The Teachers’s Republic Refuge - solidarity comrades!

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

So continuing on from our boycott/flowers we need to continue to defend our profession. This is teacher/school staff chat - if you do not fall into that category please start you own thread elsewhere.

#solidarity

Oh, I like him!!

I've taken.over 2 classes since this started (long story and I've lost yr11 and 13). It's v sweet how they're interacting with me, without really knowing me (not been at this school long). I suspect some of these are grey kids, or overwhelmed by the poor behaviour of their peers. My anxious kids are either eager to chat about the work, or totally overwhelmed by us setting tasks in line with the timetable.

I hear you Asuitablecat

I am usually in a dept of two for Computer Science and my colleague has been off sick for weeks. I have hundreds of extra children to set work for and monitor (which is another reason I am resistant to live online videos)
Just a solidarity high five to you (and others) for doing what you are doing

Checking in after a long day (or ). Spoke to most of my Year 13s today, it was so lovely to hear their voices. I miss classes with them!

Tech issues and tiredness. In all honesty, it's going better than I thought it would. Thinking of checking into MN "when will schools reopen?" threads, but whoever said it was like self-harm was correct!

Hope everyone is ok. We've made it to the end of another week!

I did see this on Twitter, from Mark McCourt this morning, which made me laugh.

New hero for our times:

twitter.com/621carly/status/1256125119082246144

Hear hear Mark! Brilliant tweet DreamingofBrie!

And damn right Carly! Loved reading that Piggy

Yes Carly is our girl !

I love some of the comments. I wonder what Keir Starmer thinks of the Adonis?

Hello, I'm joining too. I've had a quick skim through. Both DH and I are secondary and have kids of our own to home school/entertain. We did zero home school today and I'm just setting the same thing over and over for one of my classes since none of them are doing any of it anyway.

Keir Starmer is as Blairite as Adonis so I wouldn’t be surprised if he agrees. Probably doesn’t want us to know he agrees yet but probably thinking along the same lines

@nailsathome - welcome

Wow what an exhausting week doing full on on-line lessons, setting up calls on teams, setting assignments, marking, team meetings and registration etc

Having a large gin now

#solidarity #weekendfun

An interesting read:

educontrarianblog.com/2020/05/01/what-have-we-learnt-from-18-days-of-suck-it-and-see-schooling/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Great blog piggy.

Have you seen the nuts thread from the school apparently wanting parents to go in and supervise?!

SLT making any kind of re opening plans now are bonkers.

That is a good read. Made me think, and I will definitely tweak a few bits. I have definitely set too much work, so that's one thing I can change.

And this.... (although I always wonder how the hell a head knows . Do they ask us?)

www.tes.com/news/revealed-how-heads-think-dfe-could-re-open-schools

Herc yes I've seen that one! Gawd.. imagine chaos...

Kind of matches what you just raised herc!

One way corridors. We've only got one corridor.

Had my gin but the day had been unsettling. Had a year 10 boy crying during P7 because it had all become too much. He was basically saying he could not cope with an 8 period day of online lessons! He had a day of single periods and we are all expecting work in lessons and we are all expecting him to speak in the lesson. Broke my heart - he is one of the quiet middle of the road kids, never any bother, not top but not bottom. I reported to the head of Year and apparently he is not the only one. I am so bloody cross as we have all these parents complaining on Mumsnet and now I have a child breaking down in lesson .... so so sad

It's hard, cos for every kid telling me it's too much, I've hit a kid firing work back at me and asking what to do next. I.think NOT doing online lessons is helping, as kids can.dip in as and when they can- which is why I tend to wake up to lots of messages from.My big kids.

I'm sending lots of soothing messages and have definitely become more effusive in my praise of their work! Oh my god, what if I've lowered my expectations?😕

Looking at everyone elses responses I think ours is going ok then. I have between 100% ( top sets) and 60% attempting the work and we are setting a mix of ppts, video clips, our own voice over explanations and worksheets.
Sorry can’t remember the poster but thought it was a good statement that parents only want zoom as it means they don’t have to parent. I have no idea how you can make sure on zoom they are all doing the worksheet ( i know our slt are moving towards us zooming live lessons)

My (older) (sorry, mature) learners can sometimes only work at night/weekends, sometimes early mornings if shift working. So I’m basically teaching on an off all the time. On my own, grown up kids...helps to pass the time. In between, I’m learning Portuguese on Babbel.

Asuitablecat, i have definitely being handing out more effusive praise and positive voice notes than i would under normal times #standards down 😳

Thanks for that blog Piggy. I have now adjusted what I have set for next week. It made a lot of sense.

I’ve also been praising mine constantly. Firing off “well done” emails all the time. Also cutting a lot more slack than normal. One of mine asked to pop into my “open office” (they can arrange a 1-2-1 zoom between 3 & 4) to tell me he wasn’t able to concentrate on his work as his grandparents dog, who lives in Cyprus, had died. It was very clear that the dog was just the catalyst and that he’d been holding things together until then but only just. I’m finding that lockdown is making me way more sympathetic. Maybe I’ll retain that when we go back....