Temporary broom closet in lieu of staff creating a staffroom

[TheHoneyBadger]

Just in case she got lucky and is in the one school that still goes to the pub.

My town was in papers today for not having been able to provide a single dose to anyone yet. Teachers getting vaccines is just a distraction tactic.

I’m feeling slightly better this morning (I think) but I am still absolutely shattered. I can’t see me being ready to return to work at the end of my 10 days.

We’ve had radio silence from our HT since an email telling us all to be in on Monday providing remote learning for all year groups and to attend a whole staff briefing before school in the hall. Because that’s safe, don’tcha know?

Absolutely piggy.

On BBC website as Breaking (was that what you meant monkey):

Regional restrictions in England are "probably about to get tougher" to curb rising Covid infections, the prime minister has warned.

Boris Johnson said he was "entirely reconciled to doing what it takes to get the virus down," including keeping schools closed if necessary.

(I can't cope with news telly on a Sunday morning, or Boris live for that matter)

Glad you are feeling a bit better medra don’t go back before you are ready. This virus is a bastard, you need to be fully fit before you head in.

Just had an email from NEU:

"This morning at 11am is our Zoom briefing for members. At the time of writing 25,000 people have signed up and it promises to be the biggest online political event in UK history."

"If you cannot get into the event, we will be live streaming on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube."

"We must make schools safe to protect communities. So far 170,000 have signed our petition and millions have seen our media and social media activity."

@JanuaryChill

Absolutely piggy.

On BBC website as Breaking (was that what you meant monkey):

Regional restrictions in England are "probably about to get tougher" to curb rising Covid infections, the prime minister has warned.

Boris Johnson said he was "entirely reconciled to doing what it takes to get the virus down," including keeping schools closed if necessary.

(I can't cope with news telly on a Sunday morning, or Boris live for that matter)

Yes this. Fucking nuts.

I do not understand the lack of bigger picture thinking. The NHS is overwhelmed. Anyone that needs emergency care/ambulance etc is fucked and it’s only going to get worse. So yes someone might not be worried about covid for themselves but why would you now care that everything else non-covid will be affected? Is it just denial? Is it just people don’t think outside their immediate situation? Anyone that knows anyone who works in healthcare knows how bad it is... I can’t work out the disconnect.

No longer following the Science is what that says - whatever alternative they put in it's place that's a total admission

The madness is none of their approach has even made economic sense! And it hasn't stayed true to their own professed values. Shutting down business in November in order to keep schools open?

It really makes me think as to what their real fear of closing schools is. They don't give a toss about vulnerable kids and they have clearly never valued state education as education so what function of schools is it that they are afraid of closing?

I keep having half baked theories about social control, fears of working class young people, fears of revealing how massive societal problems that are covered up by schools? Everything feels like a 'bit' of truth but I can't pull it into a whole picture that rings true yet.

I can imagine them fearing a 'benefits generation' if we don't keep the breeders spawn used to getting up and leaving the house in the morning - I definitely feel it's something to do with their fear and contempt for the working and non working class.

I can imagine also some fear of losing a decades worth of forcing disabled or single parents out to work in minimum wage, zero contracts and the like and them 'having the excuse' to go back on benefits because they can't do anymore somersaults than they already have to try to balance having small children and no access to affordable childcare.

I don't think they give a toss about middle class wives having to stop work or juggle childcare and career because I imagine they are fine with that and only really want to see mothers work if they have the audacity to need help from the state to afford to raise their children.

I can't get at what it is that is floating around in the corner of my mind but it's one of those perculation processes where when it does come into focus it's like remembering the name of the band that made that song that has been bugging you. Does that make sense? I'm an anthropologist originally so I guess it's the culture of the tory party and eton boys and their values and beliefs that I'm turning over in my mind to make sense of their motivations because the decisions don't fit with their alleged values and certainly their professed reasons don't have a shred of authenticity about them.

Sorry - serious mental masturbation there possibly but it's bugging me!

I think I'm going to send in the letter.

Good for you @RuleWithAWoodenFoot

If they try to make exams years/secondaries go back I will be following suit and encouraging all our members to do the same.

mental masturbation

I too will send the letter if secondaries go back unmitigated. That will include exam classes, of which I teach 5 per week.

Fair play Rule. I literally live a few minutes walk from school and am part time and can have my son in kw provision this time whilst I'm made to be in and I'm only expected to do one hour in kw provision tomorrow with sd. Tomorrow is not a section 44 issue for me therefore and it's not like I'm being made to travel out of my area, use public transport etc to attend.

For those who are being put at risk by going back and haven't got those kind of mitigations tomorrow it's a whole different ball game.

