Longer school days to make up for lost learning

[StitchInLime]

Source: Various newspapers, give it a Google (admittedly with a right wing lean)

Apparently one of the options being considered, nothing set in stone of course but for the purposes of discussion...

AIBU to feel both joy and sadness at the prospect of this (joy for me so I can claw back work hours, joy for children so they can claw back some school time but sadness for my teacher friends and all teachers who will need to add more hours to already heavy workload).

I know the government has given all state funded schools additional money but it must be used for catch up learning, nothing else. They also offered a National Tutoring catch up service where government would pay 75% of catch up tutoring and schools could use some of their catch up fund to pay the remaining 25%. This could be in small groups at school either before or after school. My foster sons school is refusing to use this service, not telling parents how their catch up funds will be used and not offering any catch up at all. They decided not to teach any BTEC Sport for Year 10 for a whole term and very reduced Science. It only started after Xmas and we are not told how this whole term of learning will be caught up. I would welcome after school catch up classes if offered. At the moment child is having 3 hours after school tutoring at home online but he worries his year group has fallen behind and they will not catch up in time for exams following year. He likes learning and would have tutor every night if he could.

@yomommasmomma

I already do those hours in the evening when my kids are in bed. Where would you like me to fit these extra ones in?

[quote Nicknamegoeshere]@yomommasmomma Do these private sector workers get paid for the extra hours they do?[/quote]
Yes 100% they should get paid for all the additional hours they work. We have already spent billions in this crisis, so we may as well carry on.

@ElliFAntspoo Most definitely. I've been a lone parent for years but refuse to let that get in the way. My 13 yo (August born) is in the top 5% of his year group in a selective school. I also work ft. Very proud of him indeed
I think it's about priorities a lot of the time.

[quote Countdowntonothing]@yomommasmomma

So when would I do the work I normally do in the evenings? [/quote]
Why do you currently do it in the evenings? Why not between 3pm and 5pm?

@yomommasmomma Does this include teachers? The unpaid hours they put in already are many.

[quote Countdowntonothing]@yomommasmomma

So when would I do the work I normally do in the evenings? [/quote]
Temporarily, while the catch up session are on, you will have to do more in the evenings/weekends. We all have busy times at work.

@yomommasmomma I hope this doesn't shock you too much, but quite a few teachers have children of their own?

My foster sons school is refusing to use this service, not telling parents how their catch up funds will be used and not offering any catch up at all.

If it's anything like our school, we didn't know how much money we'd get, when we'd get it, who we were "allowed" to spend it on. By the time we did, lockdown happened again. Please don't blame the schools for not starting catch up tutoring yet.

Why do you currently do it in the evenings? Why not between 3pm and 5pm?

The kids don’t leave till 3.30. Between 3.30-5.30/6 I’m marking/planning/doing assessment/staff or planning meetings, contacting parents etc. This isn’t enough time to get it all done though, so I finish it in the evenings.

@yomommasmomma I'm working 3-5pm on school stuff too! So that time isn't available either....

[quote Nicknamegoeshere]@yomommasmomma I hope this doesn't shock you too much, but quite a few teachers have children of their own?[/quote]
So does everyone else, who are already working crazy hours. If this is required to get all our children back on track, why not at least give it a go and see if it helps? Work longer hours temporarily and I agree teachers should absolutely be paid handsomely for it.

God forbid any teachers actually get any time to spend with their own children!!!!

You do the work at home in the evenings, after your children are in bed. That's exactly what most people in private sector jobs do.

And most teachers do that anyway during normal times. Work for a couple of hours after school (including meetings etc) and then come home and still do some work in the evenings and weekends (and plenty of people in the private sector don’t work in the evenings or weekends-I never did when I was private sector and I earned more back then). All this would mean is that corners would have to be cut somewhere to make up for the lost hours to extra teaching. People underestimate just how much goes on behind the scenes to get lessons running the best that they can and also underestimate how draining it can be to teach back to back lessons.
For those claiming they have family and friends who never need to work in the evenings or weekends, might like to think what gets dropped to allow that to happen or more probably, they don’t really have a clue exactly what someone does work wise. I mean, no one really knows what goes in to every second of every person’s day anyway.

