#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

But there is a big difference between trying your best and doing some things and just simply not bothering trying like a lot of people seen it as a holiday and then moaned their child missed out on an education.

I only know two people who thought it was a fabulous holiday. Both child free, one was a builder who got the government grant and the other was a teacher in a SEN school who couldn't deliver any online teaching for the first month or so due to the needs of the children in her school. Everyone else I know found it hell on earth.

Ps schools closing for a few weeks won’t kill anyone (covid might!!!!) as the school day is so pathetically slow and is less anyway, your darlings will hardly miss a thing!! I have to home school now to avoid covid and believe me we are excelling the curriculum quite easily and quickly as it’s so full of padding!

Is it? Where do I sign up for a curriculum that isn’t incredibly content heavy and difficult to get through in the available time?

And I'm including loads of my friends who are teachers in that. They found teaching online at home incredibly stressful and have found going back into schools where they are having to spend so much time cleaning that they don't get to teach effectively bloody awful.

I honestly don't know what the answer is, but it isn't keeping schools closed until Covid goes away, nor is it expecting teachers to stay in schools and schools to remain open in the current conditions.

Just get pissed up and deliver it, it’ll go by in a flash.

@Nicknacky

Pascal2908 And you, Pascal, what’s your situation regarding children and work?

If you read my post you would have understood that I work on a police team. Which involves arrest, search, seizure and interview. All of which carry a heightened risk ... however unlike teachers we have PPE.. can socially distance at interview . Until 1st August I was shielding. Now miraculously the Virus is no longer a threat to me despite an impaired immune system... but I don't mind because I have the autonomy to protect myself. and still get paid .. unlike teachers. I have an 18 yr old at home .. and grandchildren x 2 who I don't see because they are too small to take the risk .

Pascal2908 Forgive me for not being totally up to date with your posts. Are you a police officer or a civilian worker? Because you clearly are in a role with minimal risk which is fab. Unlike myself.

I’m a detective with a 6 year old who wants schools to stay open.

Easy to shout for schools to close when you don’t need to worry about who looks after them 9-3😂

I only know two people who thought it was a fabulous holiday.

Many of my students who I know had the resources at home available didn’t do any work and the parents attitude at the time was very poor so the PP worrying about juggling working full time and homeschooling doesn’t need to worry as it is obvious the ones that just don’t care vs the ones that are trying but don’t have time or resources available.
But we have been told that this time as they are secondary school ages they need to all make an effort else they’ll be similar consequences to not doing your homework.
Which sounds harsh but actually if we’re in this for the long haul they are going to miss out on a lot of education if they don’t make any effort.

Pascal2908 I’ve copied this from the other thread......Yes, when you are talking about suicide rates and giving posters the impression you are an officer when you are a government employee seconded.

Be transparent. Interviewing a suspect in a large room is NOT representative of police work and you have said that police officers have ppe when that is not the case.

I feel you pain sister

@Flutter12

I only know two people who thought it was a fabulous holiday.

Many of my students who I know had the resources at home available didn’t do any work and the parents attitude at the time was very poor so the PP worrying about juggling working full time and homeschooling doesn’t need to worry as it is obvious the ones that just don’t care vs the ones that are trying but don’t have time or resources available.
But we have been told that this time as they are secondary school ages they need to all make an effort else they’ll be similar consequences to not doing your homework.
Which sounds harsh but actually if we’re in this for the long haul they are going to miss out on a lot of education if they don’t make any effort.

I'm the poster who was worried about juggling full time work as a single parent and trying to home school my 5 year old daughter at the same time.

Last time round it was honestly fucking awful. Weeks and weeks went by before the school even sent home one piece of work or even a suggestion for what she should be doing other than "reading stories". We already do that every night anyway. When they eventually sent work home, it totalled a maximum of 20 minutes per day to complete. There were no online resources to do more, if we did have time, or suggestions of tasks she might be able to do on her own to keep her attention for a bit longer so I could work effectively. So yes, I could complete a home schooling curriculum on my lunch break when it totals 20 minutes of education, but I doubt that's anywhere near enough.

I updated the online journal with the work/activities I thought up for her to do. I tried so bloody hard and I don't think I even came close to what she will have missed on at school education wise and that's before you even get to the valuable social interactions she missed out on.

So inevitably, I felt like a failure at work when I did more with her and when I focused on work I felt like a shit mum. It was utterly exhausting.

