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Original poster

Why on earth do you think home ed would work second time around?

347 replies

Whatchasayin · 25/10/2020 10:56

We know that a huge percentage of DC didn't even log onto home learning earlier in the year. We know thousands of DC don't have devices, WiFi, space to work, parental support. We know thousands of DC can't be bothered to do it and who's going to make them when parents are at work/don't care. This all happened a few months ago so why are so many people advocating going back there? For a virus that many people don't even realise they have and most don't get more than mildly unwell. Average age of death is 82.

OP posts:
Fannybawz · 25/10/2020 10:57

No idea
No idea
No idea

The only reason I got through it myself was because I am currently unemployed

And we are not short of space, Time, money etc

How the hell anybody managed while actually working I have NO IDEA

OpheliasCrayon · 25/10/2020 11:01

I don't have a clue. It won't work.
I was in a meeting about setting up our online teaching stuff and we just resigned ourself to the fact that only about half of the kids we knew would be able to and even of that number they wouldn't all have help or reliably turn in the work.

Sunflowers246 · 25/10/2020 11:02

Schools cannot close, especially for years 10-13 as GSCE and A level exams are planned for next year.

The fiasco about predicted grades was awful and will be avoided this year.

Many kids don't have the space or resources to work from home.

Hazelnutlatteplease · 25/10/2020 11:03

Cos it's a better option than the NHS becoming overrun.

Qasd · 25/10/2020 11:04

It wouldn’t significant number of schools didn’t provide anything meaningful the first time round either, unless two or three twinkle worksheets with no handing in or marking counts as “learning”.

Realistically if we sit schools we end education.. those who use fancy terms like “moving learning online” or “blended learning” might be convincing themselves but we have a lot of evidence of zero education for many children and young people taking place between March and July there is no reason AT ALL to think this will no be repeated.

camelfinger · 25/10/2020 11:05

I don’t think it will, utterly hated it first time round. The only hope I have this time is that people are slightly more prepared now, and teachers have a slightly better idea of what works online and what doesn’t. I have no idea how it will work with both of us wfh, as before. I think I would try to come up with a learning plan and try to get things done at the evenings and weekends, with them doing play based stuff during the day and being left to their own devices I guess.

Sonnenscheins · 25/10/2020 11:05

It cannot work.

It would massively disadvantage kids without support or space at home. The exams would mean nothing next year!

We need to keep schools open at (almost) all costs.

Greysparkles · 25/10/2020 11:09

My 12 & 10yo would be home alone, and would have to be trusted to log in and work off their owns backs.

They won't be the only ones, and to me I can't see that being a sufficient education.
If that's what it comes to, so be it. But lets not pretend that it's going to be any sort of true education. Even less a level playing field!

Exams need to be sorted now, and maybe whole years re-taught for some pupils.

Sonnenscheins · 25/10/2020 11:09

I honestly think that as a society we need to decide what to prioritise. If it's our kids' education then yes, maybe it will mean making sacrifices elsewhere.

OliveTree75 · 25/10/2020 11:11

@Qasd

It wouldn’t significant number of schools didn’t provide anything meaningful the first time round either, unless two or three twinkle worksheets with no handing in or marking counts as “learning”.

Realistically if we sit schools we end education.. those who use fancy terms like “moving learning online” or “blended learning” might be convincing themselves but we have a lot of evidence of zero education for many children and young people taking place between March and July there is no reason AT ALL to think this will no be repeated.

Completely agree with this.
OpheliasCrayon · 25/10/2020 11:11

@Hazelnutlatteplease

Cos it's a better option than the NHS becoming overrun.
Is it?

Would you like to back that up?

And in your answer would you like to account for the following :

The fact that children are not in school and therefore are not being taught by trained professionals.

They are not spending time with their peers which is vital for their mental health and well being.

The large majority of children who I teach and who I asked what they were doing during lockdown, stated that they did no work and played games consoles for 6 months.

Disadvantaged children have no access to food in school (and the government won't provide).

Children who live in abusive homes have no means of support and we cannot carry out essential safeguarding.

Most parents (myself included and I am a specialist teacher!!) Cannot successfully teach their own children.

Another set of exams will be wrecked and another cohort of lives will be changed, often for the worse, as a result.

Parents mental health along with that of their children will decline.

The average age of death is 82, from covid. (I am disabled don't tell me that I don't care about others' lives)

Blended learning is a total fallacy and does not work. So when schools shut there is no effective teaching.

