30kids in a primary class
1 - SAHM engaged in education, bright child, only child, wants both paper and online resources plus stretch and challenge.
2 - SAHM engages in education but has 18 month old twins as well as additional school child. Bright. Will need to do significant amount of work online whilst mum is occupied. Wants 70% online, 30% paper.
3 - SAHM with aged grandparent with dementia who needs 24 hour care. Bright. Wants 80% online, 20% paper.
4 - SAHM with additional toddlers at home. Struggling family as father is 0 hours contract. No internet other than phone. Wants 10% internet, 90% paper
5 - SAHM single parent managing 3 under 6 an an abusive ex. No tech other than a PAYG phone that frequently can’t be afforded a top up. Parent struggling, easier to put child in front of TV. Wants 95% paper, 5% online.
6 - mum dead, dad disabled, grandma trying to help but can’t manage the technology and struggles to make sense of lessons sent, 100% paper.
7 - full time working from home professional parents, child with moderate autism diagnosis. TV and internet used to keep child quiet whilst they work. 100% internet based.
8 - 2 working parents, both worried about losing their job. Secondary school sibling. Only 1 laptop in the house. 100% paper to allow older sibling to access school work. Not very bright, needs simplified worksheets that have to be sourced/created from scratch.
....every child got their own story. Every parent demanding their own personal circumstances are taken into account. In class, individual learning needs can be supported, differentiated work and books, challenging activities for G&T students, resources ready around the room, TA support at least some of the time. Teacher now expected to manage 30 individualised learning plans, manage photocopying and delivery of packs, all whilst working on a key worker rota, managing own children and elderly family members, weekly phone calls to all students, Mark and track progress in every child you can’t actually see to ensure that next week’s individualised pack remains relevant whilst taking into account all family updates that occur during the week eg. elderly grandparent now in hospital so child doesn’t need work and parent will take offence if you dare to deliver your pack...,
As a PP said, the very idea of pandering to all this is baffling. Especially since the kids who are at home are not getting all this individualized specialized provision---why would it be expected because the kids are physically in a classroom?
Just hand out the same paper schoolwork packs that are currently being delivered to the kids who are at home and have no computer at home. Explain to parents that the teacher will be buzzing around the room supervising and helping out but that actual "teaching" is going to be very minimal at best.
If anyone wants specialist provision, fine. You tell them to get their own textbooks and workbooks and send their child in with them every day with a clear plan of what to do, and explain that you cannot be expected to teach their child, you will be supervising the room and encouraging the child to work on their tasks along with the others but that is about it.
Here in Japan, some of my friends have sent their children in with English study work, which they want their kids to do once their regular schoolwork tasks are finished. Of course the supervising staff are not expected to help out with this! They just circulate and keep the kids focused. They sometimes help out with the regular schoolwork if they can but do not actually teach lessons. It all works fine and the KW kids have at least been getting some kind of education, even if it is not perfect. And these are not even trained teachers.
I'm just really stuck by the oddness of "We can't provide a million different endlessly variegated lessons that are exactly tailored to each child, so let's do nothing."