Let's boycott all school threads outside of Education

[Everyexitisanentrance]

Honestly guys we are getting a kicking on other threads. We repeatedly have to explain our contracts, holidays, why we are not doing more online, why we should be doing less on ...... it is never ending. So far we have been off for the Easter break plus a max of two weeks. There is a lot of the population that do not need childcare. We are open for key worker children but that gets ignored. All the social distancing issues are ignored. All the ppe requirements are ignored. Now it could be that the trolls just see us as an easy target, hence all the forlough calls. So as a union member, I am requesting that teachers do not have to explain themselves on other threads as we are just fueling the fire. (I have been guilty of this).

So I am calling for a union boycott!

I really, really don't want to be teaching just maths and English next year. My poor year 5 / 6 cohort will NEED foundation subjects, time to learn how to be in class agsin, counselling, playtime, socialising.

Yes and coming back to school will need to be a very positive experience. I can't see split days working; it will have to be two days and then 3 for key workers? The children will need some normalcy. art and pe etc are part of that. Also, many of the arts subjects actually improve attainment in more formal parts of the curriculum.

Love the school of whittling sticks by the bonfire!

Phleb How were the bivvy bags? Hope they had fun!

I can understand your worry around the asthma, plus your family's illnesses. And you too piggy

I think Phleb you should speak to Gp as yes you're likely to be at risk over the coming months. My concern is the winter. Two Other health issues I have can leave me very fatigued if asthma is struggling which it does for me in winter and with viruses (fatigue to the point of needing time off work). Rarely needing oral steroids now I'm on Fostair but this last winter was brutal. And with an under two also catching bugs, not much sleep or ability to recover at times. I'm struggling at the moment actually as I don't think thyroid levels are ok.

Piggy, I like that article but the knowledge rich curriculum can be and is misinterpreted at primary level. It really is too over stuffed. Children don't retain a lot of this "knowledge" at ks1 and 2 unless it's repeatedly built on. I know ofsted want that too, (from training) but that curriculum won't be back till sept 2021 at the earliest. At the same time, without consistency across the country it's hard to build on prior knowledge when transitioning up key stages.

Perhaps that "radical over haul" is that we are forced to all be learning the same key topics for some time (eg history etc) via a central online delivery. If classes will be split, that's the only way children will progress.

(Sorry I'm catching up on thread. Some really good points here.)

Re testing, a Gp friend can get tests back in 24 hours as they're using a local lab. He said that a larger driver thru key worker site is taking much longer as they are sending it away to Birmingham (miles away.)

So setting up more local labs will help.

I like Kirsty's list. I Note she puts well-being first.

I can’t understand the economy arguments if kids are only in on a rota.

Yes it falls flat when you start thinking it through.

It's the parents of the youngest children who really struggle there. I'm struggling to focus on much of DSs home Ed work simply because: toddler. There's a few desperate threads here where parents are trying to work full time with 2 under 3s and are absolutely exhausted.

(Just wrote this while putting toddler into a nap via boobing. Now off to make fun project with ds.)

I’m going to stop answering non teachers questions on here, no offence but I want this to be the place I can talk to other teachers not justify myself or defend teachers and students rights not to be guinea pigs.

I too am baffled by what the massive reward of going back before summer would be. They didn’t want schools closed because free childcare and exams, free childcare is still being provided for those who need it and exams are cancelled.

Apparently we’re all lazy and crap and can’t even set work coherently so why would they want their kids with teachers?

I’ve gone a bit ranty again. Hospitals have cancelled non essential surgery and treatment to cope with the essential care and mitigate risk. Schools have done the same. Which has more reward health care or half a term of in person teaching 30:1 ?

I think the core curriculum for younger children thorough a ort of project based approach is really no bad thing (eg it's Year 5, summer term so it's the Romans). Scotland only has one exam board, although its curriculum has not been uncontroversial over the years!

I think when you get to GCSE and Lit , everyone teaching the same texts, at the same time, in the same way is exactly what would make me leave teaching....

Projects were the backbone of primary education when I came through it. Months of making our own whole school bayeux tapestry and studying the normans and writing war poems and making bows etc.

In Scotland, John Swinney laid out some of the Scottish government's thoughts. including returning earlier than the usual mid August (though I think if this happens, the summer break might begin earlier?). www.tes.com/news/inconceivable-all-pupils-will-return-same-time

Pre national curriculum obviously 🙄

Read up about Japan. They attempted reopening. It accused unease and unrest and is now chaos. Lots of schools reclosed and now they are aiming for September (different school year).

I'd guess we would want to avoid that. You never read about it : always about Denmark!

We have a member of SLT who would be really keen on everyone doing the same PowerPoint at the same time for equality of experience. Fortunately our HoD is quite keen on us having personalities!

So unlike any other workers we would be forced to use and lose our holiday for lockdown? Would any other workers like to be forced to lose their holiday entitlement rather than be furloughed?

Hopefully unions would resist the Scottish ideas?

It’s not holiday anyway it’s non contracted time and we are paid pro rata spread over the year. Teachers are able to have other jobs over summer as it’s outside their contracted time. You can’t just disregard that contract

piggy have you got any links about Japan? I tried googling and it was supremely unhelpful!

I'll have a look. It seems to be buried news.

www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/04/02/national/japan-expert-panel-extending-school-closure-japan-coronavirus/#.XqgSbkxFzIU

www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2020041600191/

www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/03/10/national/japan-schools-reopen-coronavirus/#.XqgSlExFzIU

www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-04/06/c_138951438.htm

Just a sample...

My hod loves the same PowerPoint business. Unfortunately the PowerPoints are frequently shite and nowhere near differentiated enough for low ability and have a lack of actual learning activities that are, or should be, the core of lessons (ie learning is point). It does mean she gets to pretend we don’t have planning to do when actually I’ve never had to produce so many resources before

Honeybadger the issue is that each subject leader in primary has to sculpt their own subject to a much higher level now, a bit like in secondary. So there's a lot of jostling for ownership. The history is huge in primary and so dominates, next to Geography. So all the others end up being shoved under them. Which means many skills are missed out (eg dt, art, music) unless you stand up and reject the topic based approach which we have more recently and ofsted favour now. Consequently it's all very crammed.

We are doing things in some primary lessons that I didn't do till gcse, A level or even uni level.

Wouldn't it be lovely if they just asked us all??

Wouldn't it be lovely if they just asked us all?? If wishes were horses...

piggy that'll be the day!

I'm increasingly thinking that the only way we could partially open would be to allow more students of non-keyworker parents in if they really need the childcare - so they come in but are essentially just sitting in classrooms doing the online learning just like our keyworker kids. Any attempt to get kids in on a rota e.g. by year group would be a logistical nightmare - the timetabling alone would be impossible, and for parents with kids in different years it wouldn't help. Teachers cant teach a class in school and be present for the rest at home. There is no way, even with half a year group in, we could socially distance.

I thought the Scottish unions were very strong- didn’t they just win a 10% pay rise?

I thought the Scottish unions were very strong- didn’t they just win a 10% pay rise?

Yes, last year.

I wonder if we might just have the six weeks shifted to, say, June and first half of July? I suspect they can get away with that as we are still working our contracted number of days. Great, six weeks break in lockdown. Then if, lockdown restrictions are eased more in July and August I will be mightily pissed off!

cantaloupeisland

I agree tbh.

@Nighttimefreedom - this is a teacher support thread in the staff room. If you will to debate schools returning can you please do it on other threads

#solidarity #teachermentalhealth