Boris to make imminent announcement on schools, any guesses?!

[Adviceneededalways]

Do we think an extension delaying opening or is he going to try and get children back in sooner...

I have to say I think the latter would be a fucking disaster but I wouldn’t be at all surprised...

Ah didn't read the whole thread as I saw the announcement was not until 5pm. I thought he'd said 8 March yesterday not today as my step dad mentioned it earlier. Headache.

@ElliFAntspoo

Just something that I always think about when people make similar points about war times etc. I don't think there was such thing as blitz spirit or if there was it wasn't quite as rosy as some would like it to be.

Except I don't think when the the bombers were lying over England and everyone was blacked out with tapes up windows and huddled in the cold around candles, I don't think the blitzpricks were out in the streets with torches waving in the air and shouting, 'Here we are!' at the planes overhead.

Who says that each generation isn't getting stupider and stupider?

People were fined all the time for having their black out curtains open at night. Believe me stupidity is not a generational thing.

Also wasn't "blitz spirit" something made up by the war propaganda office at the time?

@HazeyJaneII

Keir Starmer has said vaccinate teachers over half term and reopen schools Thank god - someone with a brain at last

That wouldn't stop community spread, and that is why schools were closed to the majority of children.

As Boris responded - it’s scientists who have decided the timeline for who gets vaccinated and when. Why should politicians interfere with this, and take the vaccine away from elderly/vulnerable people who really need it to give to (largely youngish and fit) teachers.

They should have prioritised vaccinating keyworkers like they have done in China.

Personally I hope years 12 and 10 can go back asap.

@ChimaeraEgg

It means the genuinely exempt now feel extra stress going into supermarkets and the possibility of being confronted, and it ruins it for those genuinely struggling.

It isn't up to you to decide who is genuinely struggling or genuinely exempt.

If someone says they're struggling then I believe them. I'd rather be kind to someone who was taking the piss than be an arsehole to someone who was "genuine".

That's the problem every Tom Dick and Harriet can claim 'exemption' and refuse to wear a mask without any proof, it makes a mockery of the whole mask thing. One's supposed to have a blue badge to park in a disabled parking space, an officially issued document, one can't randomly decide . Exemptions should need to prove their 'exemption' or stay at home.

Can someone explain to me how exactly it will help vaccinating a teacher on Friday afternoon of the half term holiday, when they will back in a classroom full of 30+ unvaccinated pupils on the Monday morning.

And how will that help the CEV parent who has now been bumped down the list to fit the teachers in. So their child could bring home the virus from another pupil

@SonjaMorgan

They should have prioritised vaccinating keyworkers like they have done in China.

Personally I hope years 12 and 10 can go back asap.

Do you believe anything or everything coming out of China?

@Kljnmw3459

In about 100 years time when our grandchildren are going through another pandemic they will be talking about how their grandparents stoically just got on with things without complaints in the 2020-21 pandemic......probably they'll talk about how the country came together and there was an overwhelming community spirit helping everyone to get through it....

Just something that I always think about when people make similar points about war times etc. I don't think there was such thing as blitz spirit or if there was it wasn't quite as rosy as some would like it to be.

I think people had very different wars due to all sorts of circumstances. My mother always said she had a great war, well paid job in a factory instead of a pittance for domestic work, a glamorous GI boyfriend. My MIL had a whirlwind romance, he got a weekend leave and they got married, he was injured and died of his injuries at 28 after the war ended, she couldn't talk about the war without crying. I remember an aunt on my stepfathers side saying how they all had suicide pills in case the German's invaded, my mother said she'd never heard anything like that. Same war, same country, same demographic (working class women in the same age group) but they told very different stories. My mother was so positive about it I grew up thinking I'd missed out by being born to late.

@Hardbackwriter

In the "new" building we had murals and plaques and regularly had assemblies and alumni come to speak about that time.

Do you think there's any chance that plaques and assemblies for primary school children are not always the absolute repository of historical truth? That there's maybe a teensy, tiny chance they might whitewash things?

I'm not sure why a 'story' (as you would imply) that instills morals and resilience and community spirit would ever be a bad thing.

I'm also not sure why some people of my generation think that somehow their flappy 'oh no I couldn't possibly' behaviour is acceptable simply because ... human rights/civil liberties/freedom of speech/I can do what the fuck I want with no consequences.

In an ideal world I would like everyone to be as adult as possible and community spirited as possible. Which means asking for help when you need it, digging deeper when you can, and giving wherever and whenever possible.

I realise that is a Utopian dream, but people calling me unfair and deluded are possibly that themselves.

@HazeyJaneII

Keir Starmer has said vaccinate teachers over half term and reopen schools Thank god - someone with a brain at last

That wouldn't stop community spread, and that is why schools were closed to the majority of children.

But it would give an excuse to all the idiots in society to run around spreading the virus, and it would make sure all the parents with poor physiologies got a quick first hand experience with Covid.

Imagine how a child will feel if he catches something at school and gives it to mummy or daddy and mummy or daddy die?

I don't think a few years out of school is going to compromise our children's education. I do think it may create a bigger spread between the capable and the incompetent and bone idle. But that can only be a good thing for an economy that is trying to recover and compete on the world stage. Anything that separates the capable from the incapable in a world where qualifications aren't worth the paper they are printed on is a good thing.

Personally I think we're better off with safer children and a lower mortality rate than another generation like the one that's out there right now.

sonjamorgan - why should they have prioritised vaccinating keyworkers? My IL's are very likely to die if they get covid but my 20 year old key worker son wont. He is more likely to get something similar to flu.

