To ask how you would feel if the decision was made to adopt blended learning to allow for social distancing in schools

[livevomitlaugh]

just that really?
Yabu- I would be fine with that
Yanbu- I very much wouldn’t be fine with that

I think the learning would be teacher led (on teams for example) so you could still work

Are you just talking about secondary age children here?

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

Yes but the issue here is children picking it up at school and giving it to older/vulnerable relatives

So isolate the older relatives.

The actual number of children sharing a home with someone over 60 is probably relatively low. We should be focusing as a country and trying to isolate those people - asking them to shop online, not visit cafes and restaurants and avoid socialising, even outdoors. perhaps asking if some can stay with friends so as to isolate themselves more effectively. We should also be looking for ways to make childcare more available and discourage people from using grandparents as childcare wherever possible.

While there will be some who are working age, the vast majority of older people are retirees and it should be less damaging to the economy (and for society in the longer term) for them to isolate.

Where I live 70 and 80 year olds are socialising & mixing as much and more than anyone and this is a huge part of the problem.

I agree in principal, but technically not feasible.

1. many u50s are also EV or ECV. Like me. I should have been seding my son to school from sept. There is only a minority of E(c)V who can afford to stay home + keep kid at home + have H stay at home.

I think the learning would be teacher led (on teams for example) so you could still work

That wouldn’t work for me, my two have tutoring via Zoom and need me sitting in with them to help keep them focussed. Teacher led remote learning would be no different so no, I couldn’t still work and couldn’t supervise them both at the same time. While my employer is very flexible there are definite limits and some of my work needs me to be present on Zoom myself.

I’m not “keep schools open at all costs” but my kids school have had no cases, no bubbles bursting and no kids self isolating and on that basis I’d not be happy closing schools.

I’d be supportive of it in secondary schools but not for years 11 and 13.
For primary pupils - definitely not!

What about parents of primary aged children who cannot work from home, but are not key workers? Since you’ve got this all sorted OP, what do you propose?

Week on week off is a nightmare.

Perhaps for years 7-10 but not for primary.

The teacher keeps them focussed via Teams...

Asks questions, make sure they’re listening? Just normal focus and behaviour management.

What about parents of primary aged children who cannot work from home, but are not key workers? Since you’ve got this all sorted OP, what do you propose?

Or those of us that can work form home but are, you know, working!!
People assume that WFH means loads of flexibility but that's not always the case. I'm timetabled to teach lectures at a certain time so can't catch up on those once DS has gone to bed and meeting need to take place in traditional working hours.

I think the learning would be teacher led (on teams for example) so you could still work

What would happen when school Teams session clash with my University Teams sessions??

1. many u50s are also EV or ECV. Like me.

Statistically it's not actually many. Just look at the death statistics. Honestly - far far fewer people under 50 have died of this.

I know its shit for the tiny percentage of people who could be affected, just as its shit for the tiny number of people severely affected by flu, just like it was shit when my daughter was one of the tiny percentage of babies to require ventilation due to RSV (a widespread virus). But on a population level we have to balance the risk to this very small number of a people against the damage we are forcing on everyone.

How old are your children?

It’s like a normal school day with registration etc.

Absolutely no way.

Statistically it's not actually many. Just look at the death statistics. Honestly - far far fewer people under 50 have died of this.

Teachers and parents are not all under 50. Many also live with people over 50. I don't think that schools should go to blended learning but your dismissal of the very serious health risks that some people are facing really annoys me. So selfish.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow they are teachers, not magicians. It is asking the impossible to expect one teacher to behaviour manage young children on teams. Its not even so much about behaviour management but kids actually being able to use the software

I’m a teacher.....

Young children will probably struggle. Secondary are fine though.

[quote Redredwine2020]@ArseInTheCoOpWindow they are teachers, not magicians. It is asking the impossible to expect one teacher to behaviour manage young children on teams. Its not even so much about behaviour management but kids actually being able to use the software[/quote]
Yep, people have such bizarre expectations of online learning - the idea that you could just plonk a primary school child in front of the laptop and they'd be 'at remote school' all day and you could work away...

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

You’re totally ignoring my point about the over 60s and vulnerable teachers constituting way more than ‘a tiny percentage’. Throw self isolating teachers in and you could be missing over 20% of staff. It just isn’t sustainable.

It would basically result in a return to something like the first lockdown wouldn’t it - in the sense that people with kids would have to be furloughed and people who could work from home would have to balance working with childcare and schooling. And that’s not impossible, I suppose, but it was extremely difficult/borderline impossible for working parents during the first lockdown.

I would be interested to know who is going to be either teaching my class or teaching my own children when they're not physically in school - because I can't do both.

Most of us working parents cant teach our own children whilst they're working @jerometheturnipking. Teachers are hardly unique in that regard.

@Porcupineinwaiting

Most of us working parents cant teach our own children whilst they're working *@jerometheturnipking*. Teachers are hardly unique in that regard.

Well quite. My point was more about the fact that teachers are also parents and can't be in two places at once. As the lower earner in my family with a DH who can't WFH, it would be on me to be taking the childcare burden for our DC. Thereby solving precisely jack all for my school.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

How old are your children?

It’s like a normal school day with registration etc.

My 7 and 5 year olds who are extremely well behaved and excellent pupils at school struggle to focus for even an hour Brownies/Rainbows session via Zoom. They would certainly not be able to manage a school day.

Online for primary is not good.

Too much screen in general for older age groups should still be used wisely and not as default unless necessary.

@jerometheturnipking - what happens now when your child has to isolate for 10 days because they were a contact? or if half of your class are isolating, or if you have to isolate. I am wondering if you are in a school where that hasn't had to happen much. My son has spent 5 weeks isolating this term. Some of his poor teachers have been at home with isolating children having to teams their class sat in school with a TA.

It probably is impossible to make it work, but it would be lovely to plan so that there was more social distancing so all the random isolating didn't keep happening.

jerome not really that different from others.

I have a very similar situation. I am not a teacher but spend a very large amount of my time in meetings. DH cannot wfh and earns more than me.

So my children don't get my help. Not sure why your own children are worse off?

i didn't think jermome was saying she was unique or her children would be worse off that other children. People were asked whether they would be fine with this set up or not. Like many other working parents they aren't fine with it because they can't do two things at once. This is just a valid reason for a teacher as any other working parent who has said it is hard and not a good solution.