Children with SEND and their parents are left to struggle at home, often I'm violent and extremely challenging situations.

Suicides increase due to adverse mental health.

"Cos it's a better option than the NHS being overrun" is not a satisfactory answer.

WrongKindOfFace · 25/10/2020 11:12

Apparently the number of laptops some schools were getting has been cut (some schools may have seen an increase?). I don’t suppose that will help with home learning. www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-54675620

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 25/10/2020 11:12

@Hazelnutlatteplease

Cos it's a better option than the NHS becoming overrun.
Exactly. Education can be caught up on and you would think the majority of parents would ensure the remote learning was complied with for the sake of their children.

It’s not just the treatment of Covid, it’s everything else the nhs treats. I’d rather have healthcare for my children when needed than them sat at a desk doing what could be done at home.

Plenty of younger people, including school staff, have been very ill or worse. It’s not just about the over eighty.

lazylinguist · 25/10/2020 11:12

Because people go on the basis of whether it works for them, and it did work for some people. It's been very obvious throughout the pandemic how surprisingly little idea many people have of the fact that other people's situations are not identical to theirs (or at least how little they care) about others' situations). Home learning worked absolutely fine for us, but I am well aware that it didn't for many.

Sonnenscheins · 25/10/2020 11:12

At least keep years 10,11,12 and 13 in school. With exams coming up next Summer, you cannot send them all home - many would fall massively behind and social inequality would increase for the next generation.

Sonnenscheins · 25/10/2020 11:15

Cos it's a better option than the NHS becoming overrun

Is it though?

We have to make some sacrifices in order to keep the young generation in education. The question is, how many?

Sonnenscheins · 25/10/2020 11:15

Exactly. Education can be caught up on and you would think the majority of parents would ensure the remote learning was complied with for the sake of their children.

Sadly that is wishful thinking.

eeeyoresmiles · 25/10/2020 11:19

So if we don't think it works, why are we going for policies that force it to happen in an uncontrolled and haphazard way?

That's what we've got at the moment - schools closing year groups anyway due to sickness and isolation. Some kids are going to be massively disadvantaged by this by the end of the year.

Better safety measures in school, better testing and tracing, investment in systems so schools can respond agilely to local infection rates and flexibly move some learning online and then back offline as needed - all of those things would help to keep schools open and education full time.

SueEllenMishke · 25/10/2020 11:22

Exactly. Education can be caught up on and you would think the majority of parents would ensure the remote learning was complied with for the sake of their children.

Have you any idea how difficult that is for some people.
Home schooling pretty much broke me the first time round and I had quite a bit of flexibility work wise ( I was ridiculously busy but had flexibility around hours)
How on earth can families with two working parents also homeschool? I can't teach my university students and my six year old at the same time.

Kerberos · 25/10/2020 11:23

Remote learning worked well for us but we were "lucky" that DP was on furlough and I'm working from home.

We were all relieved when school started again (and they're far happier for being back in school) but what was interesting for me to watch was the shift for my kids from education being something that was done to them, to being something they took responsibility for themselves.

I don't think it was a total disaster for us but can imagine how it was for some. And yes, there was a lot of xbox going on too.

Sonnenscheins · 25/10/2020 11:24

How on earth can families with two working parents also homeschool? I can't teach my university students and my six year old at the same time.

Not only that, but sadly many teens don't have access to laptops or computers or even space to work well at home.

lazylinguist · 25/10/2020 11:25

At least keep years 10,11,12 and 13 in school. With exams coming up next Summer, you cannot send them all home - many would fall massively behind and social inequality would increase for the next generation.

Yes but they are the year groups who can be at home without their parents needing to be off work to supervise them. I'm not defending it educationally - I'm a teacher with a Year 11 dd. But it's just not practical for working parents.

Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies · 25/10/2020 11:25

It’s obviously important that GCSE and A level pupils continue to attend school, to avoid a repeat of the summer (I had GCSE and A Level children).

But the youngest end of our schools also need to be in. I teach Year 1 & 2, and they have been absolute troopers this term... but they desperately need to be in class.

And I’m sure that if I taught Year 4 or Year 8, or had children in these years I would believe that they too needed the structure of classroom teaching.

School needs to be just that - old fashioned in-classroom learning*. And I say this as an older, fatter teacher who has very vulnerable parents.

*Obviously, proper home schooling is a different animal.

Tfoot75 · 25/10/2020 11:28

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IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 25/10/2020 11:28

I suspect all those wanting schools open and their children not at home would still want access to the NHS.