Year 7 the lost generation

[Marzipan12]

I've heard this a few times now, the thinking is that year 7 have missed out more than anybody else. This annoys me surely at this point every year group has missed out. My child is year 8, missed over an entire term of year 7, disrupted learning so far in year 8 and home learning for half a term. Every other year group has missed the same. Some year 7 parents think their kids have missed out more, regardless that they had time back in school to finish year 6 and didn't miss an entire term of their first year in high school. I would say this puts year 7 at an advantage over other year groups. They certainly are not the lost generation that some are making them out to be in fact they are one of the more fortunate year groups.

How very odd OP
Very odd

loopyapp every year group has missed out the equivalent of all those things that happen in their year group. Year 7 are not special and have not missed more. My year 8 missed an entire term of year 7 while yours got to go back and finish year 6. My kid missed a full term of year 7 while your kid missed zero work.

@Marzipan12 try being a first year at Uni this year. Were pulled out of school just before exams and have spent the last year on line. While paying for it. I think everyone has had a tough year.

It's sad that DD missed most of her P7 stuff that she was looking forward to, but there's plenty of other things in her life that she will enjoy.

The "lost generation" are the kids who were already at the wrong end of the attainment gap and will have fallen further behind. Their lives will be be irreparably damaged. Rather more of a problem than missing a practice run on the school bus.

If we are looking to spend money on making sure disadvantages are removed, my preference would be to spend it on kids who are really losing out. Of course, this won't happen because too many voices bleating about their precious little tarquins requiring tutoring will drown out the quieter voices advocating for those who are truly at risk.

I have a Y7, and think this year's and last year's Y11s and Y13s have had it the worst.

But Y7s did miss out on all the usual leaving Y6 stuff, the fun things as well as the induction days etc. They've only had one term to establish friendships at secondary, so are to some extent starting again. My DD doesn't even know her way around the school yet, they have one way systems in place and she knows her form room, dinner hall, sports area and playtime area. She's fine, but it's not easy for them and definitely at least as hard as for Y8s, who had two normal terms at their new schools last year to get used to things.

@daisyjgrey

Oh god, everyone just tell OP that their child has had it the hardest and they'll go away.

🤣

My eldest is in Y7 and is having a really rough time settling into secondary. I think it would’ve been hard for him anyway but covid has made it worse.

I don’t think for a second he is part of a ‘lost generation’. I don’t think anyone is.

loopyapp every year group has missed out the equivalent of all those things that happen in their year group. Year 7 are not special and have not missed more. My year 8 missed an entire term of year 7 while yours got to go back and finish year 6. My kid missed a full term of year 7 while your kid missed zero work.

OP, seriously, let it go. You're right that they have all had a shit year. It isn't a competition.

I think you’re being a bit OTT here OP.
I don’t think anyone (on this thread?) is saying that yr 7s have had it the worst. Merely pointing out some of the things that have made it uniquely bad for them.
That’s not to say that other ages don’t also have things that make it uniquely bad for them.
There are some things that have worked out really well for dd-no sats, not worrying about getting lost in new school etc.

A grown assed adult
Worked up about 11/12 year olds getting a bit more attention from people as suffering more than other years.

I just can’t get my head around how small your world must be to get het up about this

Post WWI I'd accept the argument of a lost generation, because many young men had been killed so there was a genuine loss. But little Bobby not getting their birthday party two years running and Sarah having her exam grades assessed by the teacher instead of sitting the papers hardly qualifies.

@Skirk64 You said exactly what I was thinking. Everyone has missed things in the last year - some of them irreplaceable - but the thing that will make children lose out is the constant whinging and droning on about 'what they've lost' instead of looking forward and figuring out how we can make life better in the future for them (and everyone).

I think they have missed out on more than the Y8s. My son's primary school didn't reopen at all, so he went from March to July with very little education. He missed out on all of the 'leavers stuff' which was a big deal at his school (I guess it is in most primary schools). When he started high school, he was in the same class the whole time so has made very few new friends. At least the Y8s had nearly two terms to move around and socialise with new people, getting the proper 'high school experience'.

Obviously that's my perspective as a Y7 parent - I also have a child in Y9 and she has missed out socially too, at a time when they should be getting more independence from their parents, they're stuck at home all the time.

But they've all suffered one way or another, some more, some less than others.

@Marzipan12

55%think I'm being unreasonable. So 55%think that year 7s are the lost generation and have had it harder than any other year. Unbelievable. So their attitude is exam year groups have had it easier than their precious year 7s. Sad world we live in.

lol why bother with Aibu if you are so sure you are correct !?

I tend to agree I have a year 8 and a year 5. My year 5 has missed some trips but will catch up academically as lots of time. Worried about yr 8 as little time at High school building foundations for exam years

@bigbluebus couldn't agree more. Although I'm acknowledging to my children that although it's really not been the best year, and yes, they have missed out on some things, they've got the rest of their lives to make up for it. Basically, a child friendly version of 'shit happens' 😀.

I haven't actually heard anyone in real life claiming that Y7 are a 'lost generation' though. Is this actually a 'thing'? All I've heard and read about is how disruptive it's been for all children in general.

Really everyone has lost out in different ways. The question is which year is the most crucial to educational development and future life chances. I don't think we know and won't know for many years.

It really isn't a race to the bottom. Look forwards, focus on what the future holds. Who cares which year has it 'worst' it has been utterly shitty for everyone.

If we are looking to spend money on making sure disadvantages are removed, my preference would be to spend it on kids who are really losing out. Of course, this won't happen because too many voices bleating about their precious little tarquins requiring tutoring will drown out the quieter voices advocating for those who are truly at risk.