I still dont fully understand why teachers should be prioritised? yes if they are 50+ or have underlying health conditions. But what is the logic for a young teacher to be vaccinated over and above any other key worker or an older person? They were saying that taxi drivers, health workers and factory workers were the most likely working groups to die

I'm not sure why a 'story' (as you would imply) that instills morals and resilience and community spirit would ever be a bad thing.

Because maybe one of those children listening would grow up to be the sort of sanctimonious person lacking in empathy who would use the story to berate struggling mothers on the internet for not being as 'resilient' as her fantasy of the past? If it makes you feel happy to believe that moaning was invented in 1963 then fine, but if you're using it to try and make other people feel guilty for their legitimate feelings then you're the one at fault, not them.

@TheKeatingFive

Threads have already been discussed here about extra classes over the summer holidays, for example. The general consensus was "oh I couldn't POSSIBLY have my children do any work over the summer".

Hmm, it’s not parents objecting to summer classes in my experience.

I think kids could do with a summer of fun and playing with their friends out in the fresh air. Good for their bodies and their mental health.

@ineedaholidaynow

Can someone explain to me how exactly it will help vaccinating a teacher on Friday afternoon of the half term holiday, when they will back in a classroom full of 30+ unvaccinated pupils on the Monday morning.

And how will that help the CEV parent who has now been bumped down the list to fit the teachers in. So their child could bring home the virus from another pupil

When we already know it takes 2 weeks for the vaccines to become active in the body, can someone explain how all these teachers are going to be vaccinates on the weekend the schools were meant to break up? Or are they actually all going to go back to school still susceptible to being really damaged by Covid, and this is in fact just a paper exercise to pretend something is actually being done to placate people? Is this just another Potemkin village for us all to look at and say, "Oooo. Look how well they did that?"

@Hardbackwriter

I'm not sure why a 'story' (as you would imply) that instills morals and resilience and community spirit would ever be a bad thing.

Because maybe one of those children listening would grow up to be the sort of sanctimonious person lacking in empathy who would use the story to berate struggling mothers on the internet for not being as 'resilient' as her fantasy of the past? If it makes you feel happy to believe that moaning was invented in 1963 then fine, but if you're using it to try and make other people feel guilty for their legitimate feelings then you're the one at fault, not them.

I haven't though.

I've said be honest with yourself about whether you're sending kids to school/breaking lockdown rules/want kids back at school etc etc for selfish reasons or because you really are at the end of your rope.

That's all I've said.

I don't know why we always deify wartime Britons as our examples of resilience and community spirit anyway.

The emotional fallout of stoicism was massive and the trauma suffered immense. The difference is back then it wasn't acceptable to talk about it. Personally I'm glad people are "whinging" as I fear the consequences to their mental health if they bottled it all up would be a lot worse.

Review during half term, possibly back 8th March according to Sky

rules/want kids back at school etc etc for selfish reasons or because you really are at the end of your rope.

Selfish reasons such as...?

For those of you who think kids can't get this, a good friend of mine lives with her DP, he's divorced and has 2 DC.

His ex-DW caught Covid (she's a key worker) and her 2 sons, 8 and 11 caught Covid from her. One of the DS was in hospital on a ventilator but is out now.

@ChimaeraEgg

I don't know why we always deify wartime Britons as our examples of resilience and community spirit anyway.

The emotional fallout of stoicism was massive and the trauma suffered immense. The difference is back then it wasn't acceptable to talk about it. Personally I'm glad people are "whinging" as I fear the consequences to their mental health if they bottled it all up would be a lot worse.

Yes. The suffering was enormous.

FML.

Surely we should just die out as a species?

'I don't think a few years out of school is going to compromise our children's education. I do think it may create a bigger spread between the capable and the incompetent and bone idle. But that can only be a good thing for an economy that is trying to recover and compete on the world stage. Anything that separates the capable from the incapable in a world where qualifications aren't worth the paper they are printed on is a good thing.'

@ElliFAntspoo - I am not sure if this is tongue in cheek or serious?!

A few years out of school will not impact a childs education, in the same way 2 years on fags and burgers wont't impact my health.

It is not a case of the ' capable and the incompetent' it is also a huge case of the have's and have nots.

People seem to ignore the fact that not all children have a laptop, wifi and a dilligent parent who is willing / able to assist with theri schooling.

It is ok though, in the future the affluent will have the jobs and the feckless work shy plebs will have nowt.

@dreamingofsun

sonjamorgan - why should they have prioritised vaccinating keyworkers? My IL's are very likely to die if they get covid but my 20 year old key worker son wont. He is more likely to get something similar to flu.

I still dont fully understand why teachers should be prioritised? yes if they are 50+ or have underlying health conditions. But what is the logic for a young teacher to be vaccinated over and above any other key worker or an older person? They were saying that taxi drivers, health workers and factory workers were the most likely working groups to die

Because key workers are exposed to a higher volume of people and when infected are more likely to have been exposed to a much higher inoculum.

It is not about who is more likely to die, but who is more likely to die based on the dose of the infection they are likely to receive from the people they come into contact with.

I think it still takes 3 weeks from vaccination? So that’s March at the earliest and April if they need 2 doses?

@TheKeatingFive

Threads have already been discussed here about extra classes over the summer holidays, for example. The general consensus was "oh I couldn't POSSIBLY have my children do any work over the summer".

Hmm, it’s not parents objecting to summer classes in my experience.

Yeah, I don’t think I saw a single parent saying they didn’t want their kids to do any work over the summer, it was the teachers pointing out they weren’t paid.

If covid is still an issue next year, my preference would be to have a six week holiday over December and January, with teaching over this summer instead. Not ideal but it gets round the teachers’ salary concerns, and closes schools when respiratory illnesses are rife. I’m sure it would take a lot of logistical organisation to move the main holidays but I’m sure teachers will be flexible since there’s... ya know... a pandemic.