The Eight Republic - half term over - primaries under pressure- 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.

If you are fed up with cakes and biscuits there is now a cheeseboard on offer

Bloody zoom lessons! I should have stayed away from that thread.

I think the problem with all the solutions people suggest to students learning is they only really benefit those who engage. Live lessons probably would help keen students who attend and do the work, they are not going to help those who either don't log in or do log in but play on their phone off camera (this is much easier to do online than in an actual lesson). Having some students back in school I think will widen the gap too, not close it, as those who are diligent will attend and those not working at home won't bother. The only way to fix this would be to make it compulsory to attend if you are told to.

A private school has now had to insist the students have cameras on because it became apparent kids were going away/leaving the lesson/ sitting with parents/ texting throughout. There was even one boy who admitted older brother did the lessons instead...

We insist on cameras for exactly those reasons. That and it’s quid pro quo if I’m having to be filmed so are they.

They've exhausted even me today. Bunch of bitches and bellends.

I'm now sat down at my desk sorting out the website for tomorrow. Can't decide whether to take everything from last week down or not.

I took all last term's down, then got a 'my child hasn't finished x work yet' - but that was work from 5 weeks ago. I can't leave a whole term of 3 lessons a day up on a class webpage, it'll crash the whole thing.

So bored of it.

I think I can feel what's coming. Oak NA is going to be given shed loads more money, a load of those 25 year old head teachers doing the teaching on there will be deciding on curriculum and lesson content for the entire country. And we'll all have to fit in around it - especially primary schools, who are suddenly going to find themselves back at school in allegedly smaller groups, with 1m social distancing going on.

If this happens I'll leave teaching completely. I don't want to teach someone else's curriculum or planning, especially when they are Tory supporting MATs. I just don't want that.

Had a conversation with partner last night about doing some studying. He has suggested Ed Psych, but I'm not sure I'd love that. Constantly dealing with children who are having a challenging time. Feels like it's money for old rope at the moment though - just suggest the same stuff over and over again and ask for £500 a day.

Uh oh, jaded already and it's only second week of term.

Do it pfrench come and play with me in flouncer’s corner!

He has suggested Ed Psych, but I'm not sure I'd love that.

I’ve considered that. A 3/4 year doctorate is quite an undertaking though. Plus a psychology conversion beforehand

It's more about being stuck in this country really - if you're sponsored or whatever, you have to work for an LA for x number of years. Can't remember detail, last looked at it when I was doing my NASENCO.

What I'd like to do is some sort of masters in a sociology type thing. No idea where you go for a job with that though - maybe just secondary education.

Interestingly on the DfE Facebook post on Oak, lots of comments flagged up the poor English content, and a few mentioned errors in science and maths. They need to build in more checks.

There are bound to be errors - sure there are in my lessons too. In class you'd be able to use them as teaching points!!

I know that they are planning and recording all lessons in their own time, as well as having 'normal' jobs to do - which probably involves planning and recording more lessons. I might have been interested in doing it at the beginning*, but now it's still going on I think I'd have regretted my choice.

*I'm nothing to do with it, I'm just thinking about how those conversations might have gone. I'd have put my hand up to be involved.

I don't kiss the arses of the right people on Twitter though.

piggy I briefly looked at one lesson for oak and found a mistake in the quiz at the start. I know it's easily done but you'd think if you were broadcasting to the nation you might check for errors. It was annoyingly one of those mistakes that the kids always do as well, so it just reinforces their misconceptions.

My flounce didn't last long. Must have more willpower.

Can't remember detail, last looked at it when I was doing my NASENCO

Snap!

Oak doesn’t follow the national curriculum which makes it quite useless. They have the wrong science topics in some years.

I don’t even bloody know what I’d do in a live lesson! I’m scratching around for time fillers in the one-hour lessons I have to teach as part of our face-to-face contact with y12. It’ll be like “everyone ok...? Er...”

My subjects just don’t suit online live lessons at all. The input bit tends to be quite lecture-y (talking about a text, giving technical terminology) and the checking knowledge comes through their written and practical work. I wouldn’t be able to do the same free style tossing questions out and expanding on it thing I do in the classroom - I just plain and simple don’t do the sort of knowledge-based questioning you can do in other subjects. I’ve been pulled up for this before in observations by maths/science specialists...

Oh now I want to do a sociology masters and go teach in an FE college or something. #paycut

Urgh. Just that really. I'm off for a run.
I am not in the mood to spend tomorrow preparing work as it seems it's a load of shite if not delivered by my talking heads in my bedroom. What is the actual point

I've spent the last hour assessing our finances, with a view to walking out. Had enough, and the prospect of yet wider opening on June 22nd fills me with massive anxiety.

I feel the same, @callmeangelina

I wish I could.

call and appu

Oak doesn’t follow the national curriculum which makes it quite useless. They have the wrong science topics in some years.

Honestly, the bbc is fine. There's a load of parents clamouring for live lessons at my sons school. Luckily we've had a survey and an explanation of why live lessons are impractical.

@Mistressiggi

Urgh. Just that really. I'm off for a run. I am not in the mood to spend tomorrow preparing work as it seems it's a load of shite if not delivered by my talking heads in my bedroom. What is the actual point

Totally agree! I think this is the first weekend since 20th March where I have haven’t looked at my school email and responded to/helped/marked late work/fixed a problem because I’m just mentally exhausted you know, from not doing anything for 11 weeks

Honestly, the bbc is fine.

Yep, bloody love it! Loads of my lessons have links to the BBC lessons in them. Even in class I use Bitesize loads. They have great cartoons to explain things, 7 year olds like cartoons and engage with them.

The things they remember most are the videos on key persons from history - people like Rosa Parks etc. My lot can tell you in loads of detail all about the info in those videos, they really cut through their heads for some reason.

I want to end up in an fe college. I'm desperate to cos I only really enjoy a level teaching. Gcse curriculum has killed it.

I do the odd recorded ppt, which kids have said they found helpful.

I love teaching at sixth form college! There’s all the same politics and gripes about SLT, inter-departmental rubbish etc as school though, and do NOT fall for the “well the students want to be there!” thing.

But I was ready to leave teaching altogether before I started and now I’d happily work there for the rest of my career.

Happily the surveys of parents at my place has been that we've given them too much work and people can't do it to a timetable as there are family members sharing or kids struggling on phones. So we've had to reduce work and just set it to be completed sometime during the week.