Shitty message from teacher on Google Classroom.

[Tibola]

Congratulating the 10 kids who completed the assignment and giving their names. And then in block caps:

FOR ALL THOSE WHO DID NOT COMPLETE THIS I WILL NOT BE GOING BACK OVER THIS IN CLASS 👍

Rude much?!! And no, their school isn’t open for key workers before anyone jumps on me and says how busy she must be

The loss of teaching time for y10 & to some extent y10 is going to be catastrophic

As all schools and pupils are in the same boat, then everyone is in the same situation.

There is no way in this unprecedented time that the GCSE curriculum will be covered in any depth by May 2021.

Of course not. What they do at home now is just going to have to do in terms of covering huge chunks of the course. My job now, as I see it, is not to make sure that they get the same standard of education as under normal circumstances. That’s impossible. My job is to do everything I can to make sure the effect on them is no worse than Year 10s in other schools. As I see it, I have a moral imperative to keep them working and deliver the course as much as possible because, if those exams do end up taking place, you can bet that the already advantaged kids at the local independent schools will have been taught online and set work.
Norm referencing means that roughly the same number of students will get the each grade, as everyone is going to be behind. I just need to make sure that my classes aren’t any more behind than kids in other schools

The message is not ideal, but in the same way that students are expected to have some leeway, I think generosity should also be extended to the teacher. Who knows what circumstances she is facing? And OP, I trust you have not mentioned your opinion about the teacher's message to your son? The last thing a teacher needs is a critical parent sharing grievances with their kids.

Perspective, OP.

Is this not a GDPR breach?

I think it’s informative - there is absolutely no flex time in the curriculum. If content isn’t covered where it was planned, then there is a genuine risk that it won’t be covered in time for the exams.

In English we try and get all content covered by February half term, so we can spend the last few weeks teaching essay writing, honing exam responses and recapping briefly the content taught at the start of the course. If we lose the time from now until the summer, we would be teaching new content right up to the exams. We’re trying to look at where we can condense things, but it’s going to be really hard for current yr 10. I hope the exam boards find away to mitigate this.

Because of that, I think a capitalised (pay attention to this, year 10!) statement reminding them of this, and a cheery thumbs up ( I know you’ll do the right thing!) doesn’t seem unreasonable? I might have prefaced it with “Right, lovely class, listen up..” 🤷🏻‍♀️

It's very unlikely that any teacher in a school is remotely experienced or skilled in delivering remote learning, they are likely to make mistakes, present things in bad ways, not know how to judge students remotely, identify if they've understood things, identify if they're just lazy or what.

Personally, I don't think they should be attempting teaching at this time, until they've been taught themselves in these skills so they can at least go in with something under their belt later.

However capable year 10's should be in self directed learning, shaming them and shouting at them publicly is unlikely to be a workable method in helping them. We actually don't really know much of course, most remote learning knowledge comes with motivated and/or supported students, not ones who may be somewhat dis-interested in a subject.

It's hard on the teacher, it's hard on the students, the message was a mistake, some of the students who failed were likely just a mistake too, some though I'm sure though had different problems, and not the confidence to seek help even if it was available.

Not sure it is rude but is definitely making an assumption that all people have got it easy at home right now. There could be so many reasons as to why a child hasn't completed the work.

One of my children is using google classrooms right now, they've just said to do what we can. In fact, I have to hand it to our school they've been brilliant with work and expectations/understanding. We're all under pressure and have a lot of worry right now.

I think it’s tough love.

He’s reminding kids that they do indeed have to do the work set, and that he’s taking notes about who’s done it and how they did.

Year 10 is old enough to cop themselves on and crack on with it themselves.
They’re able to look up references if it’s complicated.

10/30 is shit compliance.
Parents need to know that the teacher is moving on.

@AuditAngel - and yes, it is a GDPR breach! Information should be shared on a “need to know” basis, which is not the case here.

i dont think its rude

The worst bit is the names. Those that have done it know they’ve done it. Likewise those that haven’t. What is there to be gained from listing the gold star children? I’m sorry but as a fellow teacher this really goes against my professional instincts.

