#closetheschools is trending

[Allthestarsarecloser]

I work at a university on the front line seeing students 1-1 (I work in student support) and have continued to see students this term at a distance & with measures in place. ALL the students I have seen have been grateful for the human contact.

I also have 2 kids in primary and secondary. I want them to stay in school as my eldest had to have counselling after the last lockdown.

Aibu to say that schools need to stay open and I say that as someone on the front line.

YABU - they should shut
YANBU- they need to stay open

I want schools to remain open. I’m not a key worker but without going into detail, my work is very relevant to the current situation (and a possible solution) and I simply can’t put in the hours or concentration needed with children at home. I have children in both prep and senior schools and there have been 2 cases where year groups have been sent home, but on the whole the measures seem to be working. I appreciate that’s not the case for all schools.

Not a teacher, just getting fed up of schools being thrown under a bus because parents want their needs to come first. Never mind the children taking it home and losing family members... as long as the free childcare keeps going. Not to mention the unknown long term effects on all who catch it.

What a nonsense.

@CouldBeOuting

Is *@SoloMummy* deliberately ignoring PPs questions about what key stage their DCs are in?

Or is SoloMummy quite simply a genius polymath with a masters in pedagogy?

A quick squizz at other posts indicate that she has a primary age child and works part time from home.

If schools can carry on then so can everything else. It's a very simplistic view of a big problem, but one I do think will mean that nobody will take ' lockdown 2' seriously enough.
I agree that schools should stay open myself but I did feel safer having a meal out than I do at work. I'm sure many others do too. I guess they will struggle on till the next half term but the figures will be interesting to see once the restrictions kick in on Thursday and beyond.
If rates stay up in a few weeks time then they might change their minds I suppose? Who knows any more? I don't.

Not a teacher, just getting fed up of schools being thrown under a bus because parents want their needs to come first.

It’s about my children’s needs, not mine.

And when it comes to childcare, what about the people working in essential shops or hospitals who rely on schools being open for childcare? That’s not really the parents putting their needs first. If you want to be able to go shopping for food then you need to accept that someone needs to look after the children of the people who work in supermarkets. Why should it all be one way where the people in supermarkets have to go work but nobody in childcare or education does? It’s all about give and take surely.

@BlueStethoscope

The unions are working hard on Mumsnet.

Remember that fellow posters.

Yes, dear.

Tin hat?

I can see why the unions are calling for this but it's hard as schools do need to be open. Again, I can see both sides of this.
It's another impossible situation isn't it?

Neu post on Twitter

Hope they get nowhere with it.

@letsghostdance

I am a secondary teacher and so is my husband. If you can't see the necessity of keeping schools open for the sake of children, then I genuinely think you are in the wrong profession. Thankfully, the police, NHS, Prison officers and other key workers seem to be able to accept that the services they offer are necessary.

Just because something is hashtag trending doesn't mean it is right.

I feel quite torn about the whole thing.

I have one child in a mainstream secondary school and one child in a special school. I know how much it benefits them to go to school. I know how tough lockdown was on their education and well-being.

I also work in education and I know how important it is for our students to have physical classes and particularly what a lifeline it is for some of our most vulnerable students.

But I also know what I see with my own eyes. Kids spread the virus. Hundreds, thousands of kids mixing all day every day at school and travelling on public transport...it’s just not a proper lockdown if this continues.

It’s a conundrum, but I personally think if we keep having these lockdown periods and then opening up again, these cycles should include the closure of schools.

Are parents not worried about the health and safety of their own children?
As an LA we've been sued by parents for bump on their child's head, yet with this it seems parents are prepared to take a risk on their child's health.

Schools are not the breeding grounds. All the data suggests it’s not this.

I agree that children have been last priority in this and now they need to be top priority.

YANBU

My dc are both at secondary and want to stay off as worried about giving it to dh and I. They are both at incredible schools with over 1100 students and each school has only had one confirmed case. I want them in school for the sake of their education. Both are in exam years.

Some people demanding the schools close aren't thinking things through carefully.

@TheRosariojewels I think that’s a really shitty attitude. People have different views. It doesn’t mean they are in the wrong profession of they disagree with you.

*if

I’m not aware that my union has ever called for schools to close. I would not support a call for them to close. My school did not close and I worked through the Easter holiday and May half term break ... including the bank holidays with no extra pay.

There is no social distancing at school and we have specifically been told we CANNOT wear masks unless dealing with a symptomatic child.

My colleague and I work in a very small office. We could just about manage 2 metres apart if I sat on the windowsill and she sat in the doorway but in reality we are less than a metre apart at our desks and other members of staff have to brush past our chairs on a regular basis.

I would like to feel safer but I don’t want schools to close.

I am a secondary teacher and so is my husband. If you can't see the necessity of keeping schools open for the sake of children, then I genuinely think you are in the wrong profession. Thankfully, the police, NHS, Prison officers and other key workers seem to be able to accept that the services they offer are necessary.
Same here secondary teacher, no school age kids do no skin in that game, but immensely grateful my own children had a good education and I want that for all children -my colleagues feel the same, the shouty minority of teachers and union leaders v CNN labouring for closure are a disgrace and should look for an alternative career.

@spookypants

I didn't say that they were in the wrong profession because they disagreed with me. In my opinion, if you work in Education and you think schools are only being kept open for political reasons, then it shows a staggering lack of awareness of the benefits of education for children and society. I stand by that.

Close them, no one with an important job has kids young enough to need caring for.

Oh, wait...

I’ve worked like a dog all through the first lockdown, trying to manage two kids being home schooled, including one with complex special needs. I know how shit it’s been all round. I don’t think I need to reconsider my profession because I can’t get my head around a ‘lockdown’ that doesn’t include anyone under 18.

I’m not on social media, so I’m certainly not a hashtag warrior and I will continue to work through this new ‘lockdown’ to support the kids I am employed to support.

I think it’s absolutely bonkers, though. Some sort of magical thinking seems to be going on around kids not spreading the virus.

There’s a petition to shut schools that’s gotten nearly 135,000 signatures so far...

[quote Lazypuppy]**@Bluebellbike but surely if schools close and they can't WFH they're gonna lose their jobs right now as they cant go into work?[/quote]
I was only referring to those who can work from home but prefer not to due to the children being at home. Probably should have made that clearer.

I... have continued to see students this term at a distance & with measures in place.

Aibu to say that schools need to stay open and I say that as someone on the front line.

Totally unreasonable, because most staff and students in most schools don't have the luxury you describe. They are on the front line, not you.

No distance, two-hour lessons, no masks, no screens; just over thirty bodies all from different households, breathing and talking in a cramped, badly ventilated classroom. We don't need to be physically there, risking the airborne virus infecting each and every one of the random people thrown together for children to learn something.

Schools are for education. If children are not equally safe at home as at school, of course that's an urgent issue to be dealt with. If they need a hand with technology, they should receive it. But most should be just fine away from the building for a bit for the greater good.