Disposable teachers?

[RomanRita]

Anyone else feel that the Government is preparing to sacrifice the well-being of school staff to prop up the economy?
I wonder what the response will be once teachers begin to get sick.

In dh's school he has 5 teachers (2 SLT) isolated already

Secondary school, 1200 pupils

And so it begins...

Not very glorified babysitters!

Yeah. We're pretty much doomed to get it, as a profession.

Same in Australia where the PM has refused to shut down government schools, while the private ones can do as they like.

I am so incredibly worried about this. My husband is in three vulnerable groups. He is over 70, immune suppressed and has COPD.
I suppose we are both disposable. I'm currently off sick myself and absolutely dreading going back. I'm not so worried about getting it myself, but very worried for him. I'm hoping that the unions are going to get involved soon and that someone stands up for school staff.

How long do you think they should shut down for?
And the country come to a stand still. Limited nurses and doctors, for one, as DCs are home. So no proper care for those who are seriously affected.
I don't see any magic answer to this.
It's slowing in China but people get arrested if they leave their block of flats. Not sure how long that can be sustained.

I'm a self isolating primary teacher! Thought I had tonsillitis on Fri. DD also had a 39C fever. I now have a cough and a stuffy nose with no fever, (so pretty sure I just have a cold!) but obviously have to stick to guidance.

The problem will come now that we have been told to self isolate for 7 days with a temperature or a cough. I’ve been teaching 15 years and no one ever takes a day off with a cold unless it’s really bad. Our school has 1200 pupils and probably about 90-100 teachers. I don’t know what our tipping point for staff absence is, where we can’t run the school safely, but I would imagine somewhere between 20-30% off?

There are plenty of jobs expected to continue on, and not just medical and military. Shop workers expected to keep shops open for one, handling money and likely to come into contact with many people who have to go out but probably shouldn't. It's not just you.

I’m worried that staff will be expected to double up groups to make us for absences and end up in stressful, overcrowded classrooms doing little more than crowd control.

We’re not being treated as disposable, any more than medical professionals are - and let’s face it, they’re the ones on the front line.

What about supermarket workers? They’re expected to be coughed over by people buying up the store before self-isolating. I’m sure there are dozens of other examples of jobs like this.

Now is not the time to play the martyr card. This really is a ‘we’re all in this together’ situation.

And yes, I am a teacher.

Butterwhy- we know that it's 'not just us'. But this is a board specifically for teachers to discuss our situations and concerns.

I agree with @maltidatoldsuchdreadfullies

Also please tell me how the emergency workers are meant to work when their kids are off school?

To me it appears they just want a longer holiday! I am saying this as my sister a teacher and was disappointed at the non school closure as she was looking forward to a break. Tough shit.

A break? If we close we won't get a break. We have full plans to teach from home which will likely be harder than a normal school day !

Yes. Everyone else 'works from home', while teachers have 'a break'.

To me it appears they just want a longer holiday!

ODFOD. All indications are that we'll be expected to set work from home and then have the summer holidays shortened to make up for any closures.

At the moment, working from home has risen from 2% to 4%. So hardly “everyone else working from home”.

At least your jobs are safe. People working for small companies have to keep going because if we don’t, there will be no money to pay salaries in April. Even British Airways is warning of redundancies.

Vulnerable staff in any environment - asthma etc - should be allowed to isolate, but the rest of us need to carry on. No one is saying it isn’t tough

And we’ll be working from home while also trying to look after and home educate our own children! Not much of a break.

All public servants need to work or the country grinds to a halt - police/ ambulance/doctors/ teachers/ care workers. It's not just teachers!!!!

I don’t know what our tipping point for staff absence is, where we can’t run the school safely, but I would imagine somewhere between 20-30% off?

Depends how many kids you're missing. We've been running at 2/3 capacity for a fortnight.

Vulnerable staff in any environment - asthma etc - should be allowed to isolate, but the rest of us need to carry on.

That's a lot of teachers! And in reality, we've not been told we're exempt from work if we're vulnerable. I've a older colleague with asthma and other pre-existing conditions who is terrified of it. She's still going to have to come in, though coronavirus could kill her.

I totally see your point but at the same time, I am a nurse. If schools close, like many colleagues we would find it extremely difficult to get to work & I really want to be there to do what I cam. Leaving children with grandparents is really not a good idea and working from home is not an option for frontline nurses (and many others).

For me it comes down to choosing to stay open and babysit (because teaching a forcibly gathered bunch of kids in groups twice as large as normal will not be "teaching") so others can work or possibly carrying the virus to my elderly mother on dialysis with diabetes who lives with us, my son who has brittle asthma, my husband who has hypertension and is over 50, our in laws who are both mid 80's and myself, who has asthma, autoimmune conditions and is over 50. So you might be able to go to work in your hospital, but you'll be treating my family and me. Not sure who will get us there considering the only family member who isn't high risk is my 11 year old dd.