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

Sorry for the link but wonder if any truth in it?

www.thesun.co.uk/news/11532261/denmark-coronavirus-infection-rate-schools/

pfrench That's what we are doing. Recommending various online resources and giving choices depending on availability of laptops etc. Supplementing with our own powerpoints etc. No zoom, no youtube. No complaints so far!

piggy here’s your Adonis conflict of interest. A paid consultancy for an Edtech firm. twitter.com/emmccatt/status/1256593061330780160?s=21

IBlame - I quite like doing the youtube vids - it shows them my face, and I know that my own child has really liked seeing her teacher's faces. It's been the difference between a good day and an awful day for her. Even if one child is cheered up a bit by seeing my face, that's a win.

I had seen that noble. It does stink a bit. Not a specific link to Oak which he volubly praises but still fishy. But maybe he is after their attention...

Oak is mostly Reach though yes? Adonis was all about academies. That's the link, so even if not current, there is probably some stuff going on in the background.

I think anything that Adonis tweets about education after this should just be responded to with ‘And how much is your consultancy gig paying you for that tweet?’.

Parent on AIBU complaining about teachers ringing every week, one on last week complaining teachers don't ring at all.

twitter.com/UnofficialOA/status/1256604091473711105?s=09

I'm not going to ring any of my class. They will be monosyllabic, and most of their parents don't speak English. Just. No.

I’m coming to hide in here, away from yet another thread about private schools teaching via Zoom and why aren’t we all doing it? On the plus side, yesterday was the best INSET ever, no death by PowerPoint but snacks weren’t up to their usual standard.

Any thread which start 'I am aware there have been lot of other threads on this' ought to be automatically deleted.

@Saoirse7 I can beat that. My DS's school have rung every fecking day.
I think this is because we lost my DP in December and DS was absolutely lost without his stepdad, he and everyone else thought the world of him. His school were amazingly supportive of DS during the time DP was in hospital and after he died. I assume we're on the "ring and make sure they're ok" list. But I don't need them to ring, we're fine...It makes me feel like I can't support him and I can, honestly!! (and also makes me feel twitchy as a teacher, from the "other side")

Sorry about your DP, pinkrocker that's rough on all of you.
Sorry about the vouchers too, I think it was Betty? So annoying when it isn't clear what you are supposed to do.
One of my autistic sons has had such a rough day today. The other one is about to kick off because we want to go out for a walk. I feel so tearful. Fortunately they are camping in the garden with dh tonight and it's just me and dd in the house.

Hoping I can join. I'm a teacher but working as a tutor. Finding doing even 1-1 online exhausting. I'm tutoring less than half my normal number of students too. If it is an comfort to any of you, I am checking up on my students and whether or not they are completing work set by school.
The best comment I had was when I praised a student for doing loads of mathswatch set by school.
"My cousin ( she is currently living with her) forced me to watch the videos"
But then lo and behold, she could do the questions, even on a brand new topic!
My problem like many is that I'm not experienced in using the various platforms and I'm using 3 different ones according to the different experiences and equipment students have.
There's no point me trying to introduce a topic on a whiteboard held up to a laptop camera until they have watched the well presented video on mathswatch or Corbett maths or whatever. Then we can look at what they still don't get and remaining misconceptions etc.
The plus side, for some students ( and I am talking bottom set with specific learning difficulties as well as more able students), is that for those who are still engaging with learning ( and I agree it probably needs a responsible adult supporting and encouraging), they are having to actually take more responsibility for their own learning.
One year 10 said to me " I'm thinking about education differently now. It is about taking on board information and thinking about it and making efforts to understand it and connecting it with other things, not just about sitting in a lesson and doing what I'm told to do."
Hoping all teachers will be able to reap the benefits of some of that, even though I know there are loads of problems too!

Ds and I actually spent a bit of quality time together today when he finally woke up.

I’ve told him we have to do more from Monday. He’s year 8. Aiming for a couple of hours a day split up over the day. Maths is the biggest priority for now but we’re also reading an English gcse text (a Christmas Carol unfortunately).

Really sorry about your partner pink. I had one phonecall a couple of weeks back to check we were ok as ds hadn’t been on any of the platforms they’d set up. Nothing since. You can tell them there’s no need to call every day I think?

I'd be happy with kids doing what they're told to do in lessons, rather than have them constantly feel aggrieved that I'm making them do.some work. I'm loving not having to battle to help kids improve their lives.

I'm hoping they will feel.a little tiny bit less entitled after all this. At least for a couple of weeks. And no, it's not most of my kids, but it's enough to make me wonder if I can put up with it until retirement. My patience is not what it was 20 years ago.

@EducatingArti - all welcome here! It is our safe space

@noblegiraffe - I will use that suggestion now for any education tweets Adonis does

@Asuitablecat - I might consider a new gig in a couple of years. The jobs market will be horrendous for people without sought after skills set. There will be a flood of people trying to get into teaching. You never know some of the bashers might want to join us

#solidarity

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/05/02/primary-schools-reopen-june-part-blueprint-unlock-britain/

Here we go again then. The newspapers should shut the fuck up until there’s a concrete announcement.

Government shouldn’t be announcing policy through the media, if that’s what this is.

And the media shouldn’t be reporting speculation as fact in this situation. It’s really doing people’s heads in.

But fewer than 1 in 5 want this....

It’s going to a bloody nightmare, isn’t it?!

If there are still 600+ deaths a day, I'll be phoning in sick.

I just feel broken today. Ds has blossomed since lockdown - school is not for him. Dd has retreated- she is so sociable this is awful for her. My relationship with ds has improved but with dd ir's plummeted. It doesn't help that she is practically definitely due to start her periods. And of course my even mentioning possibly buying a bra caused a row.

Plus I am so sad about how my class are coping. I get desperate texts from them on Google classroom and i respond all day every day. I can't phone them though - only tslk through google classroom. The deputy rings everyone on a school phone. I miss talking to them! I've tried uploading quick videos and "form group" mini assemblies but the effect of the emails ftom my class on me is so awful. They miss me and school and I miss them. I'm being bouncy and upbeat and posting videos of my dog and me doing yoga but still......

I don't know if its stress or hayfever but my asthma and peak flow are bad and i'm just sad and not sleeping. I think it must be stress.

I never thought i'd say it but I would love to tell child A to sit down and no, shh, stop swinging on one chair leg.

This is the third time I've posted this 😉:

A Department for Education spokesman said: “Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has not set a date for schools reopening.
“Schools will remain closed, except for children of critical workers and vulnerable children, until the scientific advice indicates it is the right time to reopen and the five tests set out by Government to beat this virus have been met.”