@SaltyAF

I too will send the letter if secondaries go back unmitigated. That will include exam classes, of which I teach 5 per week.

Snap.

Yeah for me it will be the plans for the 18th that are the deciding factor. If I'm expected to go back to teaching full classes with no mitigation then that's when my letter would go in if it does go in.

I’ve been mulling over society a lot recently too honey

It’s all so pressured. There’s no slack in the system at all. Both parents working long hours (myself and Dh both work so that’s no a judgment).
Parenting kids seems so much more intensive these days. It is exhausting.

Something is rotten in society.

@TheHoneyBadger

No longer following the Science is what that says - whatever alternative they put in it's place that's a total admission

The madness is none of their approach has even made economic sense! And it hasn't stayed true to their own professed values. Shutting down business in November in order to keep schools open?

It really makes me think as to what their real fear of closing schools is. They don't give a toss about vulnerable kids and they have clearly never valued state education as education so what function of schools is it that they are afraid of closing?

I keep having half baked theories about social control, fears of working class young people, fears of revealing how massive societal problems that are covered up by schools? Everything feels like a 'bit' of truth but I can't pull it into a whole picture that rings true yet.

I can imagine them fearing a 'benefits generation' if we don't keep the breeders spawn used to getting up and leaving the house in the morning - I definitely feel it's something to do with their fear and contempt for the working and non working class.

I can imagine also some fear of losing a decades worth of forcing disabled or single parents out to work in minimum wage, zero contracts and the like and them 'having the excuse' to go back on benefits because they can't do anymore somersaults than they already have to try to balance having small children and no access to affordable childcare.

I don't think they give a toss about middle class wives having to stop work or juggle childcare and career because I imagine they are fine with that and only really want to see mothers work if they have the audacity to need help from the state to afford to raise their children.

I can't get at what it is that is floating around in the corner of my mind but it's one of those perculation processes where when it does come into focus it's like remembering the name of the band that made that song that has been bugging you. Does that make sense? I'm an anthropologist originally so I guess it's the culture of the tory party and eton boys and their values and beliefs that I'm turning over in my mind to make sense of their motivations because the decisions don't fit with their alleged values and certainly their professed reasons don't have a shred of authenticity about them.

Sorry - serious mental masturbation there possibly but it's bugging me!

I think like this as well.

I don’t get why Boris and the media seems to give any air time to or listen to Us4Them either?

What am I not getting there?

If they try to force me back into a full school on 18th then I am going to go to Dr and ask to be signed off with stress. Symptoms ? Crying, not sleeping, heart palpitations, blood pressure through the roof. Not like the GP will be able to check any of this via a zoom call.

It all feels very strange. Ex works entirely from home now because it's too unsafe for him to be in an office bigger than my classroom with 12 people. He's technically a key worker because he works in financial services (making rich people richer!). He's a huge covid denier but even he thinks it's madness that a) I have to go in to teach remotely and b) when kids are in, I get less protection than the bloke in the post office.

The disconnect, absolutely herc.

Chris Whitty would be a useful man to be interviewed at present. Think he's being kept very quiet.

I hope there will be leaks and exposes later that fill in the gaps.

Realising that despite my alleged hate of polemics and tribalism in politics it's actually more comfortable when tories are tories and labour are labour. Tories doing things that don't fit and labour abandoning the unions is all too discombobulating!

From the Staffroom thread:
As for us though I think back to normal would feel like a breeze

Agree! For all the trainees and NQTs, the future will eventually look brighter.

I'm enjoying the anthropological/social musings...

I'd like to add a somewhat tangential one - we have a clear split in society now between the haves and have nots and I don't even mean economically, but also culrurally, where half the kids are somewhat to full on helicopter parented, driven around to multiple extra-curricular activities, have every gadget going, are treated to lots of trips and days out over holidays and weekends - and the other half have none of that. And the parents in the first category have been the ones shouting the loudest for keeping schools and rugby and dance open, and bemoaning the closure of trampoline parks and theme parks because of their children's mental health and "socialisation" not even caring or recognising that half the kids in society have none of these things ever (except school - and not even necessarily that in the case of children with health issues or AEN). It properly infuriates me.

What am I not getting there?

A large part of it is that the U.K. as a whole, really doesn’t like teachers (faceless ones, usually not their own child’s ones interestingly...) and as a result, will never get unbiased reporting, before and after Covid19.
It is truly eye opening being a teacher in another country...

I didn't watch Bojo but the take home from the bbc report is "rules to get tougher" and "may include schools (but we don't want to) and we couldn't have predicted this new variant, not our fault"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55521747