Anti-lockdown campaigners using children to push their agenda

[noblegiraffe]

I can't be the only one disgusted with how certain groups are using faux concern about children to push the earliest dismantling of lockdown restrictions.

They are loudly catastrophising on the front pages of the press about our kids. The lost generation. £40,000 in lost earnings. Articles about schools full of traumatised kids suffering PTSD caused by lockdown.

And the solution they propose is always to re-open schools as early as possible. Even before March 8th. Regardless of covid.

Now, the situation in schools before Christmas was awful. Some areas of the country had less than 50% attendance due to the new variant ripping through secondary schools. Secondary school kids were the most infected subset of the population by far, and are now the second least infected subset of the population behind the 70+ age group after schools were closed, demonstrating that there was a massive problem with transmission in secondary schools. It wasn't good for pupils' mental health or education to be in a situation when they didn't know if they'd be in school or out at the drop of a hat. But before Christmas, there was complete media silence on the impact that this was having on children.

CAMHS has been devastated by cuts. Waiting lists are intolerable and children in dire need of support don't even qualify. Same for social care around vulnerable children.

Yet you won't hear these people clamouring for schools re-opening as soon as possible talking at all about how to improve safety measures in schools to prevent the scenario we had before Christmas happening again. You won't hear them demanding more funding for children's mental health services and for more support for social care services.

And the reason you won't hear that is that THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT.

The reason that they want schools re-opened as quickly as possible is because the message was that schools had to open first.

They can't get what they really want open (everything else) until schools are open, hence the massive focus on schools and how terrible things are for children.

This catastrophising isn't good for parents or kids. It's scaremongering and unhelpful.

I know that there are kids (and parents) really struggling with their mental health and worried about their education. Blaring out messages about how terrible things are and how they will never recover because you want to hype up the message about schools going back is irresponsible and sickening.

We need sensible and calm conversations about how to support children and parents. We need funding for schools and massive investment in support services. We need a long-term program of recovery, not 9 months of a Catch-Up Tsar and quick fixes. We need a measured and sensible approach to schools re-opening that won't see kids in and out and in and out due to lack of mitigation measures causing rampant covid spread (particularly with the new variant).

We need these anti-lockdown campaigners to shut up and stop dominating the narrative.

@TrustTheGeneGenie

Because the parent @bofski14 can see that their child is “having the time of her life”.
The child is thriving.

My son is thriving. He will leave with GCSES and he’ll go on to A Level study. He’ll be fine too.

Any gaps will be filled in along the way. I’m certainly not panicking about my son’s education. He’s one of many children doing very well from home.

[quote DBML]@TrustTheGeneGenie

Because the parent @bofski14 can see that their child is “having the time of her life”.
The child is thriving.

My son is thriving. He will leave with GCSES and he’ll go on to A Level study. He’ll be fine too.

Any gaps will be filled in along the way. I’m certainly not panicking about my son’s education. He’s one of many children doing very well from home.[/quote]
It's probably not true to say hell have the same opportunities though. This generation won't.

Oh and @TrustTheGeneGenie

The alternative is telling children how awful everything is and how much they are being let down. How bad their future will be.
Which is simply awful. I’d advise any parent not to do that, unless you want to contribute to MH problems.

@DBML

Oh and *@TrustTheGeneGenie*

The alternative is telling children how awful everything is and how much they are being let down. How bad their future will be.
Which is simply awful. I’d advise any parent not to do that, unless you want to contribute to MH problems.

Oh yeah because that's what I was suggesting

@TrustTheGeneGenie

Don’t be so silly! Of course they will!
Learning never stops.

[quote DBML]@TrustTheGeneGenie

Don’t be so silly! Of course they will!
Learning never stops.[/quote]
Learning never stops? Lol. It categorically did stop for many in March.

They'll be able to study but to say they'll have the same opportunities is disingenuous. It's going to be much harder for the..

It categorically did stop for many in March.

Because THE GOVERNMENT suspended the curriculum. If it has still stopped for your child now, you need to speak to the school.

@HercwasanEnemyofEducation

It categorically did stop for many in March.

Because THE GOVERNMENT suspended the curriculum. If it has still stopped for your child now, you need to speak to the school.

Yes I am aware of that. Where did I suggest it was the fault of anyone else?

I also said in March. Not since March.

Read. The. Post.

Throughout this I have worried far more about children than I have about any other group.

I think what we have done is unforgivable.

Yes I want kids back as soon as possible. We have to mitigate risks and to my mind that means offering every teacher a vaccine. And then we have to let education restart.

I’m always astonished there are people who want to keep schools shut.

Life is risky.

@IfNot Get the kids back in stages, get them back part time, get the teachers vaxxed-but for the love of God, plans need to start being made to resume life for children,

But this is what teachers have been suggesting - that we have a plan.... which isn’t just get everyone back in one go on 8th March? I’m not sure what you’re arguing against?

Someone up thread put it beautifully when they said it isn’t not going to school that is the problem it is not seeing friends that is the issue for many students.

@TrustTheGeneGenie

Learning never stopped, not for my son... not even for me. We’ve learnt a lot about viruses this past year; immunity; how vaccines work. We’ve learnt how to use zoom and teams and Google classroom. Kids have learnt new computer packages, how to upload work. How to bake a cake; how to clean their room; and much much more.

