The Thirty-eight republic - Covid Carnage - Schools still waiting for test kits

[SantaAssociationRepresentitve]

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

Gotta be the next thread title.

I'm trying to ignore I really am. But how Squealer was that last post?

Shame we've got no English teachers up.

Speaking of marking, I have a little travel bag downstairs which has 33 pieces of extended English writing in. The plan was to do a little each day. As you could guess, that didn't happen and now I have to spend the weekend doing it. It's my own fault but that doesn't make me feel any less sad.

It's not high brow enough for 1984 but perfect Animal Farm pitch. I may make ds read it and ask him which pig it sound like. He'll get it

I always leave things till the last minute. Can’t work without an imminent deadline. A little marking each day would never happen, so I’ve just given up feeling guilty about stuff like that. It’ll get done.

I'm ashamed to admit I've never read either title. I saw animal farm as a child but I've not read it. Always intended to read them both but there always seems to be a longer list of modern children's books I need to get through for my class.

Ouch iam. I've got 30 year 9 16 markers to mark and 30 year 8 judging interpretations essays to mark.

I thought I'd be doing them this weekend but given I have to go into school despite having already set all remote learning I will be doing them in school time if I can find a quiet corner.

i never bring home marking. Absolutely bust my arse during the school day to do it.

Although hopefully we'll be on strike soon so I don't have to be in school

@TheHoneyBadger

I'm trying to ignore I really am. But how Squealer was that last post?

Shame we've got no English teachers up.

I’m sure enemies of education isn’t original, they’ve definitely stolen it from somewhere else recently.

Enemies of promise was Gove, of course. Even he couldn’t stoop to pretending teachers were averse to a bit of education.

Hahaha.. night night fuckers.. I mean, enemies of education.

Markings is the thing that's really killed me this last term. As I'm primary, the expectation is that pretty much everything is marked and, often, in a lot of detail. Typically, I'd spend each lesson live marking, pulling groups to review, etc. and so the workload was manageable. This term, being unable to do that, I can be left with hours upon hours of marking every day if I'm not careful.

It was ds's English remote learning in summer term so it's fresh in my mind and there are so many parallels with the gaslighting bs we've been subjected to this year.

It's 2am! How did that happen. Quite exciting because I'm usually asleep by 9 in term time.

@noblegiraffe

I always leave things till the last minute. Can’t work without an imminent deadline. A little marking each day would never happen, so I’ve just given up feeling guilty about stuff like that. It’ll get done.

I'm exactly the same. I work so much more effectively and efficiently under pressure. I'd much rather binge-mark than 1 or 2 a day. (actually I'd much rather binge on Netflix and chocolate...)

@Hercwasonasnowball

😂 😂 We have a new moniker "enemies of education".

Oh my, alliteration and hyperbole! Someone’s been studying their persuasive writing techniques

Right lovelies aka fuckers aka enemies of education I shall bid you goodnight. Don't let the troll get it's hands on our gin supplies

Assonance that time. All those seething s words

@Thatbigriver85

I am happy to engage with you in PMs or on another thread where we can discuss this topic at length. However, I ask that you show the compassion that you wish to see from others and leave this thread in peace.

I studied Animal Farm in Y9. I guess some lessons just stick with you.

I actually then went and read 1984 off my own bat. Pretty prescient. But should also be read alongside Brave New World.

Which makes me feel better about my Christmas reading. I have read some proper stuff!

In secondary, we just studied Lord of the Flies and several pieces from Shakespeare. If I'm being honest, that's probably why I actively dislike Shakespeare and have got away with only teaching it once in my teaching career.

"Enemies of education"
What, the people who choose to work in education? Amazing.

And it is a choice, for most of us, despite the challenges. Don't be fooled by the supposedly short hours and long holidays: it's not a doss of a job.

I love my job, usually, but enough is enough. There needs to be a change made to our conditions and we may have to shout louder for that to happen. My change in stance from (grudging) acceptance to anger is because of the new variant and because, while my child has an underlying health condition, he is a teenager, and it should not be a life-limiting condition, so I will not sacrifice him so that he can be dismissed as someone who would have died soon anyway as he had an underlying condition.

If I could be arsed, I would start my own AIBU thread: AIBU to think that anyone who calls teachers enemies of education and blames staff for wanting better conditions needs to think about who the enemies really are?

Hi, @TheHoneyBadger

Bypassing port and going straight for gin

@TheHoneyBadger

I'm trying to ignore I really am. But how Squealer was that last post?

Shame we've got no English teachers up.

I thought it was quite Fred Elliot, I say Fred Elliot, in tone.

Morning, fellow enemies!
Definitely a Squealer invasion there. You all did very well not to cut off his tail and pin it to the barn door.
I think I was the one with the expanding foam simile. It's a fave. Unless you're a PE teacher, obviously, where your marking is like Gav... mostly invisible.
Iamnottheone I think I loathe poetry for the same reason. My a level lit teacher was dire and she put me off for life. I have to grit my teeth when I teach it at GCSE (partly because I can't imagine any of the poets being entirely convinced about their poems' likeness to any of the others)