Why so little actual teaching in lockdown (state secondary)?

[CatOnMyLap]

My DS (year 8, London state secondary) is getting almost no live teaching during lockdown. Lots of powerpoints, YouTube videos, worksheets set by teachers, but the kids are expected to work unsupervised at home, including tackling complex new topics. Also very little feedback/homework marking. Friends with children at other state secondary schools have the same experience. Yet I am told that private school teachers are doing daily live teaching via Zoom/Google hangouts etc.

I understand that it's unfamiliar, that some teachers may be ill or have small children at home, and that not all kids have sole access to a device. But after 10 weeks it is so clear that the kids need some actual teaching/discussion/group work, and this is doubly true for children whose families can't support with learning. I would love to know why teachers cannot be live say once a week per class per subject for half an hour minimum to explain a new topic or lead a discussion. Are there any teachers who can explain why this is?

@GuyFawkesDay Thank you for making the effort to teach your classes live despite the problems and the messing around and the no-shows. Teenagers - tough crowd!

@PenOrPencil people just organise themselves so their children don't "pop in".

[quote NeverTwerkNaked]@Useruseruserusee they definitely are in our borough

I organise my time and my children so they aren't on screen, as do the other professionals I come across.[/quote]
This is the last comment I will make because actually this has offended me.

I organise my time to the last minute - at the moment this means working evenings and all weekend as well when DH is around, as well as responding to emails and marking work in the day. I’m working my hours but flexibly. All work is marked and responded to, I’m in regular contact with students through email and phone.

You seem to be implying that I’m inadequate at my job because I can’t make my two year old sit quietly for hours on end to enable live teaching. And possibly also inadequate at parenting because I can’t keep my toddler engaged and off screen?

@NeverTwerkNaked could you please explain exactly how I organise it so my 3yo and 6 month old don't need me in the middle of a live lesson unless the lesson is after 7pm and they are in bed?

@isitsundaynightalready
now he’s being offered one day per week In a small bubble for the last 5 weeks of term. Woefully inadequate I fear with GCSEs next
Err, have you not noticed there's been a pandemic on and schools have been closed to the general student population?

@Useruseruserusee no that part of my comment was on relation to judgy comments about me being in public meetings while my children were in the house as though I was a terrible mother for taking the chance a member of the public might see them (I can't see how this is any different from taking them to a park or a town but there we are)

@Hercwasonaroll how would you organise it if you wouldnt get paid unless you did your job?

I wouldn't get paid probably!!

Usually nursery and grandparents care, nursery shut and grandparents not allowed.

LadyPenelope68

@isitsundaynightalready
now he’s being offered one day per week In a small bubble for the last 5 weeks of term. Woefully inadequate I fear with GCSEs next
Err, have you not noticed there's been a pandemic on and schools have been closed to the general student population?biscuit

Yes of course I have. I work in a prep school. What a ridiculous question. Reading through these comments acutely highlights that some schools are putting in lots of effort with their provision and others are not. Given that all these y10 students are heading towards GCSEs next year, some school slts really Need to be upping their game. 5 days is not enough.

Reading through these comments acutely highlights that some schools are putting in lots of effort with their provision and others are not.

Not at all. It does show though that there are lots of different ways to provide remote learning and as families, children and teachers are not a one size fits all, so this results in a range of methods.
I will reiterate, the majority of parents at my school (1600+ size) did not want the method that you deem ‘upping the game’. Again, do their views and situations not count?

You do also know the Government says we can only have 25% of the year group in at once, don't you?

We literally cannot have them in the building more than one day in 4 🤦‍♀️

now he’s being offered one day per week In a small bubble for the last 5 weeks of term

Boris said we can only have 25% of students in each day. They can't be in any more often than once every 4 days!

We surveyed our parents and the vast majority wanted pre recorded videos with teacher availability. We use TEAMs so can catch in with pupils on a one to one basis if necessary

I’d be completely happy with this approach. I also note you weren’t directed by your school - good on you

I’m in two minds. I think we forget how much ‘live’ teaching goes over kids’ heads anyway, in school, due to students losing concentration/being distracted by others/poor teaching/teaching that is either too fast or slow paced for a particular child. In a couple of her GCSE subjects dd (year 11) admitted to zoning out and catching up on her own at home as she didn’t think much of the teacher.

I’m probably seeing things from a particular perspective as ds (year 9) has ADHD and isn’t very motivated. However he is able to focus much better at home. I asked him about zoom lessons and he said ‘don’t be silly, everyone would turn their video and mic off and play Xbox at the same time!’

There are undoubtedly things which he might struggle to understand on his own yet grasp in a live lesson - IF the teacher is good, he’s not sitting next to a fellow mischief maker etc. But just as often he’ll struggle to grasp something in school and have to work it out himself later.

Maybe I’m also biased as my kids hate asking for help/always insist they can do it themselves! It’s definitely good prep for the future though!