Is this not a GDPR breach?

Very,very unlikely, although I doubt the use of google classroom itself would bare genuine scrutiny (google require consent for certain processing, which could not be freely given here)

What is there to be gained from listing the gold star children

Maybe to encourage them? In the same way I give “stars of the week” out in my classroom each week? Or I write the names of children who I notice doing well on the board during lessons?

I’m actually more concerned about exam impact on current Y10s and Y12s than I am about Y11s and Y13s. Theirs seem to be taken care off albeit with extra staff input with evidence etc. There must surely be some dispensation for those taking exams next year as they cannot possibly have had the same preparation.

@Neednewwelliles, it isn't rude. It's pointing out that the parents who brought these children into the world are responsible for education and wellbeing until their children reach adulthood. It's not like getting a puppy, and getting bored when training is tough. Your children's performance in adult life IS YOUR personal responsibility.

@SmileEachDay, then why not direct a quick well done email to them being sure to blind copy so they didn’t know who else did it?
Or better still, just say ‘thank you to those who completed the work, you know who you are.’

Wording wasn't great but I have no problem with the core message - bit of a wake-up call for certain students. If the kids choose not to work, they need to take responsibility for that choice and the teacher shouldn't be expected to spend time hand holding them through the content later.

SirFredFredGeorge I disagree. Whils5 I posed it as a question, I could equally have made a statement. The disclosing of personal information without justification IS a data breach.

The teacher should have stated that only 10 students completed the work without naming them.

By naming those who did the work, their personal data was breached to their classmates.

The government’s advisor this afternoon suggested that this is going to last 3-6 months. There will not be time to go over everything. There is no way, going back in September, that I could teach the content that I normally teach in year 11 and go over more than a term’s worth of year 10 work. It just will not happen.

What subject do you teach Sabine? I could easily get it done. A bit quicker but I could and have done before. This is all variable on subject and how many lessons a week you are allocated.

Need that would be another way of doing it, for sure.

Maybe the teacher - who presumably knows her class well - knew that this would encourage the ones who did it and motivate the ones who didn’t? Maybe the teacher will reflect and not do it again. Maybe next week, all of them will be on the “smiley list” (which is what my kids call the list on my board). I don’t know 🤷🏻‍♀️

I teach Edexcel history on a two-year GCSE.

No, @XingMing, firstly, the email went to the pupils so the vast majority of parents would not have seen it. Secondly, it is making the assumption that those who didn’t do it could have done it but chose not to. It is not allowing for
-illness
-lack of electronic device

• need to share electronic device with 3 or 4 siblings

-nowhere at home suitable for quiet study such as sharing a bedroom with much younger sibling inc toddlers -living in a DV situation -living with an alcoholic -living with a single parent suffering from depression -lack of basic material such as a pen -lack of food or not being fed -being left in a position of caring for younger siblings so parent on NMW in supermarket continues to work all hours.

Now, many of these children will not be in any of the positions above, but sadly some or in some areas, many, will.

I teach Edexcel history on a two-year GCSE.

Ahhh I teach AQA Separate Physics and I have 5 lessons a fortnight. I am nearly on paper 2 already. So I can get it done IF we returned in September.

I have a combined class too.

No matter I would not speak to my students like that. In lesson, sure 🙈but not in a Pandemic.

...or indeed that every parent who did see it gives a shit. Should those kids suffer and be shamed because their parents can’t or don’t care?

@sabineschmetterling and @MaterEstIratus

Like they would never cancel the A Levels or GCSEs 2020? Everyone saying that was impossible up until it happened.
Have neither of you been teaching long? I've been doing it for 27 years.
You are a puppet of the govt and of course they will change the curriculum and coursework requirements for 2021 and possibly 2022 as well.
You are needlessly pushing the pupIls for your own sense of work ethic / consistency to keep your own sense of structure going. You know it's not necessary. You're time filing at best and in a number of cases, harmful.

What is necessary is that they stay well, keep their MH high and bake and garden and play. I teach secondary and I mean this up to and inc age 16.