"I work in a school surrounded by kids but cannot see my family" - anyone sick of hearing this?

[coffeeforone]

It's totally unfair - everyone gets it! It's shit for most people. But this line/situation obviously affects all who work in education settings (a lots of people I know) and is really starting to irritate as it's being spouted much more often than most other complaints.

True I know, and it doesn't make sense to lots of people...but what's the solution? Close schools so everyone can see family instead?

@BelleSausage

I know SOME teachers worked throughout (I live next door to one that worked right through her Easter holiday).

But given that we know that around half of parents and children didn’t hear from their teachers at all during the lockdown, it’s not unreasonable to conclude a lot of them weren’t working.

I'm a nurse and spent the whole of lockdown looking after other people's relatives whilst being unable to see my own...

I haven't been within 2m of my elderly parents since February, distant garden catch ups only

This is the world we are living in right now, covid is to blame not your neighbours, or young people, or a certain profession... Its shit for most people!

@Monkeynuts18 I’ve got a lot of sympathy for teachers, but the majority of them stopped working in March didn’t they?

No. I don't know a single teacher that didn't still set and mark work from home and/or provide remote lessons through MS Teams... teachers were not furloughed. They were still working.

If you are furloughed in any job, legally you mustn't work.

@coffeeforone

It's totally unfair - everyone gets it! It's shit for most people. But this line/situation obviously affects all who work in education settings (a lots of people I know) and is really starting to irritate as it's being spouted much more often than most other complaints.

True I know, and it doesn't make sense to lots of people...but what's the solution? Close schools so everyone can see family instead?

But it is true so oh well you might hear it. Ffs

Oh is this one of those we all hate teacher threads. What a surprise and how unoriginal.

@BelleSausage I'm in exactly the same position. Love my classes, love my school but I've had to tell me lonely, octagenarian father that I can't see him. I'm worried sick that he's not looking after himself properly but I know that at the moment there is more risk of him getting corona off me than there is of him turning into a bacon butty (about the only thing he'll cook!).

Another thing to bash teachers about? Nice. Thanks.

No, I don't get sick of hearing it because I totally sympathise with the teachers and students. Social distancing cannot be enforced at schools like it can be elsewhere and schools are always hotspots for every germ going.

I've been back 8 days and already have a sore throat and runny nose- the first cold I've had since march. It's just a cold, but it demonstrates the fact that in schools viruses spread easily, so there is no protection from Covid. If a child gets it there is very high risk that the staff will. There is no social distancing, no PPE. It feels like teachers are being sacrificed for the sake of education. I know of no other job where there is zero measures to protect workers.

And trying to keep 30 6 year olds in their places all day and facing forwards is impossible!

I haven't said this, I'm so glad all the kids are back and to be class teaching properly again. I do 'think' it, but that's because I am a family of 5, I live away from family and for us it's not feasible to see family in smaller groups. I wonder if it was made a Rule of 4 then others might have a bit more compassion to shit rules.

@FreekStar

I've been back 8 days and already have a sore throat and runny nose- the first cold I've had since march. It's just a cold, but it demonstrates the fact that in schools viruses spread easily, so there is no protection from Covid. If a child gets it there is very high risk that the staff will. There is no social distancing, no PPE. It feels like teachers are being sacrificed for the sake of education. I know of no other job where there is zero measures to protect workers.

I completely agree. I feel so so ill with cold potential chest infection. Was off went back and every single person is full of cold and coughs and urgh. There are no protections at all.

This government is incompetent and people are getting frustrated.

They had 6 months to put together a strategy and now it feels like we're back to square one.

Can you blame people for being hacked off?

Tbh OP I think it's a reasonable moan. I teach university students and although I am happy that they are back in class where they should be, and absolutely am no martyr, I was a bit (understatement) shocked today to see the bright eyed bushy tailed students socialising in massive groups of 50+, no distancing, hugging etc. Meanwhile I had to cancel my son's birthday which would have been attended by 4 households. Also, I am not allowed in my office or to retrieve any of my things that have been sitting there since February because it's too unsafe apparently. So yeah, actually, it DOES seem unfair that I can be surrounded by all these irresponsible strangers, yet not have a child's small birthday. Of course it's unfair. Many people in all types of jobs are in a position where we have to risk ourselves everyday to go to work, while missing the enjoyable parts of life. All work and no play, as they say. And that is unfair and worthy of a moan. That doesn't mean that the rules are wrong or nonsensical. But come on we are only human and have earned a moan.

Don't be a dick, @SunshineCake. Of course I'm wearing it. After all, it's a disposable mask and a pair of gloves. As long as the disposable mask that doesn't fit my face properly works miracles and if somebody does have it, they don't cough or exhale whilst I'm taking their temperature - or at least only cough or exhale over my gloved hands.

I'm still a massive infection risk compared to somebody who, like DP, has proper PPE that everybody has to wear, including the large numbers of members of the public who come in every day.

I love being back. I love seeing the students. I love seeing them thrive and learn.

I don't like the risk I am put at every day. My school has been very good about it, but it's physically impossible to teach effectively from the front of a room and never see students work.