I’m now isolating along with my entire family because my child has just tested positive. The person who introduced Covid into the year group was one of his teachers. The whole year is now isolating for two weeks.
I am desperate for them to be back and to remain there. They’ve missed far too much education already but thank goodness the government has now adopted emergency powers to force schools to provide online learning if they close again. It was shockingly inadequate last time.

We need to separate secondary and primary schools when we talk about this. The data shows a massive difference and that's important.

There are compromises that may work too, such as a part time curriculum for older years so half the children can be in school at once and then study at home the other half of the week and we can socially distance more adequately. it means that no child would be isolated at home and reduces the risk of abuse and neglect. It also means they can be educated reasonably well although clearly exams need to be cancelled or amended significantly. All older children should be wearing masks and smaller bubbles need to be considered. Whole year groups in large secondaries aren't really " bubbles" are they?

My worry is that if schools remain open as they are the r number will not drop significantly and lockdown will.be long.

I don't think there's any one right answer but I think they need to look at ways of reducing transmission in secondary schools and universities and this may mean partial closures.

As a parent and a teacher I want schools to stay open.

I don't want my son to miss anymore school and students to miss school.

I agree with @Feelingconfused2020 , it really doesn't have to be all or nothing, a blended model could work. Schools have curriculum recovery plans now so are better equipped to respond to how learning than they were the first time round. Personally I would promise keeping year 11 and Year 7 in full time with the other year groups in on a rota system. The government just doesn't seem to want to invest the time and effort into developing a proper strategy to handle the schools issue and seemingly can't seem to be bothered to acknowledge that primary and secondary schools are different.

Announcing a national lockdown without any explanation of the rationale behind keeping schools open from a public health perspective was wildly irresponsible imo.

*home learning
*propose

If schools do close, I hope I’m provided with the technology needed to do homeschooling properly. Especially if zoom is going to be a daily thing. Some of us don’t have a spare few hundred quid to go and buy new laptops and tablets.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m perfectly happy sticking to the old fashioned way of learning on paper. Doesn’t bother me as I actually prefer it that way. But if my children are all expected to do online classes then they need to stuff for it.

Yep, that’s right. I’m entitled. I have an entitled attitude. But really, what else can I say?

I think it’s best for kids that they stay open - but I think lockdown will take much longer to see the desired effects and that will end up causing kids problems anyway

Keeping schools open could have be quite simple. split the classes in half so 15 not 30 and half do 2 days in school to be set projects and for teachers to access them and 3 days at home working through the projects while the other half go to school. A day of zoom meeting, project setting and teacher markings etc on 5th day. SAH and WFH Parents have time off to get most of their work done and or share childcare with family, etc using holiday days like we normally have to juggling our days off. Obviously bosses need to be on board to allow flexibility but it’s better that than no work and lockdown that we have now. Older children obviously won’t need SAH parents but still get homework and 2 school days to check they’re ok. Universities should never have gone back. All classes and lectures should this year be like the open university and the same price. I know they wouldn’t get the uni experience but there a frigging pandemic on FFS. You’re supposed to go to uni to learn not party! I say this as the mother of a uni student who agrees.

I didn't get a lot from dc's primary school but we used the bbc Bitesize daily stuff and had more than enough that way. The odd foray into Twinkl for a worksheet.

@funinthesun19, I totally agree with you. I too would like to be provided with technology for effective home learning.
I am a teacher.

I think parents should support school staying open by ensuring they as a family follow the rules.
Today I heard so many accounts of Halloween sleepovers and family parties with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents. Irresponsible parents are putting other children’s and school staff lives at risk. If parents can’t follow the rules then schools should close to stop the spread

@funinthesun19, I totally agree with you. I too would like to be provided with technology for effective home learning.
I am a teacher.

I hope you do get help with it! I don’t know how people expect it to happen magically.

Schools will hopefully stay open but changes need to happen.
Secondaries need to mask up, no mask and no exemption then no school. If we want school to stay open then there is a price. Upper primary may need masks and distancing enforced. Otherwise schools may shut because no one would take action beyond their keyboard.

Love the very early post from somebody saying ‘close secondary schools’ whilst explaining they had primary aged children.

Tell that to the kids sitting GCSEs next summer.

Typical selfish attitude, whilst no doubt condemning those selfish people who don’t follow rules. In my experience, everyone is an expert in how best to tackle the pandemic in order to best minimise their own personal disruption.

And don’t even get me started on older people who refuse to stay home but think everything should close, with their mortgage feee, kid free life and stable income.