Children are little sponges who will learn in all situations and you shouldn’t underestimate what they HAVE learnt and what they will continue to learn.

It won’t be harder to succeed in the future. Schools aren’t going to stop children who were affected by the pandemic from taking A levels.

University won’t turn 2-3 year groups worth of students (and their money) away.

Jobs will still need people in 4,5,6 years time.

The world won’t stop turning, for a child who has been in a pandemic...unless they experience what we’re all working to prevent and that’s death.

If learning stopped for your dc, that's your problem. Learning doesn't just happen in the classroom. Doesn't take a genius to read a few books to them, go on a walk and discuss what you could see, even watch an educational TV programme.

I'll repeat again, I want schools open, but with safety measures in place. Otherwise we'll be back where we were in December just in time for a summer lockdown.

We have to mitigate risks and to my mind that means offering every teacher a vaccine

That misses the point about the issue with unmitigated transmission among pupils in schools and the impact on the wider community. We need to control covid effectively for the vaccination programme to be successful.

Also ask yourself ‘what is the curriculum’?

Is every part of it necessary for a stab at a successful life?

Just because some DCs are doing well with online schooling, it does not mean that all or the majority are.

Telling my teen DS that homeschooling is jolly fun and it will all be great does not stop him struggling to concentrate in the same way he would if physically in school. It also does not make me a bad DP.

I understand that schools need to go back slowly, I really do, but for those doing it please stop telling me that this is all fine and dandy for my DS. It isn't and the longer it goes on the less likely he is to do as well as he could in his exams.

DBML when did we all become so afraid of death? This inherent fear. It happens to us all and especially when we are old.

I think this terrifying media agenda is fear and death is causing young people huge panic.

There are worse things that can happen than death by covid. And I believe they are currently happening to many children

@DBML

Also ask yourself ‘what is the curriculum’?

Is every part of it necessary for a stab at a successful life?

No, it's not, I'm not saying that's the reason for the lack of opportunity.

when did we all become so afraid of death? This inherent fear. It happens to us all and especially when we are old.

This is a natural human fear, as seen throughout history.

Well yes noble but once they are vaccinated we HAVE to move on. By and large in non vulnerable young people covid is a non event.

@lonelyplanet. He is fully aware of his legal obligations. I am a solicitor who specialises in professional negligence and also aware of his legal obligations, and don't need them explaining further. However, he is perfectly capable of having his own personal views on the issues which he shares with me and his friends and discharging his professional obligations with care and objectivity at the same time. So, please stop suggesting he will be deliberately negligent because he doesn't care enough about teachers.

@HercwasanEnemyofEducation

If learning stopped for your dc, that's your problem. Learning doesn't just happen in the classroom. Doesn't take a genius to read a few books to them, go on a walk and discuss what you could see, even watch an educational TV programme.

I'll repeat again, I want schools open, but with safety measures in place. Otherwise we'll be back where we were in December just in time for a summer lockdown.

Oh ffs. Yes that really replicates school!

And the socialization aspect? How did you continue that?

@Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow

DBML when did we all become so afraid of death? This inherent fear. It happens to us all and especially when we are old.

I think this terrifying media agenda is fear and death is causing young people huge panic.

There are worse things that can happen than death by covid. And I believe they are currently happening to many children

Well, I’d quite like not to die yet...and I certainly don’t want my family members to die young. It’s expected when you’re old.

When you go to a funeral of a young person who’s passed, you don’t hear them saying ‘the distinctly average death of Jane’...it’s usually referred to a tragic or devastating.

Socialisation is trickier I agree. I have a baby who has never met another child their age. However there were plenty of opportunities last summer and Sept - Dec for socialisation. My other child spent 30+ days isolating last term. That wasn't good for his socialisation yet that is the situation many could find themselves in again if we don't re open schools with better safety measures in place.

But this is what teachers have been suggesting - that we have a plan.... which isn’t just get everyone back in one go on 8th March? I’m not sure what you’re arguing against?

Oh, I thought I was very clear. But OK.
What I am arguing against is the direct assertion that people claiming to care about the physical and mental well being of children are using faux concern to further their own selfish agendas, or that the same such people have never had an interest in either improving funding for schools, or in the mental and physical well being of children. This has been directly stated- oh these fake hand wringers never cared before it impacted them and so on. I'm sick of it and it's just not true.
I also object to the idea that anyone trying to say that enough is enough and we need to be prioritising children very very soon, is somehow a shill from dodgy internet groups.
Ignore the lunatics, ignore the extremeist. MOST parents that I know feel like I do, most families are broken now, most people need teachers and schools and the government to find ways to sensibly open (and it won't be 100% safe, life isn't, sorry about that) and for children's lives to start to get back to normal.
Rather than posting endless whinges and attacks.

@Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow

Well yes noble but once they are vaccinated we HAVE to move on. By and large in non vulnerable young people covid is a non event.

Well no. The solution isn't 'vaccinate teachers then get schools back with no mitigation measures'. Because non-vulnerable young people don't exist in a vacuum and the vaccination programme will be most successful if community levels are as low as possible while it is being implemented.