To think this change to online learning is crap?

[Namechange2202]

Previously DS (year 2) a different task for each subject each day so you could clearly see what needed to be done and hand in the work for each task. His teacher would then leave a short sentence in the private comments such as 'great work DS' or something longer if needed. Aside from this the only 'contact' he has from his teacher is a short video for English each day and a short story, no live lessons and the rest is YouTube, white rose, Oak academy or twinkl worksheets. DS enjoyed reading what his teacher had to say when the work was marked.

Today all of the work for the day was listed in a single task, with a note from the teacher saying that she will now only be marking one piece of work per day, although she said that she will read everything. So today we completed the work and he just recieved a 'great work DS' message for his entire day's work.

AIBU to think this isn't really enough?

So it’s the same amount of work but in one document? Perhaps she’s not well and needs time off, perhaps she’s teaching in school this week, perhaps she’s been in meetings all day to prepare for schools to reopen.

So many different reasons for the change, ask the school?

Sorry my post is full of typos, I'm making dinner at the same time as posting.

Crumbwell

I will ask the school, I know that she is in school teaching so not unwell, however when other local schools are still continuing to provide a full timetable of live lessons our offering seems a bit shit in comparison.

And it's not so much it all being in one task, it's more the fact that each task was recieving separate feedback which was really helping to motivate him.

Its only for 2 weeks amd they will have to prepare foe return to school. I think its fine.

All ours was designed to be self marked(well parent marked) with answers provided. I'm sure you could email in if there was anything you didn't understand. The important thing is theg do the work!

As it happens ours is optional so we only send best bits in!

Seriously they are not necessarily providing live lessons for every lesson for year 2. It is impossible to get kids that age to engage for that length of time. Yours sounds about right for a child that young.

I don't think daily marking is the norm. Or the best use of the teachers time tbh. 10mins per student would be 6 an hour - 5 hours....

I'd rather they were putting time into planning the work for uour child.

Live lessons aren't ideal for many (most?) Primary childfdn3. We just have a 10min optional stary/end of the day which has been perfect!

Maybe it’s because the teacher now has other prepping to do for school reopening in 2 weeks - so has less time for marking?! If that’s the reason, it would have been helpful for parents of she’d said.
But it’s only for 2 weeks now, so hopefully school reopening soon will be a motivator for your son.

I will ask the school, I know that she is in school teaching so not unwell

Perhaps she came to an agreement with the management that being in school teaching plus giving the amount of feedback she was giving on a daily basis previously was simply an unmanageable workload for her? Perhaps they felt she could either have a reduced marking load or be off with stress?

I am currently teaching, I have 8 children in school and the rest working at home online. 30 in total. We have on average 5 tasks a day. So that’s 150 pieces of work to mark. A day. Over a week its 750 pieces! That’s a massive task.
Then we have to record every piece of work each child has completed so we can see who we need to chase up or offer extra support. I cant do all that whilst teaching the children who are in school. I’ve managed to mark all the work done in school as the children were doing it, during my lunch time and for 1hr after school. In between, Ive been logging on to our learning platform and trying to mark some of their online learning. It’s 5.48 now, I completed the maths marking at 5, came home, did another 30 mins of English and am having a break for tea. I will probably spend a further hour on the rest later, as we have to complete all marking on the day the work is set.
It’s absolutely exhausting! Give the teacher a break please.

It is so interesting to hear how different schools/teachers have responded to online schooling.

FYI our Year 2 teacher hasn’t given any written feedback or marking all term. Instead, she has delivered live lessons every day (30 mins phonics/writing, and 30 mins maths. Then each child has a 1.1 reading session each week. The children also have a couple of other 30 minute live lessons on several afternoons - eg. music or special project). This has worked really well for the 6-7 year olds. The children don’t work when the lessons aren’t happening, so they have to concentrate for maximum 1-1.5 hours per day. Theoretically parents only have to be there to prompt/help rather than teach (though does depend on the child). The teacher gives feedback in lessons when the children show her their work. So feedback is instant, and the teacher spends no time having to mark work later. This seems to have worked really well.

