If blended learning was the thing for all of next academic year?

[porktangle]

www.thenational.scot/news/18454764.blended-learning-become-new-normal-schools-return/

This is obviously just an article and anything could actually change in the next year but I read this and suddenly the possible next academic year just hit me like a ton of bricks. I don't know why it's taken until now tbh. I think I've just been thinking about June 1st mostly!

I could still work (I'm full time main earner) but husband couldn't so we'd have significant money problems after a few months. My son is autistic and wouldn't have his EHCP fulfilled. He's done reduced timetables before and they were a disaster, he ended up out of education for over a year.

If blended learning (half in school with social distancing, half at home remote learning) is for the next academic year.....how would you manage?

I'm in Scotland and I'm assuming this is the future for the whole academic year. Not sure how it'll work yet. It won't be half days because you can't deep clean a classroom over lunch. Maybe two full days and the class divided in half with last day for planning/ marking of school stuff. Or 2 days a week then 3 days on a fortnightly schedule probably have to rely heavily on a national curriculum being set and resources being provided (oak academy) rather than teacher individually lesson planning with the odd oak academy thrown in which is what's happening now in our school.

I think our school (smallish primary) would be able to manage siblings being in the same day. Kids are divided into four houses and siblings all are in the same house. Roughly equal numbers so two houses.

trust - what about secondary schools - do we open them normally?

This model is being proposed because we are in the middle of a pandemic.

When the risk subsides there is no way this model will still be kept because it's not as effective socially or educationally. It also, at primary , doesn't work as childcare. It is only being proposed because of the unprecedented global emergency that is happening.

What choice do we have? What other country with anything like as many deaths as us is just chucking all kids back as normal? We already have an appalling death rate. The 'few' is 1%, are 600,000 peoples lives really of no consequence?

Haven't Swedish schools stayed open?

I suppose for older kids home learning is easier and they don't need childcare but for exam years it will be a bag of shit.

I don't know what the answer is my imo it is not this!

They're not of no consequence no. But if this continues it will have higher consequences and people WILL STILL DIE just for different reasons. Oh and poverty really shortens life expectancy you know.

So if it's 1% of the pop dying or children and families being thrown into poverty and everyone's life expectancy reducing I know which option I'd choose.

Sweden did keep them open under 16 yes. Adjusted for population size they have 6 times the deaths of their nearest neighbours Finland, and 8 times that of Norway. So scale up to us and that's over 200,000 deaths if we'd done their approach? Yes I know it's a crude measure, and there's all sorts of variables unaccounted for but it's still a sobering figure.

It's also now questionable whether it is even as much as 1% dying.

And schools are not spreaders of the virus; there is no evidence of this worldwide.

Schools should be back ASAP. How are people supposed to work with some weird system? This another policy which fails women too as they will be the parents required to give up work and provide the "schooling".

If I'm being totally honest I'd still go with their method.

I just don't think it's worth ruining a whole generations education. And plunging them into poverty at the same time. I really don't.

I think waiting 2 weeks to halve the risk sounds reasonable.

It only sounds reasonable if you mention what risk you are halving and are also factoring in the risks you run and the harms you cause by taking those steps.

I think we’ve definitely got to the stage where we are asking children and young adults to sacrifice too much. Education is a fundamental right

The thing is though that you on an individual level might be okay with 200,000 deaths but on a societal level we're not and have to put preventative measures in place. Hence social distancing hence blended learning

Head of the EIS (teachers' union) in Scotland now saying that kids will only be back in the classroom 1/3 of the time from August and this will continue for the long term until there's a mass-produced vaccine (so years, then): www.thenational.scot/news/18463909.union-boss-says-scottish-schools-will-part-time-vaccine/

Yeah I don't think the public are going to stand for that.

They can get fucked! There might never be a vaccine. 🤦‍♀️

but on a societal level we're not

That's bollocks isn't it? Maybe the government aren't. I get you a large percentage of the people would go for it.

As time goes on there will be less and less support for this bullshit. When more people start to struggle with their mental health and their children get a shit sub standard education worse than that of a third world country and they're also facing re possession of their house they'll start to think those lives aren't worth the swap.

I think it would be really good to dial down the emotive language. Six months or a year of blended learning is not ruining a whole generations education

Yes it is.

It won't just be that though will it? Until a vaccine? So maybe never?

And no. This is an emotive subject so I won't be dialling anything down thank you very much.

Sweden did keep them open under 16 yes. Adjusted for population size they have 6 times the deaths of their nearest neighbours Finland, and 8 times that of Norway. So scale up to us and that's over 200,000 deaths if we'd done their approach? Yes I know it's a crude measure, and there's all sorts of variables unaccounted for but it's still a sobering figure.

Now hang on one minute.

This is very bad sums.

You are comparing Sweden to countries with (currently) lower death rates.

And on the basis of that comparison, you are doing a new sum that "scales up" our death rate?

Why not just do a simple comparison on Swedish rates with no lockdown and ours with a lockdown?

What is your justification for this? It's ridiculous.

The fact is that so far Sweden's refusal (in the face of some pretty fierce and screechy criticism) has not led to what the screeches insisted must happen.

It was clear even at the time that they very much did not want there to be a country (particularly an EU country) that didn't follow lockdown and could be used as a comparison with the ones that did.

So now they have invented first comparing them to their neighbours and them when they have the numbers they want, doing a second unfavourable comparison.

It is so obviously political.

Years of only being in the classroom 1/3 of the time and being taught didactically from the front by a teacher who won't go near the kids (also what the EIS head says) actually will make a fairly big impact on their education, yes.

When more people start to struggle with their mental health and their children get a shit sub standard education worse than that of a third world country and they're also facing re possession of their house they'll start to think those lives aren't worth the swap

Maybe. Or maybe they'll realise that sometimes things aren't perfect and that's ok, we can and do cope with trying times. Maybe our collective mental health isn't that fragile and our desire to protect other people is strong.

I guess time will tell

An article from 2015 about how just missing a few days from school had a lasting impact

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/education/2015/feb/22/missing-lessons-harms-childrens-education-uk-government

Nowadays missing months on end and then years of receiving 1/3 teaching time is completely fine. 🤔

Maybe. Or maybe they'll realise that sometimes things aren't perfect and that's ok, we can and do cope with trying times. Maybe our collective mental health isn't that fragile and our desire to protect other people is strong

Haha. You don't really understand people do you? People don't care about things until if affects them. When it starts to affect them they care. My desire to protect my own family is much stronger than my desire to protect strangers. I'd say thats probably the same for most people.

Well at least there'll be plenty of unemployed parents in Scotland as a result, we can set up our own schools. Send your kids to me! I don't have any relevant teaching qualifications but at least I can be there in person and I won't insist they all stay 2m apart for three years. ffs...

The National claiming unions saying parties time school till vaccine:

www.thenational.scot/news/18463909.union-boss-says-scottish-schools-will-part-time-vaccine/

our desire to protect other people is strong

Ugh the hypocrisy.

"Lockdown is a luxury. It is a luxury being enjoyed by the middle classes at the expense of the poor and the vulnerable."

You don't get to support the destruction of free universal education and pretend that you are concerned with protecting people while those who want to protect children are weak.

How revolting.

Do we honesty think that if Scotland are going down this line, it won't be the same for al schools throughout the UK?

Fuck. 1/3 time in school until there is a vaccine. That is a big deal. Widespread vaccination could take years even if they get the right one now. They might not even find a vaccine. Education will be shaped and changes forever. Widespread unemployment to be at home with children 5/7 days will push the economy back even further and much less money to spend on schools reinforcing the problem.