Am I missing the point here...

[kookykins]

I'm going to try and make this as measured as I can and try not to make it come across like a torrent of frustration.

Why is it that teachers are getting to say when schools go back? Why does it feel like teachers are constantly complaining about the virus? No one is an ideal situation right now so why does it feel like they are being allowed to 'opt out' of their careers now times are tough.

I work in a busy NHS hospital and It honestly sickens and saddens me that there are men and women, many parents relying on schools to open, relying on their children's education being properly resumed next week they are giving life saving treatment in dire situations every day. I haven't heard them complaining about having to come in and save lives work extra hours and a lot on low pay.

Teachers to an extent have chosen a career to support teach and mentor our children I feel when the going has got touch (very tough fair enough) they are opting out...however many of these teachers will expect ITU nurses to treat someone in their family who happens to get ill with this virus. How can this be? How is this ok?

I have friends who are teachers who don't feel like this and who want to get back to work but are very much being pulled along by the union so I don't want to paint all teachers with the same brush...

What happens to the children who need to go back to school, who need that hot meal that support that escape? Do they not matter?

Surely the children of this country are a higher priority right now?
Teachers and unions are being given insane amounts of power right now and I don't understand it. If we are all meant to 'be in it together' then why aren't we all cracking on like the next person and getting on with our jobs because we realise the impact if we don't...

Rant over...

Agreed op...there is a very skewed view on here which I doubt is what is the view in RL so I wouldn't read to much into it. As you said many teachers you know don't want this, that's what we should be focusing on not what a bunch of
Mnets say

[quote kookykins]@RigaBalsam thanks

It was something I heard and presumed couldn't be true...[/quote]
I am sure some people believe it.

I feel that schools going back at the moment, certainly in T4 will lead to the virus increasing and that in turn will make it more dangerous for all frontline workers. I'm secondary and I'll be in school supporting keyworker & vulnerable kids & setting work for kids at home, my job is significantly more difficult when we switch to remote learning, but I'm pleased we are because the risk to life from the NHS becoming overrun is significant if we don't.

I remember when nurses and HCA were being asked to work without adequate PPE their unions also supported them walking out under H&S legislation.

Its crap, but please focus on the absolute shitshow of a DfE that's forcing union action rather than expect teachers to work in unsafe conditions, we're not opting out, infection rates are 2-3% among school children, many asymptomatic carriers and we are spending all day with 30 of them in inadequately ventilated rooms without masks.

What are your thoughts on early years teachers and practitioners who cannot distance from the children. These children are all over the adult and shouting/ crying/ coughing in their faces.
Wearing a mask does not protect the adult from this and these young children are not wearing masks.

Is it true that some teachers in secondary schools also get a day off in late November to 'shop'? I heard this over Xmas and couldn't believe my ears...

In my school sadly not, but my husbands school does this. Basically every school must have 5 inset days each year. One of those inset days in places towards the end of November and a ‘morale boosting’ initiative, the staff are given a choice:

1. You can do your normal inset training on that day in November.

Or

1. You can swap it and do your 6 hours after school, so for instance the school might arrange first aid training between 3.30 and 6.30pm in January and perhaps safeguarding training on another date for 2-3 hours after school in March. Then you effectively get the Nov inset day to spend as you like.

Do you don’t have any ‘additional’ time off and it’s usually used as a morale tick box exercise.

I feel sad for every single person working in this pandemic right now...

It's not ideal for any person

What to do...

I’m an peripatetic teacher and am utterly sick to death of this Hokey Cokey. As I’m self employed I’ve only been able to earn about 20% of what I’d normally earn doing zoom lessons since March.

I was allowed back into one of my schools (I normally visit 10 in a week) after October half term for face to face lessons, built up some hours and now that looks unlikely to continue. Sick to death of the uncertainty is an understatement 😡

I’ve accepted the fact I’m just going to have to get another job.

Apologies too, we should all be supporting eachother more than we are doing

@lunalucie

Interesting to watch what happens with the teachers because I'm sure if they are successful it opens up a can of worms for other essential workers. Pretty soon we can expect retail, postal, transport and utility sector workers to do the same and why shouldn't they? You can argue that nhs staff have signed up for this (something I don't personally agree with) but the other essential workers haven't the same as the teachers. I support anyone's right to walk out of an unsafe working environment as long as people don't moan when everyone else starts doing it.