I am frustrated that I can be in a room with 30+ students, and overall upto 150 different students daily, yet I cannot legally meet my new niece. Yet I could look at her across a table in a pub.

The inconsistency in the rules is pushing people to the limit.

Don't be a dick, @SunshineCake. Of course I'm wearing it. After all, it's a disposable mask and a pair of gloves. As long as the disposable mask that doesn't fit my face properly works miracles and if somebody does have it, they don't cough or exhale whilst I'm taking their temperature - or at least only cough or exhale over my gloved hands.

I'm still a massive infection risk compared to somebody who, like DP, has proper PPE that everybody has to wear, including the large numbers of members of the public who come in every day.

Woah woah, no one needs to be called a dick. You didn’t say “I’m more of a risk because my PPE is shit”, you said “I’m more of a risk because my PPE is only optional”.

PPE in school is a joke. You can't teach in a mask. Visors reflect the light and contain the sound too. I wear a mask when circulating but that's to protect the students, not me.

Gloves are pointless and social distancing is none existent.

I feel for teachers. My DSis is a teacher in a secondary school for children with global learning difficulties and distancing is not possible. The kids can be very physical, whether that’s hugging and kissing her or hitting and biting her. She adores her job and all the kids but she feels like teachers in schools like this have really been forgotten about. No change to the usual then as she generally feels that nobody gives a fuck about her kids.

She doesn’t want the school to close at all because she sees how much structure and familiarity benefit her students. Plus this is a really deprived area of Glasgow where many parents are struggling and the kids being in school allows them to work or just have some much needed respite. She doesn’t know what the answer is, maybe PPE for teachers because you can’t ask these children to wear masks or physically distance. So cracking on and hoping for the best, really.

@Monkeynuts18
"But given that we know that around half of parents and children didn’t hear from their teachers at all during the lockdown, it’s not unreasonable to conclude a lot of them weren’t working."

You know, I'm a teacher with nearly twenty years' experience. I have friends who teach in private schools, grammar schools, comprehensives, primary schools, etc. I do not know a single one who did not work during lockdown.

I read on the news during lockdown and on Mumsnet all these reports about teachers doing no work and at first I was angry with these terrible teachers I read about. How could they do this? They were forgetting their responsibilities and bringing the profession into disrepute.

Then I realised, after a few months, that actually these terrible lazy selfish teachers were imaginary. They don't exist.

What does exist however is a load of parents who aren't able to make their children work at home and/or can't be bothered to oversee the work set.

But what sounds better? 'I can't be arsed to homeschool so my kids are mucking around all day' or 'the teacher has sent no work. No work. Gone awol. And yes the head's ok with that strangely. Anyway that's why my kids are mucking around all day.'

Instead of a rubbish teacher thread let's have a rubbish parent thread.

Oh no actually, I won't do that. Because I'm not a vindictive cow who just wants to trash a load of people I don't know.

OP I hope you haven't spent all day worrying about this. If you have and are looking for something to do, I have 31 exam papers to mark this weekend so I would appreciate some help.

@Monkeynuts18

I think that number is bollocks. It’s all about view point. I know lots of schools that didn’t have the tech to do live lessons but we’re putting activities on the website, running key worker school (because almost all did that and it was staffed by teachers) and mailed home booklets etc.

Some of the parents at my school have told use we weren’t providing work for their child. We most definitely were and their child didn’t turn up for any lessons or answer any e-mails or login to our usual homework portal. The parent had utterly believed the child that no work was being set.

I think that number has been inflated by a combination of people who only saw online lessons as providing work, people who CBA to check what their child had been set and people who were envious of private school provision.

Don’t get me wrong. There will have been a few schools that did nothing. But every teacher I know worked through lockdown. And I know they aren’t lying because I also know other staff and kids at those schools. Every school in my area provided lockdown work. But the online offer was really variable.

I don't know any school staff that want schools to close but I do hate the whole teachers and school staff can't point out the insanity of people not being able to mix with each other given the fact the kids are all over us and each other at school. The parents don't social distance at pick up and deliberately don't follow any of the covid plans. It's just a fact is makes no sense. Doesn't mean we want the kids home again. I love my job. But I think we are all entitled to point out nonsense when we see it.

I work in a secondary school and we are all just getting on with it as normal.

[quote BelleSausage]@Monkeynuts18

I think that number is bollocks. It’s all about view point. I know lots of schools that didn’t have the tech to do live lessons but we’re putting activities on the website, running key worker school (because almost all did that and it was staffed by teachers) and mailed home booklets etc.

Some of the parents at my school have told use we weren’t providing work for their child. We most definitely were and their child didn’t turn up for any lessons or answer any e-mails or login to our usual homework portal. The parent had utterly believed the child that no work was being set.

I think that number has been inflated by a combination of people who only saw online lessons as providing work, people who CBA to check what their child had been set and people who were envious of private school provision.

Don’t get me wrong. There will have been a few schools that did nothing. But every teacher I know worked through lockdown. And I know they aren’t lying because I also know other staff and kids at those schools. Every school in my area provided lockdown work. But the online offer was really variable.[/quote]
Agree completely with this.