The lessons themselves and marking are usually the areas to suffer if no time is spent by a teacher outside of the actual lessons themselves...
so it really depends on what is important to you. Good quality teaching and learning during the school day, with opportunity of fun after school clubs to boost wellbeing and/or catching up on socialisation or a longer school day consisting of half planned lessons and work that isn’t marked etc. with children exhausted and put off learning and teachers and other school staff burning out.

[quote HercwasanEnemyofEducation]@yomommasmomma

I already do those hours in the evening when my kids are in bed. Where would you like me to fit these extra ones in?[/quote]
They are trolling. Part of the entitlement mentality. Just ignore.

@Letseatgrandma

Why do you currently do it in the evenings? Why not between 3pm and 5pm?

The kids don’t leave till 3.30. Between 3.30-5.30/6 I’m marking/planning/doing assessment/staff or planning meetings, contacting parents etc. This isn’t enough time to get it all done though, so I finish it in the evenings.

So on a Temporary basis while we need the longer school/catch up session, you have to work longer hours. Again this is what those of us in the private sector do, during the periods of time when we are extra busy. It's normal......

The reports I’ve read on this say it won’t be teachers facilitating this but community groups and volunteers

Unfortunately that's often said about various initiatives ... until the "alternatives" fail to work out and it becomes just one more thing the teachers are expected to do

FWIW I'd back the idea of a longer school day, but the issue is how it could be made to work

@Nicknamegoeshere

God forbid any teachers actually get any time to spend with their own children!!!!

Same problem faced by everyone who works full time

and I agree teachers should absolutely be paid handsomely for it.

Well, we all know they won’t be paid handsomely for it, so it won’t actually ever be happening.

Best thing the government could do is invest in smaller class sizes. That won’t happen either.

@Doublefaced

‘My question was would they work longer to catch up with missed appts and ops? I haven’t yet seen a request from the govt to do this’

The government don’t have to appeal to HCPs to step up.
Who the hell do you think has been rolling out the vaccination programs? Who has answered workforce appeals within their own trusts and organisations to cover the THOUSANDS of infected, isolating and post COVID vacancies that are happening every day? Who has been redeployed into the most needed clinical settings? Sometimes without any knowledge or experience of the speciality they have been moved to? But yeah. Don’t let the fact that HCPs across the country have been going above and beyond for the last year without needing a ‘government appeal’ stop you from spouting rubbish

I asked a similar question upthread but why is it acceptable that our natural expectation is for nhs staff to be working hours this long, because our basic system does not have the resources to provide services that are adequately staffed normally and has extra capacity at times of normal peak demand?

This attitude of everyone should be stepping up and killing themselves (wording intentional) by working 60+ hours a week otherwise they are not doing their duty is appalling. Its the expectation that this is a basic level of doing the job thats not right.

In the longer term it will lead to further problems due to poor retention of staff and long term sickness due to stress (which is expensive) and chronic staffing problems.

It's not a solution. Not even during a pandemic.

One reason Germany has fared better overall is because its had more slack in the system.

Ultimately it comes back to this 'its not my problem / responsibility' attitude not matching demand / expectations and an unwillingness to pay for services properly.

Of course the whole thing with the nhs not coping will lead to higher uptake of private health insurance and bigger profits for tory mps who have vested financial interests in private health (which is a massive conflict of interest) and a two tier system

Maybe we could take a few weeks out of the summer holidays instead of extending the school day?

So does everyone else, who are already working crazy hours. If this is required to get all our children back on track, why not at least give it a go and see if it helps? Work longer hours temporarily and I agree teachers should absolutely be paid handsomely for it.

Don't know how you meant this to be read. I absolutely agree that all parents should be working the extra time they need to help their children with their education. It's their fucking job to educate, feed and protect their children. If they cannot be arsed to do it, who gives them the right to expect someone else to do it for them?

@yomommasmomma Teachers will not be paid for the extra hours, and certainly not "handsomely." I should have been a solicitor!!!