To be fair, teachers are prepared to work from home. I agree it's not particularly "fair" from your view point. Those sectors you mention are set up with almost zero employee rights or benefits; zero hour contracts, agency staff and subcontracted work means refusing to attend work means you get no pay and are out of a job without any legal repercussions.

It sucks but they do not have a voice.

Should say ‘a peripatetic’ not ‘an’

To be fair, teachers are prepared to work from home.

How on earth does a Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 teacher effectively work from home?!

If all your friends who are teachers don't think like this and aren't choosing to "opt out" of their careers, where have you developed the opinion of teachers you state in your OP?

Try living in your real world and don't get bogged down by Mumsnet.

@Coolieloach I didn't realise some teachers weren't being paid their normal wage either sorry to hear this

@PerfectPearl

The unions have very little power even if they have air time. If they had we might have not have returned to full schools and no measures that would do anything much to limit any viral spread. Certainly nothing that would work as infection control.
Everyone in my department has had Covid as a consequence and many children have taken it home to their families. One child has lost three close family members - I wonder whether that could have been avoided had the return been under distanced conditions with all secondary pupils in school, following a rota with no resultant need for isolations. More pupils could have been taught more reliably and still could be. In many schools the amount of cover and chaos has made fools of anyone who believes this is putting children first. Teachers usually want to do this and it’s small wonder that the government hasn’t because it has done so little to help the most vulnerable pupils before or during the pandemic. Now all pupils are a little more vulnerable they continue to make decisions that fail to put them first.
The teachers I know want to be in school and want to be able to teach safely and meaningfully.

You are missing the point. There are an awful lot of schools and a lot of teachers. If they all go back the virus will spread more quickly and teachers will be off sick. Some of them will be in ICU beds weighing down an already struggling NHS. The virus will mutate faster.
I am a ta. I will either be going back to sit next to children to hear them read, help them with their handwriting/maths/sheet glueing in etc or I will be supervising key worker children. I don’t care either way what I do. But you have missed the point.

Us4them have been busy today.

So many goady fuckers saying the same thing. So much passive aggression.

We see you. We know what you are.

I agree OP. Thousands and thousands of NHS and nursing home staff getting on with it. Not all life saving. A lot of the work being done to improve people's quality of life eg. Podiatrists, physiotherapists etc. We can't just leave people without or let the waiting lists get worse. It's impossible to work with children and not have close contact but you try to reduce the risks and get on with it. I think teachers should be able to wear the same PPE paediatric staff wear and get the vaccine early but education is as essential as a lot of NHS work for children.

@Nikhedonia

To be fair, teachers are prepared to work from home.

How on earth does a Reception, Year 1 or Year 2 teacher effectively work from home?!

Well yes you're right. It's almost completely reliant on parental home schooling, so disastrous for huge numbers of children and hugely detrimental to disadvantaged children.

I was simply pointing out that teachers aren't refusing to work per se. (in reply to a poster suggesting that other industries could refuse to attend an "unsafe work environment".)

My husband works in New build construction - large numbers of trades in each plot (inside the building) under huge pressure to hit building targets. No ppe, no distancing or covid measures in place. If they refuse to work, they are out of work, no pay and no job to return to, simple as that.

It's not a race to the bottom of course but schools are not the only unsafe environment as Op is pointing out.

The unions have very little power
But individuals do - they have the power to refuse to work under unsafe conditions. I sadly feel we’re approaching the point where teachers will start weighing their jobs against their lives and their families lives and end up quitting. Because it’s no longer just a tiring job, or an underpaid job, or a stressful job - it’s a life threatening job. Then the country really will be up shit creek.

I agree teachers are as essential as nhs workers...

@kookykins

Out of interest.

1. Can you see that the R rate rises when schools are fully open to all pupils face-to-face?

1. Do you understand the impact of this on the wider community? And by extension, the NHS?

1. What would you have us do? And how could we do it whilst preventing such a rise in cases?

Genuinely asking.

@SmileyClare this! Thanks!

If I do not go to work next week because my year one child needs me at home to home school her they will be one person down for however long. I will probably get paid Carers leave maybe for a week but that's it then.

There are thousands of parents like me and we simply do not know what ours and our children's lives will look like next week...but my manager will be expecting me back at work ASAP!

My DD asked me if she was going to be going to school next week and I said I don't know because I actually don't even know what's happening...

What an impossible situation...

@DecemberSun

I think you need to read the full post

Also, not sure if I’ve missed it, but can you not get a key workers place for your child? @kookykins