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).

@storminabuttercup

Not being goady here but every time the subject of teachers working extra hours comes up it's met with 'already working full time'. I totally get teachers don't work 9-3 there's marking etc, but we are not in normal times, when something needs doing in my job I work extra as do most I assume, doctors, nurses etc are all working crazy shifts. Why are some school staff so reluctant to do that bit extra? I'm not saying do it for free but I know a few who would happily work more to catch kids up.

Bit extra?!😂

I'm part time. On my unpaid days I spend anywhere between 4-10 hours doing school work. I've been part time for 20 years and every week for the last 20 years I've done the same. Over the course of the last 25 years teaching I estimate I have spent around £2000 (minimum) of my own money getting supplies for my classes. From resources to buying a hungry kid some lunch on a school trip.

It's all back to front. Instead of getting them to'catch up' to some arbitrary target, change what they need to be measured on. Especially primary. High school is essentially revisiting the same skills for 5-7 years. Everything else is just the method of delivery. For example, do kids at gcse need to study 2 plays, a novel and 18 fucking poems? Will they suffer terribly if they don't? Which periods of history are essential study, or is it just the skills? I didn't study Victorian health care or America and the West, but I was still able to do A levels.

The curriculum changes all the bloody time. Why is everyone obsessed by some imaginary target?

My son certainly won't be doing it, especially if it's not being staffed by proper teachers (not that they should have to make up the shortfall). I have bought age appropriate work/teaching books off Amazon, and I'll muddle through during weekends/evenings etc in the hope I can catch him up. Worst case scenario, I'd pay for a private tutor for a while.

@FizzyPepsi

Frankly the unions cannot have it both ways- they never wanted schools to reopen last June or September, called for them to be closed pretty much as soon as they reopened. Now they're refusing to co-operate with a gradual return from March.

What nonsense. Unions are - rightly - wanting things in place to protect the health of their members, not to obstruct schools being open. Stop getting your 'news' from Usforthem

I see our regular U4T troll has name changed again.

This is a bad idea for lots of reasons. Unless it is purely therapeutic art, sports etc. It should not be academic subjects.

Private school children have longer holidays to make up their "longer" days.

I'm a teacher working a horrendous amount of hours. My hourly rate is less than the covid testers in school on £10ph at the moment.

@FizzyPepsi

Lies.

Themoth, exactly!

It’s government driven shot that is making them ‘fall behind’ a government target.

Reset time .

@storminabuttercup

I certainly wasn't being goady. But surely not all teachers will feel the same and some may want the extra work and indeed pay.

No, you were implying many teachers are workshy and worse than other professionals. Not at all goady.

Of course some teachers want extra hours and extra pay. But you were commenting on the rest of us. Who think our current workload is plenty and know a lot more about it than you.

Yep l believe so. So stop moaning about the U.K.

Well seeing as home schooling mostly happens in the evenings and weekends in our house due to the demands of my full time job and ASD dc that’s a non starter for us.
However I’m at piece with the fact that my dc will be behind but guess what they have the rest of their lives to catch up.
Pressure needs to be reduced in children to achieve grades in school that’s what’s causing the many of the mental health problems. Education can and does continue once school which of course is a “one fits all” approach.

It is a ridiculous idea. Anyone who remotely understands children or cares for their welfare should oppose it.

Children are not machines, there is a reason the schools day is the way it is. With the terms as they are.

We have one of the most rigid educational systems in the world, obsessed with tests, tests, tests. A system where children have their education mapped out from EYFS assessments, Countries with better educational outcomes than us, start children later and are not obsessed with an inflexible curriculum.

What would be a better approach is, if we got a grip of ourselves, took the opportunity to reassess our abysmal educational system which is hugely outdated. Instead? No pushing for more institutionalised schooling to tick a box. Quantity over quality. Children do not learn well this way, it is a good way to completely destroy their mental health. When the time comes, they need the down time and extra curricular stuff more. They are not machines.

I'd be tempted to instruct teachers to participate with fire and re-hire on new teens a back up plan

Great idea. It'll be really easy to replace my 22 years of classroom teaching and 20 years as an examiner when I say "I'm afraid that isn't in my contract"

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Themoth, exactly!

It’s government driven shot that is making them ‘fall behind’ a government target.

Reset time .

We can hope.

As I understood it teaching unions have been calling for additional protective measures. I do wonder whether if those measures had been implemented whether that would have slowed the rate of infections in schools and kept them open longer - I guess we will never know.

Back to the original post if some teachers want to provide this - and be paid for it - and some parents want their children to attend fine.

No I don't want my kids taught by some random teen. My kids teachers are experienced and know the children in their forms - we will stick with them.

Yeah all those teachers rushing in after the current lot have been fired😂.

Make way......

joy for children is that satire @StitchInLime

I’m totally against this as a parent. The school day is long enough, they’re children not full time workers.

DC would not have received a single day's in person education since last March if it was up to the unions

I don't even think the most right wing newspapers were even spouting this amount of shite.

I like the plant analogy when discussing this.

If you had a plant that had been deprived of sunlight and water the solution is not to give it a whole load more sunlight and lots and lots of water. It is to get back into a proper routine and provide what it needs.

Same with children and education. More is not better. My the end of the day even senior children are less effective and productive, you always plan to do less in last period as they are flagging.

Very much a case of diminishing returns or even negative returns.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Yeah all those teachers rushing in after the current lot have been fired😂.

Make way......

Brilliant isn't it

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

They are children. I really don’t think an extra 2 hours a day of English and Maths is going to help. They will just end up completely exhausted and overwhelmed.

Maybe extra sport clubs?

Fizxypepsi,

Fortunately neither I, teachers or unions care what you think.

Silly idea