If we could have just a little face to face contact it would help reduce the feeling of lots of work being completed but no feedback received. I do honestly appreciate the guidelines and restrictions. Also, his school haven’t surveyed so they can’t know the wishes of their students.

Some of the reasons given are bonkers. The rest of us are having to work our normal hours with kids at home so I’m not sure why teachers can’t for half an hour per week. A video is not going to show a teachers house, it will show a small portion of wall behind and that’s it. The safeguarding issue is a load of rubbish - there are secure alternatives to zoom. I understand that some kids wouldn’t be able to access Online tuition but that’s true of all the online worksheets they are assigning too. It’s very sad for our kids.

I agree kiwi all the objections given are things other professionals have figured out solutions to / accepted are an issue but one they will live with to deliver business as usual.

Plus quite a lot of schools are doing it (state and private)

I don't buy the "survey " thing because surveys can be phrased in a way that pushes people towards particular answers.

Interestingly, looking at their website, NEU seems to be distancing itself from its original stance of "won't teach in school, won't teach out of school" and is recognising the benefits of trying to find ways to replicate the school community online for the wellbeing of Children

I'm not bothered about my house being on screen. I'm bothered about try to teach a live lesson with a 3yo and 6 month old at home. I've done pre recorded video stuff, I respond to work submitted via teams, I send mini videos of verbal feedback over students work. Live lessons would be nigh on impossible for me to schedule due to childcare, let alone students access at the right time.

Teacher tapp data attached.

Very few state schools are delivering online live lessons.

You’re making a valid point. The safeguarding issue is a poor excuse, I think. I’m teaching live lessons on Teams and the students don’t turn their cameras on, and only unmute their mikes when I ask them to speak, so I’m not seeing their homes or faces. They can see me, but I can set my background to one provided by Teams, eg a classroom, so they don’t see inside my home. The real issue is lack of equipment in poorer households.

[quote NeverTwerkNaked]@PenOrPencil people just organise themselves so their children don't "pop in".[/quote]
Oh it's heartening to start your day on hilarity.... Please do advise how to do this when wfh and DH out working.

I have a very similar experience to OP and @NOTANUM I think our kids may be at the same school.

I personally don't expect a state school to provide a full zoom schedule but I would expect some live lessons or recorded ones that could be watched at a convenient time. Especially for new topics etc.

I think an occasional phone call for pastoral reasons is especially important if no online lessons are happening.

I don't understand why work can't be marked. Yes a teacher may teach a large number of children in a year group but they do that usually and mark their work.

For the teacher who said they've now started lessons and are having a poor uptake I'm sorry to hear that but I'm not surprised families and kids have given up after struggling for so long.

I am confused about teacher's childcare. I thought they are key workers and have childcare provided? I know in a few cases it will be not possible due to shielding...

1/2 an hour per week? I work part time and have 12 different classes. How can that fit inton1/2 an hour?

I'll say it again re childcare. Many nurseries round here are still shut. The local pre schools are full of NHS staff and won't take teachers children if teachers are at home. Many other teachers rely on grandparents.

If my children were even school age I could shove them in front of the TV for half an hour to go live. I have a 3yo and a 6 month old.

Live lessons generally have a poor uptake due to lack of access to a device or stable I
Internet connection.

Re marking there's no evidence marking improves student outcomes. However this doesn't mean feedback shouldn't be provided. Students can mark their own answers as right or wrong. I then send a short video with any misconceptions explained.

As always some schools are doing a bad job, most aren't.

I am confused about this obsession with live Zoom lessons.

I think that the person whose son said all the DC would be on mute with cameras off playing X box is spot on. I've pretty well done that myself in some crappy boring work meetings. Log on (attendance logged), mute self, off for a cuppa. No-one has noticed so far.

My DD has her work set on Google Classroom, powerpoint explanations, they turn in work and get it marked. If she has Qs she can ask on the classroom. She works through it independently. Asks me, DH or teacher if stuck. they've just started some live pastoral groups which are opt in. I'm happy with that.

I am one of those parents on surveys who actively does not want a full timetable of live lessons. We are all 4 of us wfh some days. Bandwidth is limited, no option to upgrade to high speed in our area. If everyone is on then my and DH work calls start glitching which, if it's a non-shite meeting is important. It's nice that DD can set her own timetable and eg eat lunch as a family when we're all free or do something else in work hrs if she makes up the time afterwards.

I am a Dr. We are doing online consultations from home but there is a very strict policy to adhere to which would absolutely not include toddlers wandering into a call. I am amazed at the person who doesn't mind her kids being in some kind of public meeting. I would be disciplined at work for that. Patients would complain if I was clearly distracted, obviously there are confidentiality issues and safeguarding issues for my kids with some of the stuff I need to discuss. I am required to make sure no-one else is listening in on either end, background is safe,professional attire and various other things.
If it's just an internal meeting that's different; toddlers, dogs, spouses ranting on their own call, teens in PJs have all featured and no-one minds.
Are people just mindlessly applying the standards they have for a Zoom meeting with colleagues to a professional interaction that might be recorded for posterity because you really can't compare?