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).

[quote Nicknamegoeshere]@yomommasmomma On your salary have you considered a private tutor?[/quote]
Or holiday clubs/camps?!

I won't support this for ks1 pupils. Any additional hours will be wasted as theyve had enough by 3pm, and very little learning will be achieved.
I echo what a lot of other people have said, I do understand that reading, writing, maths etc are important, but all the other subjects have been pushed to the side. Not to mention extra curricular groups, sports, etc.
My younger child is in year 2. Yet she has not experienced anything at school or hardly anything, such as a sports day, or a school trip, or assemblies, school plays, parent art days, dress up days, after school clubs, Christmas parties, whole class birthday parties. Because she was off for most of year 1 and has yet to experience a normal year 2. It's all very unfair and sad and you can't get this time back. The government need to take all this into consideration going forward or else a whole generation of students will emerge who don't have a love or interest in learning because it has become boring and tedious. It's quite worrying

As a teaching assistant I'm working more than my usual hours plus juggling a family so I won't be doing it, but luckily there have been so many 'experts' on schooling they won't be short of volunteers! 😁

Words almost fail me, that we have someone who works fewer hours than most teachers, but whose salary is 3-4 times theirs, should seriously come on here and suggest we should work even harder and longer than we already are.

Fuck me!

A vocation doesn’t mean you have to flog your guts out more than you already do, to suit people on four times your salary.

I don't think the school days should be extended. Definitely not for primary kids. Maybe some targeted catch up for year 10 and 12 maybe.

What I do think we should prioritise is outdoor activities for kids - even before schools go back. I run a beaver group and the kids get so much out of the meetings - we could do meetings outside only (that's what we did Aug-Nov) but they would get exercise and social engagement.

You won't need to feel sorry for teachers, they will quit in droves. I will anyway

[quote Nicknamegoeshere]@yomommasmomma On your salary have you considered a private tutor?[/quote]
Yes, but I don't want a stranger in my house at the moment. We need face time face teaching and support from their teachers, not more zoom!

they will quit in droves. I will anyway
Always the promise but never happens.

@yomommasmomma

To answer some question, I am not a troll, I have been in MN a long time and I am giving my opinion.

I think teachers should be paid a lot more than they currently are, to reflect the importance of their jobs.

I get paid £115k per annum, which I know is a lot more than teachers and that's why I think they should be paid more.

I do think that teachers are capable of working longer hours to cover a temporary national crisis and support the nations children's learning. I don't think they should have to do longer hours forever but for a period of time they can do it and cope with the sacrifices it will bring. I know they can because I do it myself.

And yes I am very actively involved in educating my children (obviously currently I am home schooling fully) and agree that the responsibility to educate them is mine.

Maybe if teachers were paid £115K it would be reasonable to expect them to work more hours, but for a quarter of that, no way.

@Letseatgrandma

A vocation doesn’t mean you have to flog your guts out more than you already do, to suit people on four times your salary.

No. A vocation is when you get up in the morning and you absolutely love doing your job, even when it's hard and leaves you shattered. I do my job because I love it. That doesn't mean people get to take advantage because they have been raised to selfish and believe they are entitled.

Yes, but I don't want a stranger in my house at the moment. We need face time face teaching and support from their teachers, not more zoom!

But what about in the summer holidays? Why not pay for extra then, on your salary (and presumably your husband’s additional salary too)?

At what point do those who think teachers should be willing to work extra hours draw the line?

If most are working 50+ hours per week already, what more do you want to ask of them? Another 5 hours? Would an 11 hour day be enough? Or do you want an extra 2 hours per day?

I’m really interested to know where people think the limit should be.

I am currently teaching. In my class a group of 5 children have returned recently - obvs the last time they were in was before Xmas, bar the first day in January. They were acting really unusually, e.g., lots of tics, unconsciously humming, forgetting to speak to adults and children, miming requests. When I speak to them I realise they are permanently stuck inside, not even been in the back garden.These children need to play again, socialise, talk, play in the mud, be free. They do not need more education. They need freedom and people and fresh air.