Yes, exactly.

My dd is gutted that she didn't get to play the starring role that she had been assigned in her final school production. She is upset that she missed out on her beloved dance show. She is disappointed that her string of 9s at GCSE will not be regarded as well as they would have been because they will be based on teacher assessment and not exams. She is sad that she won't be able to dress up and go to the prom with all of her friends. She feels sorry that she didn't have a chance to camp overnight for her DofE expedition. And so on....

The last year has been full of disappointments for dd. It has been tough. Genuinely. However, the things that she has been disappointed about mostly just reflect her incredible privilege. A lot of kids didn't miss out on any of that stuff because they didn't have it in the first place.

What about the kids who have been stuck in violent and abusive homes for months on end? What about the kids who have had to do remote learning in cramped and noisy conditions, without access to the internet and without parental support? What about the kids who have had to look after their younger siblings for months while their parents scrape a living? What about the kids who aren't getting enough to eat because their parents have lost their jobs? What about the kids who have lost one or both parents to covid?

Most of our kids will be just fine, and we need to stop fucking whingeing about how much they have missed out on and focus instead on what we as a society are going to do about the kids who have been hit the hardest by this pandemic. Hint...it isn't the ones who missed out on the ski trip or the year 6 residential.

It’s not a competition. Stop buying into all this nonsense.

I don’t see why it must be a competition as to which group of children have suffered more, I think it comes down to the individual child mostly. Some would have coped fine, others not so much.

I would say the ones who were years 11 and 13 definitely could have done without the stress of their exam results being made a mess of. As for the children who are currently in year 7, they at least didn’t have to do the SATs in the end which are fucking pointless, often stressful and I would have been over the moon if my child had managed to swerve them as she was literally sick with stress due to her ridiculous class teacher being a dick about it.

Yes year 8s had nearly 2 terms of normal high school. Then it stopped. Some had settled in and some nearly had. All that was then taken away and replaced by home learning which wasn't marked and they had little to no contact with school from march-September. Then when they returned they had to get used to the new normal in high school (bubbles, no labs, no comps, no clubs) while catching up on missed year 7 work. They finally caught up when they where out again for home learning. It's now March and many kids are only just starting year 8 work . When schools return to normal they will have to adjust yet again. Year 7s high school experience is the normal for them, they will have to adjust once while year 8s will be adjusting after multiple times and will start year 9 without having completed a full normal year in high school.

I don't really understand the argument that Y7 have missed out on the most. When they return to school properly the whole year will be in the same boat in terms of making friends and settling in.

I think people who graduated uni last year are among some of the worst hit. They entered the workforce at the same time that 9M people were furloughed, hundreds of thousands were made redundant and a business that was doing okay was still suddenly WFH and not planning to expand. They couldn't even go travelling when they couldn't get started on their career, they really had a lost year. Now the jobs are slowly resurfacing and last years graduates will also have this years graduates to compete with and there just won't be enough to go around.

I also feel for couples who entirely missed out on the wedding celebration they planned for as that is a lifetime event, not like one school year.

Those entering uni in 2020 also had it particularly bad, their whole uni experience has been altered as socialising was basically illegal. No idea how current first year have formed bonds with friends enough to rent a house with them in 2nd year.

My daughter was year 13 last year and it was awful how suddenly the exams were cancelled, it was a shock after working hard towards the exams, lots of tears and worry among her friends. Lots of them missed out on celebrating turning 18 with their friends that they were looking forward too. It been difficult start to University too, no proper goodbyes with school friends and not been much harder to make new friends, she has not even been able to socialise with people on the same course. She has not been able to get a job so money is a worry. It's been hard for all kids though. My youngest is in the y1 and some of his classmates have really struggled with being in and out of school for their first year in school.

@Marzipan12

loopyapp every year group has missed out the equivalent of all those things that happen in their year group. Year 7 are not special and have not missed more. My year 8 missed an entire term of year 7 while yours got to go back and finish year 6. My kid missed a full term of year 7 while your kid missed zero work.

OK, fine, your child has had it worse than any other and they are the lost generation (year). Happy now??

I’ve got a Year 7 child. A bit dramatic calling them a lost generation when they have years of secondary school to catch up! And 1 year is hardly a ‘generation’!

I found DS having a crap year 6 meant he wasn’t sad to leave primary school and move on. I (and other parents) were sad they missed out on the leavers celebrations and the musical performances etc. But by then the kids weren’t too fussed as the world was in such a strange place.

I do feel like the disruption over the last year has meant he’s lost the thirst for learning and that’s the worst thing for me as he’ll never catch up if he carries on this way. But that’s specific to my child, I wouldn’t be able to generalise across a world of year 7 kids.

I think you’re taking it too personally as some of your comments sound quite bitter. I’d probably be the same but I’ve not seen any comments like this at all. Mostly I feel lucky I’ve not had an exam year child (SATs didn’t count)!

I’ve not voted as some points you make are good, but you end it by saying Y7’s have an advantage! Seriously, you’ve ruined all credibility here as you’re scraping the barrel now saying these little 11 years olds have an advantage. That’s the thing, ALL kids were affected, just some more than others.

They have all had it hard for heavens sake and they have all had their education disrupted.
But they aren't a lost generation. They arent dead.
Its a set back and not ideal but we are where we are. Nobody expected a pandemic. It's shit but not really avoidable once the virus was allowed to take hold.
Over dramatic woe is me patenting will negatively affect them as much as the disrupted schooling will.