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

Honestly I feel like what’s the fucking point of going into work every day and then not being able to go out for dinner and to the pub or to see family at the weekend. I did express this on another thread and got told I was basically a disgrace to the profession! But as we know social distancing in school/college can’t be upheld, what is the point? Might as well take my chances and at least have a life.

Exactly gravity and we still get the joy of queuing outside supermarkets. No early hour for us.

Thanks for your kind thoughts about my DP, it's much appreciated. He used to relentlessly take the mickey about how many holidays teachers had when we first met, but he soon appreciated what we do and actually stopped voting Tory!
I've been on Twitter quite a bit following the Adonis and his alleged vested interests threads, v interesting.
My HT has asked us to draw up new knowledge organisers for Sept, I teach a very similar thing each year so I'll be tweaking.
My DD is Y10 (or when schools go back she will be) so watching all the MN threads and reading your links with interest (but not commenting on MN!!)

Plus, thanks to the “privilege” of being still on full pay (because, working full time), no financial benefits from the government like furlough pay, but no doubt will face tax rises later. To be clear, I don’t begrudge other people the help at all, but there aren’t rainbows in windows, free coffees and shopping hours for us but we’re as expected to lump it as everyone else. (And I know this applies to other non-NHS key workers too).

I just can’t see where the argument is for it being safe to be in school but not safe to do everything else.

If you are covering a rota in schools you are a key worker so you should be able to use the key worker shopping hours. I don't think it is just NHS. A friend of mine is a barrister and counted as a key worker.

The mail has similar headlines to The a Telegraph, however when reading it, it then goes on to say some schools will reopen with more key workers being able to send their children in. Which is slightly more believable as it is just extending what we are doing now to a few more children.

However, seeing as all the papers are making good use of modal verbs, I wouldn't believe anything I read.

"However, seeing as all the papers are making good use of modal verbs, I wouldn't believe anything I read."

😂

I normally read the news 20+ times a day, have done for nearly 20 years, but, I’ve just blocked my favourite news websites. I will watch the daily briefing and the 9 o clock like “back in the day”. I’m being very strict with not answering threads, but I need to be stricter with not even opening up AIBU/education. Is there a way to hide topics?! I feel panic rising when I see the threads pop up.

The closest I have felt to this before was when my son was about 3m old and, because of health complications, we were trapped in a relentless cycle of appointments/hospitals/home/baby routine I was certainly a little bit depressed (how I feel now) and verging on panic attacks when I thought about it too much (how I feel now that a very vocal minority seem to be clamouring for schools to reopen whatever).

It’s interesting what Piggy says about the “MH magic bullet” because it’s so true, returning to a stressful environment without the escapes provided by all the those places and things listed, just extends our stress to two places (work/school AND home). I can cope with being at home, I’m a bit down, sure, but I can control the environment, I have things to entertain and distract me (not least my 2 y o!) and I feel safe. I do not think I can cope with work. And, I’m a coper. Sunny side up is what I would normally consider my default setting.

If you are covering a rota in schools you are a key worker so you should be able to use the key worker shopping hours. I don't think it is just NHS. A friend of mine is a barrister and counted as a key worker.

Nope, definitely only NHS staff at my local M and S and Sainsburys : you have to show a lanyard.

Because I don't have any family, the seeing the family bit doesn't' affect me (although I feel awful for those it does and jealous pf those who have lovely families) but DH is vulnerable, and also all my boys love sport. DH plays golf and the lads head off out to watch football and cricket together as much as they can. It's very sad to think our lives will be reduced to work work work.

I also feel very sad and anxious for all these parents who want their year 6s back because they will then have a nice end to school. I really don't think so...

One poster thought the residential would still go ahead FFS!

Welsh minister said on Marr that they cannot have all kids back as people just would not except that. It would have to meet the circumstances and he would like to match the England approach.

I am also getting jittery about Gav's proclamation about years 10 and 12 rushing back. It makes me feel like the exams will not be altered at all to account for lost time.

Me too.

My school is a small one so we don't have lanyards with our photos, just generic staff ones. Sainsburys and Tescos locally will not accept them because of that

All these parents demanding schools should reopen do they realise it's only a 7 week term? What do they intend doing with their children after that?

The AIBU voting thread about whether you’d send your kids in on 1st June is going v differently to the last one about 11th May. 70:30 in favour at the moment.

Not sure they realise that schools reopening will be more of a pain in the arse than keeping them home, logistically.

I’m staggered by the number of people who don’t seem to like their children.

There will be no parking on the zig zags and rushing your child in.

I’m staggered by the number of people who don’t seem to like their children.

Agree! I mean we all need a break but seriously, it's crackers.

I also feel very sad and anxious for all these parents who want their year 6s back because they will then have a nice end to school.

An end to primary school would be nice. My Y6 DS’s school closed for a week due to staff absence before lockdown so they were in school one day, not in the next, then all schools closed. No goodbyes or any hastily put together leavers assemblies or anything. Psychologically it would be very painful for that to be it completely.

Has anyone seen this Parentkind survey? The Dfe were pushing it on their Facebook page. I'm convinced they'll use the results to inform policy (in lieu of anything else approaching any kind of strategy).

r1.dotmailer-surveys.com/1114x93a-984mj1a3?fbclid=IwAR0oHdMOZ27yc7lSPgRStYAi0fbGJxG1FuHPDV-D30WFAqYobLLoBIG_ux4

I also feel very sad and anxious for all these parents who want their year 6s back because they will then have a nice end to school. I really don't think so...One poster thought the residential would still go ahead FFS!

I know!

Transition involves sending year 6s up to their future secondary schools, meeting teachers and talking to existing pupils. If we don’t want to mix schools and put staff/children at risk and external visitors to schools are banned, what is that transition going to look like?!

One poster thought the residential would still go ahead FFS!

I saw that - excellent. Honestly. I don't post here regularly, but it's been enlightening to see how despite our best efforts as a profession, just how 'uneducated' people are.

cheese I agree - I'm going to have to stop looking at AIBU and the coronavirus topics, so many school threads. Online newspapers as well, I'm normally really laid back but the uncertainty and the growing fear that whatever happens will make life not just far more difficult for school staff but potentially unsafe as well is really getting to me!

The Guardian is a better read. They are way less obsessed with the economy ,and schools.

70:30 in favour at the moment.

This really does make me realise how different MN is from the population at large, if you accept the Guardian's 17% and The ST's 28% as at least reasonably valid.