I wonder if the change now is because she needs more time to prep and start thinking about what extra support the children who have been homeschooled will need when they return in 2 weeks

Soontobe60

That does sound like an immense amount of work.

What I don't understand is if so few pupils are in school, then why do they need a qualified teacher teaching them, why not have the TA acting like a proxy parent? A few parents expressed concern that the teacher must be overworked as she is teaching too. They assured us that they are working from the same materials as those at home, but I know from a few things the teacher has said in her videos that she is in fact 'teaching', so she is covering the same thing twice. We were told no live lessons because it is a safeguarding risk even though other schools manage just fine. It just seems that when a compromise needs to be made, it is the ones at home who suffer.

Enidblyton1

That sounds so much better!

Teachers are not covering themselves in glory where I am either (primary y5). It might change in this new half term - I seriously hope it does. All they do is set exercises from practice books or worksheets. Setting exercises in workbooks is not teaching, it is make-work - practice maybe, but not developing new skills or covering the curriculum in any way at all. The trouble is the governments made them provide this make-work on a daily basis this time, last time it was only one exercise a week and i could get on and do what I needed to help my ds around it. He needed it as he was already behind. I work part time myself, when I’m at home I’m going back to only doing the school work set when it suits me and getting on the rest of the time, and if the teachers cause me any trouble over it I will be only too happy to tell them why. I’m tired of doing highly paid and highly-ego’d teachers work for them.

Meant to add, they don’t bloody mark anything either. I do that myself. All they do is ‘great, good, fantastic’. If it doesn’t change this term I’m considering putting in complaints.

@Namechange2202

Soontobe60

That does sound like an immense amount of work.

What I don't understand is if so few pupils are in school, then why do they need a qualified teacher teaching them, why not have the TA acting like a proxy parent? A few parents expressed concern that the teacher must be overworked as she is teaching too. They assured us that they are working from the same materials as those at home, but I know from a few things the teacher has said in her videos that she is in fact 'teaching', so she is covering the same thing twice. We were told no live lessons because it is a safeguarding risk even though other schools manage just fine. It just seems that when a compromise needs to be made, it is the ones at home who suffer.

Enidblyton1

That sounds so much better!

The children in school are the more vulnerable ones in my school generally. They can be more challenging too! Our TAs support SEN in school, and cover all duties. We don't have enough TAs to cover classes - we want at least 2 adults in the class at all times - 1 teacher and 1 TA. I deliver 2 Zoom sessions each day so the TA is in effect in charge of the class during this time. In normal times, I would have a week to mark the topic work from this afternoon as it’s only done weekly, and would have marked most of the maths during the lesson along with TAs. Marking actual books is also a threat deal quicker than doing it online - I could mark a full set of comprehensions in 30 mins as opposed to probably 2 hours for online marking.

Are you kidding me???? I'm in school all the time as I have plenty of vulnerable children who need a teacher. Wouldn't it be lovely if I could split myself in half or give 100% of my time to either remote or in school children... yes it would be lovely! !! I think I'll suggest that at my next staff meeting!!!

You have absolutely no idea the directions that teachers are being pulled in... It makes me so cross.

The comments on here are awful.

I’m tired of doing highly paid and highly-ego’d teachers work for them

After a year of this I honestly thought people had realised how unreasonable this attitude was. In my nephew's area apparently attendance is 40% yet you genuinely think teachers are taking ten minutes to send home worksheets then sitting at home twiddling their thumbs? Isn't it more likely that there's more to it that what you see/experience?

😂😂😂 Poor teachers.....

Isn't it more likely that there's more to it that what you see/experience

Are you suggesting that I am being unreasonable to ask teachers who are being paid to educate, to actually do that?

They aren't. And given that my child was behind and I picked him up an awful lot, I have a right to question just what the heck they have been and are doing. This is their job.

It is rubbish. That is all we have had from the start from our primary school. We get an email each morning with powerpoints, youtube links and some worksheets.

Secondary school is them same except the powerpoints and youtube links are posted on Teams.

We have not received any live or recorded teaching ever.