The Thirty-Fourth Republic - Time to recharge our batteries and make the best of our festive break

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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

Correct!

Instead of their score coming out as a grade, it depends on which bits they go right or wrong, so you might have a higher score but a lower grade.

But it's a bit subjective (or, if I'm feeling unkind, a great way to fudge data).

I'm going to regret this... but what is EDSM?
has flashback to explaining why calling someone's mum a "gimp" might cause them to punch you. Luckily to a y12

Oh halifax, are you near me? Three tier schools?

Yes , I think probably living in the same place from what you have said ,that sounds a bit stalky but I am harmless honestly

Oh. I don't think I like that. I like to give them marks for methods and answers, then count up those marks. We even sometimes have grade boundaries, but not always. I like that system. We give easier tests to the lower sets and harder tests for the higher sets. It has worked for an awfully long time, so I'm against changing it just for the sake of things.

Random link to a school that uses EDSM aldermanwhite.school/ks3-assessment

But since we're still doing the same end of topic tests it just mean we can (within reason) pick a grade that 'feels right'.

I hate it, I like data. You don't get a higher score at GCSE for answer 'deeper' questions (at least not in science), they just assume you get more marks if you know more stuff!

I imagine that other schools use EDSM in a much more rigorous and objective was than we are! It's not EDSM I have an issue with (I don't think), just the way we're being made to apply it.

My typos indicate I should sleep now! Night all.

I like data too. I like to be able to say "he got this grade because he scored this many marks". I don't want to have to analyse whether those questions were skills based or problem solving. Marks are marks, and in general you do get more marks if you know more stuff.

Just had a scary thought. You know those lateral flow tests have been panned because they were double checked against PCR in a study on students.... What if the PCR they used was one of those that doesn't pick up the new variant so well, and most of the positives were new variant? Or the lateral flow doesn't pick up the new variant?

Hello insomnia! had a panic about whether we actually clicked through for the online shop.

Wtf is ebdsm?

I hate these acronyms and abbreviations. I was once in a staff meeting where we had fifteen minutes on whether we should use LO (Learning Objective) or LI (Learning Intention). and fucking success criteria. Always hated that term. Implications that you're not a success if you can't do it all.

Preferred WILF and WALT for children. Mine were cats and I wrote on their tummies.

Don't EVEN start on highlighters.

In over 20 years of teaching no one has ever established the difference to me between L outcome and L objective and L intention

Have hospital admissions increased for younger people or is this just made up? I was hoping someone smarter than me could help but don't want to be spreading falso info. Will ask Mumsnet to delete if false.

twitter.com/tigressellie/status/1341418162370326528?s=21

Stories coming out of Kent hospitals suggest so. She is not an impartial evidence gatherer , but she does cite her sources.

halifax

Thanks I was meant to post on the numbers thread. I am sure someone on the main boards will say its fine as its a small percentage.

Edutwitter are starting to pick up

Yeah I replied on here rather than the numbers thread. Someone will be along soon on there to unpick the source and patronise you! They ahve got a bit more credulous in their beliefs about schools since a dominant poster r left but it is still a blind spot. I think most mums would rather believe that schools are fine ( I think it is an emotional thing : they want to protect their children and feel like they are being told that they are wilfully sending their children somewhere hazardous every day) and that people who point out they aren't are hysterical or shiftless.

@fuckweasel very best for today, I think you may be the last poster on the thread who is still in. May your gin be large and your sofa comfy tonight.

Thanks Piggy you are right.

Don't EVEN start on highlighters.

How about purple pens for editing? (children write all manner of unerasable tosh in books rather than tosh I can simply rub out with my Magic Teacher Rubber)

We are still doing live marking - tickled pink, green for growth. I still have to think twice that it's not green=good, pink=think

Oh, I'm so glad we've never had specific colours for marking. I can use whatever colour I like. I've got a lovely set of sparkly gel pens that are very popular with year 7. Our pupils are supposed to self mark in green, but I'm satisfied if it's a different colour to what they were working in (they should really be working in pencil according to department policy) Dd2 tells me regularly that she had to purple pen her story and every time she says it I have to ask what she means. It just doesn't stick in my brain.

@GleamingBaubles

Just had a scary thought. You know those lateral flow tests have been panned because they were double checked against PCR in a study on students.... What if the PCR they used was one of those that doesn't pick up the new variant so well, and most of the positives were new variant? Or the lateral flow doesn't pick up the new variant?

I have a feeling I've seen something on that.

I also hate acronyms and I'm a relatively new teacher - few years in.

I don't hang out with a load of teenagers outside school and I caught it. I'm sure I got it from school and I have been carefully following all the rules. It was rife in the last couple of weeks and although I live in a tier 3 area our community numbers had drastically improved since early November.

I feel sad this morning as I still feel ill. I tried to go for a short walk yesterday and now I feel rough. I think covid has triggered my ME/CFS as other than a bit of coughing and my smell being out, the symptoms are all normal for me but worse than usual having a delayed response to exercise is definitely a characteristic ME trait.

We are still doing live marking - tickled pink, green for growth. I still have to think twice that it's not green=good, pink=think

See, we haven't even got that far. We are still green good, pink think. Which I refuse to do in my subjects as they're the complete antithesis of how those subjects should be taught.

What is tickled pink?! Sounds almost like a safeguarding issue! (Joke!)

I sometimes think, for all the foundation subjects, apply that method to PE and can you do it? No. So why do it?

Do we go round sticking pink dots on their foreheads in PE? (Or tickling them in that version...?!)