The Thirty-Second Republic - Christmas count down - end of term in sight

[StaffAssociationRepresentative]

You are most welcome to this school staff support thread to get us through stressful times. It is meant for school staff only – a sort of room of requirement. Baiters, haters, goaders, 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 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

Do not give the staffroom password just in case it attracts the wrong sort

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 booze is stashed - Thirsty Tuesdays, Fizz Fridays now in operation.

If you come with a stick to goad us then that is not allowed in the staffroom and you will receive a detention

They'll find a way noble...

Be interesting to see how Keir reacts now.Lots of Labour councils and a Labour mayor. He is looking out of touch with his party.

I've had an awful day, bellowing at non compliant entitled little shits who won't/don't wear masks, won't follow a one way system and whine about open windows in a boiling hot classroom.

I lost my shit at least three times today.

The kids can't be so entitled in all schools??

Or , is it because ours haven't been brainwashed by their parents?

Must say I do admire London's chutzpah!

I think there are entitled little shits in every school, it's just the proportion of them that changes. I know we've got our fair share. I only lost my shit twice today, so that's better than Friday.

The kids can't be so entitled in all schools??

Oh I've had a shocking day too. I've bought them all a pack of cards for Christmas (cheap ones, obv). I wanted to use them this week in some maths games because they don't know their number bonds to 10 (year 3 and 4!). Not one said thanks, one shouted "I've had enough of this" and threw the pack across the room when he couldn't hold three cards in a fan, one box is already completely ripped (they aren't that cheap!), one child said could he take another pack because he needs one for at his mum's and one for at his dad's.

Behaviour in general was awful today, I'm dreading the next 4 days already.

I left at 3.05 and came home. Fuck them.

^"The kids can't be so entitled in all schools??"*

We had (online) panto and (in the flesh) popcorn on Friday. The number of mini tugs-of-war I had with kids when I was handing them out, with me refusing to let go until they said the magic word!!

The border between Tier 2 and 3 from tomorrow runs slap bang through our catchment area. Not sure whether that makes a difference to anything. Quite a lot of kids out today, apparently (just because - not for +ve results).

Oh I can't hand them to them - I have to put them on the floor/table in front of them. They just grab/snatch/tear things. Fully bonkers.

I'm not doing any popcorn or food stuff with them. We have a 45 minute 'party' slot in the hall on Thursday - I'm going to take my disco light, put on music and that's it. They'd just throw food around.

There are 4 decent kids in my class - by which I mean polite, sensible, hard working. Lots have diagnosable stuff going on, but a lot of the others are just shits.

I can't make head nor tail of the news and Tier stuff, I need to go and read....

My behaviour chart was on fire today as well. I'm knackered, they're knackered. I am so tired I can't cope with planning but I am delivering proper lessons till Friday because they would be mental without it. They can't do "fun" things without fighting or being little shits so we are not doing anything fun. I have the most boys, the most SEN, the most hormonal girls and no TA. They asked today why they weren't painting like the other class.

I referred them to the last time when paint got everywhere, one kid threw it, and one painted themself. Fractions it is, then! Maybe tomorrow i'll ask them to subtract xmas fractions. "Kyle had 3 and 4 fifths boxes of chocolate until Mrs Phleb lost it and ate a further 2 and 1/3 of them. How many did he have left? "

Is it any wonder that kids are entitled though, given the risks we have to take to keep them all on at any costs? I will quietly admit that this situation has made me feel at best ambivalent about the majority of children I teach. They have been raised on the pedestal of wellbeing and we must do as we are ordered on their behalf. Our wellbeing is nothing at all to theirs.

Any truth that the DFE have overturned the Greenwich decision and are ordering the schools to reopen?

Yeah, threatened legal action against them.

Waltham Forest going online too. www.tes.com/news/close-schools-early-says-third-london-council

Kids are most definitely voting with their feet now between a third and a half missing in my classes today. What absolute bollocks that schools are open as normal. Some are self isolating but I bet to buggery they won't get tested. Who would want to have whole household self isolating in run up to Christmas?

@SaltyAF

Is it any wonder that kids are entitled though, given the risks we have to take to keep them all on at any costs? I will quietly admit that this situation has made me feel at best ambivalent about the majority of children I teach. They have been raised on the pedestal of wellbeing and we must do as we are ordered on their behalf. Our wellbeing is nothing at all to theirs.

Agree. Had an easy day in terms of timetable today but the sense of entitlement is getting me down. Wish management would reiterate to kids the sacrifice we are making as a nation and as teachers and in terms of DH and I of not seeing our son through the lockdown on a personal note (!), to keep them in school.

[quote noblegiraffe]Waltham Forest going online too. www.tes.com/news/close-schools-early-says-third-london-council[/quote]
Oooo fight! Fight!!

Our wellbeing is nothing at all to theirs

Isn’t that the truth salty

Sorry everyone’s had tough days today. This weeks going to be tough isn’t it.

Really?!!

How can a government that literally invented a tier system and stuff about online provision threaten legal action??

I reckon the day a on teacher infections on Thursday will not be new. It'll be that ONS data One of the objections to Whittys discussion of it was that it hadn't been properly released yet.

Say again piggy?

I think Primary children are mostly oblivious to sacrifices made by the adults who teach and support them at the best of times, but you’d hope for a bit more humility and understanding by secondary. I’d feel I’d failed as a parent if I’d raised an entitled little shit, even allowing for the breathtaking selfishness that can kick in during the teenage years.
We’ve had some amazingly demanding behaviour from certain parents but tbh they are like that anyway, it’s just magnified x 1000 now. The majority of our children are as sweet, hyper and enthusiastic as they always are at this time of year. I feel very sad they have missed out on the usual pantomime and trip to Father Christmas as well as having the joy of Nativity squeezed out by having to have it filmed in truncated sections.

Even some sixth form students think we owe them. I'm usually ruthlessly efficient with marking but I'll never forget one little git, when I apologised for not having marked something for the next lesson, saying "why not? That's your job"... and he wasn't joking.

We're expected to pussy foot around them because "mental health" but no one gives a shiny shit about ours. I absolutely appreciate and understand that mental illness is a huge problem for many teens these days but give me strength when they need yet another bloody extension because "anxiety".

Rage!!!

It's all madness.
I just looked at the BBC list of boroughs. My borough has climbed up the list, above Greenwich and Islington.
Year 5 came back last Tuesday and they are out again today isolating again.

I don’t think the government have any hope of putting the genie back into the bottle on London schools closing. Three LAs and many other individual schools. It’s too late for them to seriously challenge this now.

I will quietly admit that this situation has made me feel at best ambivalent about the majority of children I teach. They have been raised on the pedestal of wellbeing and we must do as we are ordered on their behalf. Our wellbeing is nothing at all to theirs.

This is perfect. We've got kids of 7 and 8 who know that they have all the power. It will push me out of teaching I expect.