The Sixth Republic - Will we or won’t we? That is the question! #solidarity

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff. Baiters and bashers can jog on somewhere else.

If you are NOT staff and just have a general education query please start your own thread.

You can play here only if you are a member of one the following groups-

-ABBA - anti bashers and baiting association
-SWAB - school workers against bashers
-SWOT - school workers opposing teacherbashers
-STARS - schoolworkers together against ranting + slurs

Other requirements for staff room entry include the ability to find the staff room, the ability to find a clean mug in the staff room, knowledge of the photocopier codes, and the ability to sniff out where the toffee vodka is hidden.

In the other staffroom, there is rhubarb & ginger gin, along with tea and coffee.

Telegraph gleeful about that.

(BMA I mean)

Haven't the unions only repeated what the government originally said regarding key factors needed to reopen?

The fucking spin about an imaginary grand re opening has been the shittiest thing about all this.

GMB

Just double checked the papers and this is front page of the telegraph...

The British Medical Association has said schools can reopen on June 1, or earlier, as long as it is “safe to do so”.

In an apparent softening of its stance regarding pupils returning to the classroom, the doctors’ union admitted there was “growing evidence that the risk to individual children from Covid-19 is extremely small”.

However, it cautioned that there was still no consensus on how easily children could spread the disease to vulnerable adults.

Sigh.
So as long as the children don’t get it, to hell with all the adults?

This isn't just about the children; this is about community transmission. Testing and monitoring is still woefully inadequate. Research on transmission by children is also very limited. I'm very split about partial reopening. I can see both sides, especially as I know how many of our parents will be struggling with their SN children, as fabulous as they are. I do however think that staff must must must feel extremely confident in order to do their jobs under the current guidance and there's not much to feel confident about tbh.

They've spent a lot of time educating us about the R; we now know the R is different across the country at the very least!

To hell with the adults, and all of their vulnerable loved ones they care for at home.

Did anyone see Andrew Adonis's tweet about a meeting in the House of Lords where the wi fi kept dropping ? He was bemoaning lack of proper broadband.

This si the man who think the whole nation should eb doing live lessons!

What is needed is more parents to speak up about the strss caused by full days of online leaning live (and there are plenty of them) for any journalist to rethink what they are abying for.

The big problem is that top end journalism is so macho that they enjoy any aggression whoever the target and because of its very anti social hours, many of them don't have school age children.

Dan Walker, Naga Munchetty (she doesn't have children as it goes), Victoria Derbyshire and Louise Minchin are all very different in their tone.

What did RLB have to say?

Does anyone know if the Oak Academy lessons will continue after 1st June?

This will get low readership but is spot on!

www.newstatesman.com/politics/education/2020/05/reopening-schools-question-logistics-not-risks-teachers

Pretty sure they will : it's what is being relied on. Oak are surveying people about what they think of them. I absolutely savaged them, must say for their KS3/4 English content. There is no way my school will use it.

Can anyone point me to the thread about Oak?

Was just about to post that too, Piggy!
The BMA thing makes me feel suspicious that they’ve been pressurised to change tack. And also makes me feel like a conspiracy theorist. But wouldn’t be surprised these days.
Got meeting later to find out what’s happening... no questions about availability etc yet from SLT. Saw some east london boroughs aren’t reopening I think?! But not sure -twitter haze.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/20/british-schools-science-children-education-testing-tracing?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

This might be a useful response to anyone who says 'but Denmark'

Morning! Well, as we predicted, Sarah Vine couldn’t wait to stick the knife in after her husband’s performance the other day.

Good teachers, those for whom education is a vocation, understand that — and will, I am confident, accept some personal risk is necessary for this to happen.

Oh do fuck off dear....

Perhaps we should all make loads of TikToks when we go back dancing in corridors and crying (this is not me having a pop at the NHS btw)and videoing our classrooms and our own exhaustion.

I am actually already dreading the 31 May threads.

So, my LEA is in a region with R in the .7s (as is most of England!). I’ve consistently said I would feel safer at .5 or below to those who have asked - suddenly, people who I normally see once every few years are very interested in my opinion

BUT I wouldn’t be happy to say that if I worked in London (.4), as, chances are I would have no way of getting there without relying on public transport.

Not sure the point to this post... except to say it’s not even all about the R Actually, is it?

The teaching is a vocation crap has been the reason why every government for many years now ahs been able to shit on us from great height.

Definitely. My friends who earn lots of money tell me my job must be better cos it's emotionallynrewarding, while all they do is make money for big companies. Emotionally draining, more like. I think i was more invested in.the job before I had my own kids, but I have more empathy now. It's never been a vocation, it was a way of using my degree and filling time until i made my mind up about a career. 20 years later it appears to BE my career.

Exactly Piggy! It is just a job. One that pays my bills. After teaching since 2003, I have long since realised that I am far better to cope thinking that way, rather than continue working with all the ills of society on my shoulders. Lo and behold, I am still teaching after all that time.

Interestingly, what got me starting to think that’s way were teachers from other countries and seeing the way in which other countries don’t treat their teachers, the way large parts of the U.K. does.
By the way, thank you to those who stood up for us on that teacher basher threads. Lots of the same posters just continuing to moan that they don’t like the work that has been given but it was lovely seeing lots of new posters who were not teachers, also pointing out that there has been clear bullying going on. Thank you to them!

I did go into teaching with that 'calling' idea but also with a very socialist view, so not to prop up a Tory government. I still live to work.
However, I definitely did not go into teaching to be Joan of Arc or Mother Teresa.

I feel really upset about what teaching will be and become and it is that idea of death by PowerPoint whilst still believing the poor blighters can do full GCSEs that might see me out of the job. As will the end of camaraderie if we are to have no staff rooms and no catch up with colleagues.

Mrs Gove needs to note there is already higher personal risk attached to teaching than there ever has been with journalism.

Well, we’ve been given the drill about going back. It’s rife with precautions and rules. I’m a TA. I just want to help children with their work. It’s not a vocation, it’s a minimum wage job that’s usually quite tolerable.

I don't know who YoungHillKang is, but I think I might love them

I've been sitting on my hands because posting on those threads is a fruitless task.

I'm surprised that the fact the briefing yesterday told us schools should open when then there's effective track and trace up and running has just been ignored