Guilt Free Railing 3

[WouldBeGood]

Looks like railing is still needed.

Here is the judgment feee zone to do it.

I don’t, but I happily would.

And this is the railing thread where one is allowed to rail about things which are upsetting/annoying whatever.

@WouldBeGood

I don’t, but I happily would.

And this is the railing thread where one is allowed to rail about things which are upsetting/annoying whatever.

Great! The rules must have changed. Last time I moaned on here I made you feel ill OP and was run off the thread as a bully!

I would like to rail about how silly it is to think that schools aren't at increased risk of Covid. I'm glad kids are coming back but I am worried about the impact on the senior phase kids. Last time round we had several outbreaks and that meant several long periods of isolations for the kids. It's was almost exclusively in the senior phase. I do think it's a worry.

@jabbathebutt i would ask to have that removed. I'm not sure how genuinely anonymous this forum is and I'm sure your work will have a social media policy which could include forums like this.

If universities have already made the decision to be all online next year it's very unfair not to let students know this.
Are we going to have another year of young people and their families paying for accommodation they didn't need

And so the effects of covid continues. If we have vaccinated and reduced clinical cases to an acceptable level, then why on earth do our young continue to bear the brunt of this?
My first degree was very much a life experience, I wouldn’t have gained that from sitting at home signed into zoom.

DD3 has already paid her deposit and signed up for her accommodation for next year. Though after her (she was a trooper and so were her flatmates) disappointing experience of her first year less than 3 months in halls , most of it level 3 or 4 so very little open, and an almost 4week rolling isolation I would be inclined to encourage her to go to her university city even if her teaching is online. Having that flat to look forward to has kept her going when she gave up uni accommodation for this lockdown.

My DD is starting university in September - I really hope there will be some face to face by then. I don’t want to be paying for accommodation she won’t use, and I also think there is a limit to how long staff and students can do everything online. Students are struggling as it is.

Everything online is not healthy for young people! They have spent far too much time sitting at screens in their bedrooms over the last year.
My teenagers are going outside less and less now! We're teaching them that this is normal life. It really isn't!!
There's surely no reason our schools, college and universities need to get back to normal once the vaccine rollout is complete?

I personally don't see why universities should be shut if schools are to be open. Lectures online fair enough but they should be able to access tutorials. If what @jabbathebutt says is true then it's a scandal waiting to happen. I would be furious if this information was being withheld from me or my child.

If all adults are vaccinated by July I can't see how Unis can justify being on line for another year.

Given the lectures have all been recorded for this year, there is nothing to stop the unis bumping the lecturers and just using the videos for the next 5 years.

If people wanted to do online degrees they'd use Open Uni.

I feel for students, how can they make friends at uni when they aren't on campus, they missed a semester last year, this year has been limited and noises being made about next year?
What a rotten deal.

I think it has been good for DS2 to still be away from home even though he has been limited in being able to do things. DS1 is at home and it's not good really. Granted in many ways its been a waste of money but he's able to grow up more when living away.

There's surely no reason our schools, college and universities need to get back to normal once the vaccine rollout is complete?

Colleges and Unis should be fine all adults vaccinated, ie all over 18s. They could refuse entry to the 17 year old school leavers.

Schools are different, under 18s probably won't be vaccinated for another year. The Oxford vaccine is going through trials now for kids.
So I can get the schools need to be careful on what they do. They need to be mindful of the risk of covid spreading amongst children, particularly in the secondary schools, even if staff are vaccinated.

Although I note that DS1 was limited in his uni subject choices (basically no choices) obviously to make it easier to deliver.

His course does tend to have less choice anyway but I think this last year has been take it or leave it.

Yet another way that students may have been impacted.

I was at uni for years and years. Almost 9 in total. I loved it. I'm so sorry for students experiencing it like this.

It really must affect the level of peer support, discussion and debate, sharing of ideas with everyone on online some never having met each other. This is all part of a university education.
A lot of the students don't even turn their cameras on! I know some university tutors have struggled with this.

Yep definitely. It's unreal.

DS1 gets 2 hours a week live contact. The rest is recorded stuff/slides and then he sometimes has group sessions with other students to discuss group work. That's been his 3rd year. About 40 hours in total live contact.

And he previously had quite a high contact as he had lectures, tutorials and lab time.

DS2 previously had 12 ish hours a week direct contact and I believe was still getting 4. None of it face to face though.

the university and student groups are doing a lot of online social events and well being surveys so they are really trying their best to help. I have a Friday lunchtime social where we all have lunch together and a blether and its nice. On Monday I have a book club social with staff and students. There is also a lunchtime yoga class. My manager actively encourages me to take a full lunch break too.

Oh I am sure there are lots of things going on but my DS1 will not engage in anything more than he has to. He needs to be in uni with other people to stand any chance of actually speaking to people. He's in his comfort zone of his bedroom about 22 hours a day.

It's great there's so many things on offer but the problem is they're all things they do on a screen from their bedroom which is not the real world!

Friends fresher son had joined the uni hockey club but then was unable to travel from his home city to the Uni and they guy at the club kept giving him a hard time for not coming to the training (at the point when that was allowed) despite being told repeatedly that it was against the law for him to come. It's left a sour taste so I doubt he'll bother joining when they are next allowed to travel/do outdoor training.

Waxon I can imagine many people being like that. Going to clubs/groups is often a starting point for friendship, it's the chat waiting for a group to start and the drinks later where friendships are cemented.
Meeting people, online who you don't know means you can't really build relationship with must be really hard.

yes, friends son is doing languages and has had a lot of good online contact and has had direct personal contact from some lecturers as they thought he looked as if he was struggling a bit with engagement. I think overall they have had a decent job in terms of the course and what they've offered and this is a much more social lad than either of my two, but he fought to get into this uni based on how he felt when he was there and really hasn't been able to step onto the campus since he started. It's such a shame. I'm not blaming the Uni's here, my DSs and friends DS are all doing well academically, just not the experience they would want.