person on the internet with an axe to grind. Doesn't chime at all.woth my own experience and know a hugely larger number of teachers in a range of settings than 2. So I'll remain skeptical.

A person comments on their experience with their own school (as I did) and along comes a teacher from a different school and extrapolates that to mean ALL teachers.... then takes offence. Well done for working hard throughout. Try not to assume that when someone comments on their situation that they are not talking about YOU.

Not a teacher. If you extrapolate your experience by implication then don't be surprised if people get pissed off.

FromMarch2020

The rest were 'WFH' (allegedly)

This would be the same way that you were (allegedly) parenting?

Oh dear hopindown31.....

Your experience is yours and mine is mine.

Lots of people say that they are happy and lots say that they are not. I assume that they are speaking as they find. You choose to accept the good and suggest that because my experience 'doesn't chime' then it isn't accurate... oh dear - I feel for your level of ignorance.

I am definitely parenting - whether I am any good at it or not I will leave with my children to judge 🤣

The thing is hopindown31 - I didn't extrapolate my experience at all - I merely said MY experience is poor. I didn't carelessly assume everyone's experience is poor or good. I can only speak of my own experience as I have done.

Online school is school. Just because children chose not to turn up for it (not bothering to read e-nails and follow instructions IS choosing) doesn’t mean schooling has happened.

I have flogged myself to make online schooling happen AND look after my toddler. It has been horrendous.

And less the 20% of my students have bothered. Even with coaxing, reminders, help, support. It has taken hours and hours and fucking hours.

I will NOT be doing Summer school catch up. All the work is there. If they’d wanted to do it or attend the online lesson then they would have.

@FromMarch2020 there is a huge variation in what schools are doing at the moment. I’ve read posts where people say schools... and extrapolate their experience to include all teachers or all schools. It is good to hear a range of experiences from parents and school staff.

@averysuitablegirl no schools or creches open at all for any babies or children since 6pm on the 12th of March. My sister's with younger children have been home schooling and trying to wfh since then. One of my BILs is a key worker but the creche my youngest nephew was attending isn't even opening on 29th June as they haven't the numbers. It will reopen on 20th July.

BelleSausage

Online school is school.

I disagree, it’s remote studying, self study. It’s not teaching, they aren’t being taught, they are studying remotely.

@Cookiecrisps ... I agree it is good to hear a range of experiences. When I hear of the great things some schools are doing I feel that mine have been let down, hence I have made a written complaint to the SMT. This situation is completely different to any faced before and schools have dealt with it differently - some brilliant and some dreadful. Hopefully by September all children will get a much better education.

@Suzie6789

So my online lessons aren’t lesson because we aren’t in the same room. I’ve obviously wasted hours and hour and days of my time them. Silly me.

@BelleSausage

Personally I think online lessons are lessons and I would love my children to have some online lessons. You most definitely haven't wasted your time.

BelleSausage

Would you say it’s effective? After 12 weeks I don’t think it is anymore, without feedback on completed or missed answers, or any audio to teach the new material, or any zoom time. My experiment with a y10 boy that is due to sit exams next year is that it’s not.

@Suzie6789

I want you to know how damaging and demotivating it is to have spent ages trying your best for your students- only for them not to turn up. And then it is implied that you let then down.

NO MORE. Some students have been let down. But lots just haven’t bothered and it is extremely depressing and says a lot about how we value education in this country- it’s all about childcare and socialising.

Experience- not experiment

@Suzie6789

I’m not sure what his online lesson look like but they sound nothing like mine.

I am checking the work- that has been handed in. Is he actually handing it in?

A parent of a Yr10 I teach sent me a very vexed e-mail about lack of support. He was most embarrassed when I pointed out his son hadn’t actually attended any sessions or handed anything in.

Are you actually checking?

Our building was closed. Our key worker children worked elsewhere. I worked full time. I fully understand your frustration to be honest and I could cry that friday is my last day with this class. I get what you mean but your frustration is with an unpredictable disease. It has hit me hard too but I'm not raging against the institutions that were forced to close.

I’m not criticising teachers but I don’t equate my dc learning at home with school being open. It’s not open to them or any of their friends. People should say ‘schools have been open for keyworker dc only’ if they want to make the point that they never shut. Anything else just rubs salt in the wound.

BelleSausage you are entitled to your opinion and I’m entitled to mine. This is what I mean about you can’t express a negative opinion with it being construed as teacher bashing.
I’m not regarding it as childcare, I’m thinking about passing exams next year, or not as the case may be. My DS has been completing the online work set, along with me working FT. I’m well aware it’s hard. Is it effective though? I don’t think it is.

Indeed, there is a huge range of experience. Mine isn’t good and yes, school is still shut for my child. It was open for 0-8 kids On some days during the first few weeks of lockdown. I wrote to the head in week 10 and asked them to reconsider their light, ‘well being first/ everything is an learning experience’ approach which translated as a list of urls (same ones each week) and about 3 suggested exercises that added up to only marginally more than the homework normally set during regular term time. Why did I write? Because I could see other schools doing more and better! The head was defensive and dismissive. More/different work was apparently not considered appropriate because not all parents could could help, not everyone wanted it, not everyone had resources so because of that the school was in effect going with the lowest common denominator which also happened to mean less work for them. BUT week 11 a change did occur - more and different tasks, an offer to look at individual work...

in my view the school my child attends failed to recognise when the time was right to moved from an emergency coping strategy to something more substantial and supportive. I blame the senior leadership team for that. Now, that same head is sending gleeful messages about how happy he and the children are to be back. Anyone in years 2-5 with even a tenuous claim to be a ‘key worker’ is now sending their kids in and even some parents who aren’t are presenting the head with compelling cases as to why their child needs to come in. My child is an only and hasn’t played with another child since March. We feel forgotten.

The thing is hopindown31 - I didn't extrapolate my experience at all - I merely said MY experience is poor.

Apart from making a crappy comparison with what schools have been doing to a pub running a food delivery service as your second post on this thread directly following your first post.

Of course...

FromMarch2020

you miss the point.

If you are going to throw around snide comments like "allegedly" its worth noting that it can be applied to anyone on a forum.

You are allegedly a parent
You are allegedly parenting Etc.