Secondary school closure not a disaster

[Rowenasemolina]

In among all the doom laden unhappy threads, I just want to put the other side.

Some children prefer home learning , and do better

No teacher time is being wasted on bad behaviour, so the whole lesson is about the lesson.

Given that 25-50% of learning time in schools is wasted For the average child for the average week, there are positives to the current set up

And the school meals sent home are no worse than the school meals served on site. Maybe now the electorate will wake up to the absolute con of s a school meal system which takes millions of pounds and spends almost all of it on wages rather than food. School meals should be got rid of altogether

As a tutor, I would say around a quarter of my students say they prefer being in school, a quarter day they prefer being at home, and half vary in their feelings from day to day.

They certainly have less interruptions to their learning from badly behaved students at home though.

Not surprising, it is the parents of the badly behaved students that are Complaining most in our schools, and pushing hardest to get them back In

It's shit having older teens worried about exams.

My dd is y11 she was much more worried last term when she was constantly isolating. At least now she is getting taught to time table.

Lockdown can be both a positive and negative experience.
Most secondary school pupils I know have had improved mental health from the first lockdown. But obviously some really struggle without routine.

I think going forward, having a 4 day week or going home earlier would see massive improvements in the majority of pupils.

That's a terrible thing to say. There are plenty of well behaved students and their parents who desperately want school to re open to all pupils. Also please don't label some as "disruptive".

Some students are distributive though!
And if your DCs aren’t then ask them how annoying it is for them having to be in a classroom with these disruptive kids.

My children are suffering terribly from being at home - also for them they worked like stink to get into specialist schools for 6th form and are now losing that experience so for them it is the loss of the dream as well as the lack of social contact/time spent on screens/screen induced headaches etc.

@Londonmummy66

My children are suffering terribly from being at home - also for them they worked like stink to get into specialist schools for 6th form and are now losing that experience so for them it is the loss of the dream as well as the lack of social contact/time spent on screens/screen induced headaches etc.

I feel your pain. Specialist school for dd too. She’s in her final year.

@Delatron

I know you are trying to present this as a positive thread and I’m pleased that some children are happier.

It’s not doom mongering to be worried about your child’s mental health though. Many are struggling. What about the rates of child abuse sky rocketing as school is their safe haven? Is that doom mongering?

Have you read the other thread about all the children struggling? It’s heart breaking. I actually cried.

What a strange, short sighted thread.

Funny how the other thread was ok for people to post on saying how much their children were struggling. Surely people are also allowed to say there may be some children who are finding this lockdown the opposite ?

My teen is learning but says it's not as good as learning in class and she's getting sad. So it's not great long term.

This weekend I have been proof reading UCAS references for the Yr 13s in my form (vertical form). All want to head into medicine. None of them have had a ‘downer’ on the situation. Over the last year they have immersed themselves in as many online courses as they can in lieu of worn experience. I’m am proud of their resilience.

*I am

I’ve been very impressed too, as a parent I have the peace of mind knowing they are safe at home, their teachers and community safer and they aren’t missing out on education.

@starrynight19 not if they say it’s ‘doom mongering’ for people to say their child is struggling. Far more are struggling than enjoying it. It’s quite a short sighted thread.

And even if they are enjoying being at home. Most are sat in front of a screen all day. No kids clubs, no socialising. That’s not good for any child.
Even if you have a shy child they still need social interaction.

Actually my DS1 is enjoying it more than I thought. But for his overall health I know it would be better to be at school.

I can also take umbrage with the OP who very nastily claimed it’s the parents of the badly behaved kids who want their children in school. What rubbish!

It's not a full or varied curriculum at home. It is not possible to adequately teach art, PE, technology, food tech, dance, drama or even science. And, even if the kids can 'get more done' that doesn't mean it is a good option for them because covering some arbitrary curriculum content is not really what a good education is about.

But this wasn’t about being at home is better than normal school , of course is isn’t.

Great thread, OP.

Plenty of kids are absolutely fine and some are even thriving. I certainly would have as a teen (I skipped school a lot anyway as I hated the group learning environment - imagine if I could have learned at home!)

Lots of schools and teachers are doing a brilliant job of online teaching. Mine go to different schools and things are done differently but I'm hugely impressed.

So as with everything this pandemic and lockdown brings:
Works for some
Doesn't work for others

Our kids are adaptable, they can do both online and at school. They prefer at school, but being at home they are still learning, not as well cannot replace lab work and team sport.

Just do best we can with what we have.

My children are doing okay but there is no teacher support. They get the online lessons and a teacher is sitting in the room but can't help them because it's not their subject teacher.
This is especially true for the Y10 and Y11s. So even if they are in school there's no help if you fall behind /don't understand the work.
They need proper lessons, they need social interaction with peers, we as parents must be incredibly vigilant regarding mental health.
You might think children don't need to be back in secondary school but I disagree. Teenagers will grow up with no social skills (like resolving conflict, speaking in front of others), no mixing with a variety of people, no chance to catch up on missed education. Children need school and actually my kids are really good in school (much better than they are at home) so no it's not parents of disruptive children who want schools back. It's parents who care about their children.

My 11yo has been home since last March and it’s fantastic. Yes, she misses socializing, but academically, she is doing great. She logs into school every morning and follows a regular bell schedule. There is lots of project based work. She doesn’t have to deal with the stress she had from students who misbehaved in class or the sensory overload from noise. (She has ASD). Her grades are excellent. Her test scores are still top notch.

I get why it’s hard for parents of young children or parents of kids with certain kinds of disabilities are struggling. I don’t understand why families with NT secondary students are having finding it difficult unless their particular schools are doing poor jobs.

Oh and she has to give presentations to her classes on a regular basis so public speaking skills aren’t being lost.

I'm personally not finding education difficult - mine have full online live teaching. But they are not ASD, and they miss the hustle and bustle of socialising at school. They can't wait until school reopens, they love it there and thrive socially.

I totally agree OP. Even DD who hated it first time around is well settled now school have got their act together more. When she could meet up with a couple of friends now and then shed be perfectly content

@Rowenasemolina

In among all the doom laden unhappy threads, I just want to put the other side.

Some children prefer home learning , and do better

No teacher time is being wasted on bad behaviour, so the whole lesson is about the lesson.

Given that 25-50% of learning time in schools is wasted For the average child for the average week, there are positives to the current set up

And the school meals sent home are no worse than the school meals served on site. Maybe now the electorate will wake up to the absolute con of s a school meal system which takes millions of pounds and spends almost all of it on wages rather than food. School meals should be got rid of altogether

As a tutor, I would say around a quarter of my students say they prefer being in school, a quarter day they prefer being at home, and half vary in their feelings from day to day.

They certainly have less interruptions to their learning from badly behaved students at home though.

Not surprising, it is the parents of the badly behaved students that are Complaining most in our schools, and pushing hardest to get them back In

Your last part do you mean they are badly behaved at home? And won’t engage?

Tbh no issues here. Registers, does full school day live. Laughs with friends in breaks. Better than last time. But still good when they get to go back.

But overall I reckon secondary is better than online for early years. But I really feel for anyone who has dc who are struggling in any way.

And screens are ok but rl friendships are better. However between high infection rates and this - I’d go for this.

I also really feel for anyone not getting much provision.

Our school has been really good and the live lessons, where they respond, works well here.

My teenagers prefer it at home too.

Teens mental health improvement in lockdown.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-53884401