Sunday Times: Schools back in 3 Weeks

[Lumene]

Will post link

What are their motivations? Based on what?

Complete lifting of all lockdown restrictions because they are Great Barrington Declaration supporters.

I.e. they don't want any restrictions on their lives, regardless of the consequences for others.

Also agree with PP below (a teacher) that a lot of these 'gaps' in education children are apparently enduring are government imposed milestones and tick box exercises

I completely agree.

Genuine question which I haven’t really seen discussed.

If the vulnerable are vaccinated and therefore hospitalisations stay at a manageable level and deaths are at ‘acceptable’ flu-like levels, does it matter if the virus is spreading around? So if there were 50,000 new cases a day but only a few thousand in hospital and a few hundred dying, is that a sustainable and acceptable state of affairs?

Well they may have to adapt learning at universities for the Covid generation. The first year going over stuff like a foundation. Or maybe a government funded foundation,

But all the weeping and the wailing about ‘catch up’ can’t change anything. Unless they all repeat a year which is impossible. We need adaption not catch up.

There is no way my dd is spending her summer in ‘catch up’🤮 she needs to catch up on hanging out with her friends, not in a bloody classroom after months inside.

All subjects are missing bits out, it’s not unique to science. But it’s not the end of the world for ever. We just have to roll with it and adapt accordingly.

@noblegiraffe

What are their motivations? Based on what?

Complete lifting of all lockdown restrictions because they are Great Barrington Declaration supporters.

I.e. they don't want any restrictions on their lives, regardless of the consequences for others.

😂😂😂 Please.

They won't be by March 8th, though, Thepilot.

@Thepilotlightsgoneout

Genuine question which I haven’t really seen discussed.

If the vulnerable are vaccinated and therefore hospitalisations stay at a manageable level and deaths are at ‘acceptable’ flu-like levels, does it matter if the virus is spreading around? So if there were 50,000 new cases a day but only a few thousand in hospital and a few hundred dying, is that a sustainable and acceptable state of affairs?

Not to teachers no. MN teachers that is.

Was that supposed to be a rebuttal, Multicover?

Yeah, you've got nothing.

does it matter if the virus is spreading around?

It matters because the more the virus spreads the more it will mutate.

Think they're planning all primary schools and just exam years at secondary on 8th March.

@noblegiraffe

Was that supposed to be a rebuttal, Multicover?

Yeah, you've got nothing.

I have a Tin Hat going spare? I’ve never used it

63 Tory MP's have signed this letter. It's here in black and white, this is exactly where the pressure to reopen is coming from.

You've not heard of the Great Barrington Declaration, multicover?

Actually, somehow I doubt that.

Twitter thread here - https://twitter.com/markjj_harper/status/1360713436179673099?s=21

Because those dickheads are so concerned about children’s education despite underfunding it for years and not making it safe in a pandemic aren’t they?

‘Gaps’are where children aren’t achieving governmental imposed targets. Not particularly gaps in learning. Gaps or ‘ catching up’is just rhetoric by those who aren’t actually at the chalk face. Most teachers think it’s taking the pressure of kids and are hoping for a much neededreset of education

This is really interesting @ArseInTheCoOpWindow

I’ve always believed education is too much box ticking.

But for the kids approaching exams - how can they take a much needed break now? Surely it will be detrimental to their exam results - which I agree is more box ticking - but nevertheless will affect their futures.

They can’t take a break now. But they can take away GCSE exams and do teacher assessed grades.

I’ve had loads of years where my predictions have been identical to the achieved result after the exam.

A phased reopening would be the most sensible, watching the numbers closely and gradually bringing back more year groups

You’d have thought this would be a given.

But hey, we have a prime minister who’s brain is full of feathers and nothing else.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Because those dickheads are so concerned about children’s education despite underfunding it for years and not making it safe in a pandemic aren’t they?

we all know that those wailing about the mental health of children during the pandemic will go back to ignoring it once they have what they want.

Just started a thread about that, Fripp actually.

we all know that those wailing about the mental health of children during the pandemic will go back to ignoring it once they have what they want.

Quite. And there are plenty of other things proven to be better for children's mental health which are generally ignored. Yet this one is very important due in no small part to the fact it inconveniences parents as well.

If schools reopen as normal, ie: no part time learning for all, i won't go in and I will resend my letter to say I feel it is unsafe.
Have we really not learnt anything, we rush to come back, we rush into another surge on cases!

Well infections are still high, we must continue being safe, not just focus on death rate but those with long covid! That's going to cost the nhs and government more than if people die from it!

@megletthesecond

I'd rather wait until after Easter and for school staff, and more parents, to be vaccinated. Johnson is so bloody impatient.

I agree. I just wish Boris could actually do the sensible thing just once

@Chollok

we all know that those wailing about the mental health of children during the pandemic will go back to ignoring it once they have what they want.

Quite. And there are plenty of other things proven to be better for children's mental health which are generally ignored. Yet this one is very important due in no small part to the fact it inconveniences parents as well.

Yep mental health is awful, but let's focus on them catching up. Don't allow them to go to any extra curricular activities or holistic learning. So it is school work and a massive push on English and maths.

The big problem is the press and his back benchers who all want it ' back to near normal' sooner rather than later. Just from what I've read and deduced on my own, but the pressure is on now. I don't know if it's the right thing ; home schooling is working for some and not others but that was always going to be the case of course.
Whatever they do will always be wrong as they are between a rock and a hard place.