@EmmanuelleMakro

they will quit in droves. I will anyway Always the promise but never happens.

Annual statistics disagree with you.

[quote ElliFAntspoo]**@yomommasmomma

I realise there is a big wage discrepancy, which I think should be corrected.
Well, that is easily remedied. Just donate 50% to your local school. Will you? No. Of course not.

But I just don't see why teachers can't do a bit more on top of all the amazing things they currently do, platitude as long as they are paid for it. and the punch in the face.

I also so think there is something in the fact that teaching is a vocational job. another platitude. Surely teachers went in to it to help children and because they love doing so, the build up to a guilt trip so I would think there would be more appetite to push themselves a bit more to support the children further. and there it is. Another punch in the face.

I do my job because it is very challenging and because they pay me well for it, it's not a vocation. followed by an attempt at distracting from what has just been said with false humility.

@yomommasmomma - Why not explain to the rest of us why you feel so entitled and expect other people to parent your children for you? Educating your children is YOUR responsibility. You knew this when they were born. You don't get to shirk your responsibilities as a parent by earning more than others and trying to justify your entitled behaviour with platitudes.[/quote]
I already donate to many charities including my local school.

If it is solely my responsibility to educate my children, why do we need schools at all then?

@yomommasmomma I'm still waiting for any response from you regarding teachers who are already working your extended hours permanently? What will they do?

They are quitting in droves in maths. Can't get decent maths staff round here at all.

@Whiskas1Kittens

I am currently teaching. In my class a group of 5 children have returned recently - obvs the last time they were in was before Xmas, bar the first day in January. They were acting really unusually, e.g., lots of tics, unconsciously humming, forgetting to speak to adults and children, miming requests. When I speak to them I realise they are permanently stuck inside, not even been in the back garden.These children need to play again, socialise, talk, play in the mud, be free. They do not need more education. They need freedom and people and fresh air.

Absolutely this.

Don't forget those holidays aren't paid....!

Fizzy, but don’t forget teachers are not paid for the holidays...their pay is spread over 12 months, but they are paid for 195 days in school.

And many work multiple weeks if their holiday.

Fizzy, how many hours a week do you think a teacher should work in term time? Do you think 50+ is the right amount? What about 60? If they are already doing that, and need to provide catch up classes after school or at the weekend, how many more hours do you think should be the limit?

I love the "vocation" trope being levelled at public sector staff Does anyone actually buy this manipulative twaddle?!

@FizzyPepsi

All the talk about teachers working 60 hour weeks never takes into account that they have longer holidays than virtually any other profession on the planet.

I suspect a lot of people would be quite happy to work more hours if they were being offered 12 or 13 weeks' holiday a year.

Why are you calling them holidays? It's the children who have holidays? Teachers aren't contracted to work them, and it's too expensive to pay them to work them. It's like someone whose contract is for 12 weeks working for 16 without extra pay, or someone who works Mon-Thurs now being required to work Fridays for no extra pay.

@ChloeDecker

Yes, but I don't want a stranger in my house at the moment. We need face time face teaching and support from their teachers, not more zoom!

But what about in the summer holidays? Why not pay for extra then, on your salary (and presumably your husband’s additional salary too)?

I don't want my children being educated alone anymore, they need the social interaction that comes with being educated as part of a group. The children of this country need some more face to face time with their familiar teachers and their peers. Teachers can provide this easily during the holidays (or by working extra hours during the week, holiday school is my preference) and should be paid for doing so.

[quote HercwasanEnemyofEducation]@yomommasmomma I'm still waiting for any response from you regarding teachers who are already working your extended hours permanently? What will they do?

They are quitting in droves in maths. Can't get decent maths staff round here at all.[/quote]
Schools are there to provide basic education to everyone, no matter their standing in life.

They are not there to babysit you kids, or to give your kids a little extra top-up education because you are either incapable or unwilling to put in the work yourself.