To be really angry on behalf of teachers

[Jessicabrassica]

I know mumsnet loves a bit of teacher bashing.
I'm really angry that once again the Department for Education has put out guidance for schools in a Friday night before a long weekend with some schools having already started and others back next week.
I cannot imagine how many iterations of risk assessments have already been completed to make schools as safe as possible given the constraints of staff numbers, building size and requirements to get every child back in school.
They are getting enough PPE to tick the box that it's been issued to all schools but not enough to be useful.
Teachers mostly haven't stopped working since the pandemic began. They have continued to teach, to support vulnerable learners, provided meals and good parcels out of school funds in lieu of FSM, they remained open through school holidays for key worker provision.
I really feel that they have been well and truly fucked over, left massively vulnerable and will be left to carry the can for community outbreaks.

I'm a parent and work for the NHS if it's if any consequence.

It's basic surely, don't make people feel like shit if you want them to go the extra mile and feel motivated.’

Extra mile? How about just working as normally as possible and letting all kids back into education.

This ain’t a farmer thread though, I hear you’ve got loads you could be posting on... The thing is that this MN not Teacher Net. I can post my musings on any thread within talk guidelines.

Social distancing will be pretty nil in most schools. Yes there will be much more closer contact in special schools, but the not being closer than 2m for more than 15 minutes is not practical in most schools.

The objections on both the farmer threads posted (all two of them) are more to do with the meat industry as a whole.

That’s more akin to disagreeing with a particular sort of education on moral or ethical grounds - rejecting formal education altogether or going for a “Michaela” style. Or perhaps it’s also similar to disagreeing with DfE choices about curriculum?

What it isn’t the same as is the constant criticism and hatred directed towards teachers.

Some of the answers were very predictable

OP did not say that lockdown should continue- just questioning why this couldn't have been published sooner? Schools in Leicestershire are already back and with a Monday being a bank holiday, there's no way for schools to ask questions to DfE that they might have. Quite rightly DFE were focused on exam results from A-level results day but there's no reason why this couldn't have been published early August.

Nobody is saying that there shouldn't be changes to rules but there have been calls for plan B details for months. Johnson has been trying to reassure parents to send kids in and issuing guidance so late is anything but reassuring for people who are not feeling confident about the return to school.

I hope that DFE are working on online provision guidelines for the rota situations. There was far too much variation so it's critical that this is published so some are not left behind even more. Remember that there was mixed messaging about the use of Zoom for instance.

Isthisadaggerisee

How about just working as normally as possible and letting all kids back into education.

You mean like is actually happening yet you still see fit to whine and moan about it?

‘You mean like is actually happening yet you still see fit to whine and moan about it?’

My children have been off school since March. In a week they start back. How on Earth is nearly 6 months off school anywhere near normal?

My children have been off school since March. In a week they start back. How on Earth is nearly 6 months off school anywhere near normal?

We are near the end of the school holidays and they are going back next week (or maybe the week after).

That would be normal.

They've not had "nearly six months off school". Since March, they would have had 2 weeks off for Easter, one for June half term, and the summer holidays.

So far derxa, so far...

Is that the first application of Godwin's law?

T be fair, I have not heard that one before and it is beyond acceptable.

Pretty disgusted.

Bu , yes , to Godwin's Law!

My keyboard hates me..

So far derxa, so far... Anyway I wish all of the teachers on here the best of luck.

@Isthisadaggerisee

It's basic surely, don't make people feel like shit if you want them to go the extra mile and feel motivated.’

Extra mile? How about just working as normally as possible and letting all kids back into education.

Yes. When they are back in next week as directed by the government. As they have always been in or not as directed by the government, you will want motivated teachers, who want to stay in the job and do it well. Treating people badly does not produce this.

@Isthisadaggerisee you do realise teachers will have had to replan their lessons due to the restrictions in their classrooms? They could just plan to stand at the front and lecture at the children and make their lessons very dull, as they are not allowed to mix with the children, group the children in abilities, use usual resources etc. Instead, I bet you all teachers have been planning very creatively. So I think just doing that is going the extra mile. Some of what they will need to do will be going against all the methods they have been taught to get the best from children.

Never mind having to think of all the safety aspects both for the pupils and them.

Also they will need to bring all the pupils up to the expected standard very quickly. How many posters on MN have said at some point in the Summer term I have given up with school work. The Government will expect students to still be at the expected standard even though they instructed the schools that they were suspending the National Curriculum for the Summer term.

@derxa

There have been outbreaks in Scottish schools Well the main one was in a special school where pupil teacher ratio is very high and social distancing etc is nil.

As you’ve already been told, there’ll be zero social distancing in any school. And this Twitter thread shows that the 2m distance is nonsense. I’m sorry it’s in German so you’ll have to get twitter to translate each tweet in turn, but it shows the spread of virus in the air in poorly ventilated classrooms. They are pretty much all poorly ventilated due to H&S rules which limit window opening... twitter.com/zdfheute/status/1296856745797713923?s=21

Incidentally that thread also shows German teacher bashing, so it seems it isn’t a peculiarly British phenomenon. It’s odd.

Bloody hell that German thread. Within 2 minutes the droplets spread throughout the room. That’s not good.

Ja, ja.Das gewünschte Aussetzen der Bildung von Menschen und das Gejammere von LehrerInnen für zusätzliche, steuerfinanzierte Ferien. 😡
In Büros der freien Wirtschaft sieht das ganz genauso aus.Aber da muss es ja weiter gehen,damit oben genannte ihre Komfortzone genießen können.

That could easily be a Mumsnet post!

@noblegiraffe I was depressed at how similar it all was. Goes to show it’s not to do with what did or didn’t happen over lockdown really. What is it, I wonder?

cardibach

I think it’s because school and teaching has touched everyone’s life. Those experiences can be good, bad or indifferent but people tend to hold on to either the very good or the very bad.

From there on in it’s confirmation bias 🤷🏻‍♀️

It amazes me how much power people seem to think teachers have. It’s as if they think we are the ones who made the decision to close schools, to decide who counts as a key worker... we have absolutely no say in any of this. We just do what we are instructed to by our heads, who are instructed by the LA, who are instructed by the government.
It’s incredible. I have all this power that I never knew I had!

Smile - I think you are right. Plus some genuinely believe our T&Cs are better than everyone else’s despite all evidence (recruitment and retention) to the contrary.