The Forty Second Republic - Lockdown 3 online learning struggles continue

[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

Evening all. Checking in to the new Republic, thanks staff

I was working at 6:30am today, so as a reward I let myself have an evening off. I logged off at 5, and anything not done yet can wait til tomorrow.

@JanuaryChill

Don't know piggy but the fact that the government have repackaged the tests and put their own branding on them, changing the instructions which say they can only be used by professionals could just be part of the story:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9127345/UK-coronavirus-Department-Health-rebranding-professional-use-kit-self-test.html

Dodgy used car salesmen. Or fireplaces.

I know this sounds naive given the shitshow of the state of the world right now but... Surely the fact that LF tests have been outed as rubbish will make a difference? At least to the stupid "test instead of isolate" plan...

That article is sinister!

But Deeks is being called a 'liar' and biased, so...

@Piggywaspushed

That article is sinister!

But Deeks is being called a 'liar' and biased, so...

He seems to be hated and derided on some other threads on here.

I've got 4 essays to mark before p1. I can't.... I have to stop now or I will cry

You lot saying how late you have worked is making me feel bad. I'm getting up early to get the kids sorted while DH does as much of his work as possible.
I get them logged into teams, and try to coax the 4yo to do something then I go teach to timetable while DH has the kids while also working bits. We swap at lunch then swap back again until I finish at 3. Then I take the kids out for some fresh air (they've been on screens all day so we can work) do tea, after tea board games or TV, bath, bedtime stories, million requests for glass of water or cuddle etc, then 9pm I collapse and watch shit TV and MN as my brain is fried from video teaching to timetable all day.
So I am doing the bare minimum of work, also still managing to neglect my own kids - the 4yo is becoming a screen addict and feral.

@MrsHamlet

I've got 4 essays to mark before p1. I can't.... I have to stop now or I will cry

Don't. Why P1? Just tell them you didn't get around to it. I have done absolutely zero marking this lockdown. Said well done good effort to photos of work and pointed out obvious errors, or set self marking quizzes, or just commented on what they do on online whiteboards with tasks. No actual marking.

I'm doing lots of self marking quizzes too. And lots of genetic "that looks good". No detailed marking though. I do send my solutions to them so they can self mark, just like I'd read out the answers in an in person lesson. I did set homework for my sixth form groups, that come in tomorrow. Idiot that I am, I set both classes deadline as tomorrow, so that'll be a fun weekend of marking.

Totally agree with enemy the marking can wait. The only marking I’ve done is the same as enemy.

Regarding the lateral flow tests. The government’s blatantly spent a fortune on the dammed things and hasn’t really got a clue what to do with them.

Why oh why did we have to have Boris and his incompetent cabinet during Covid.

enemy don't feel bad about what you're doing. Your family are working together to get through this. It's tough, especially with younger kids. I can only do as much as I'm doing because dd has become so much more independent this year (even in March I needed to sit over her, but she's really self motivated this time round). If she was younger I'd be doing much the same as you and tag teaming dh so one of us can work while the other does childcare.

I've done no meaningful marking either. It's so hard remotely in maths. Typed feedback isn't really much good. Generic well done is about it! Model answers where appropriate and feedback in the next lesson verbally using visualiser.

Thanks MsAwesome. I'm not too worried about the older 2, but the 4 year old has already missed out so much of socialisation last year, then just one term if reception, then back to annoying his siblings. He's so strong willed and "busy" this is just not doing him any good!

Wasnt there something where the gov agreed not to vax more than certain % of population so that poor countries can access them??

This is horrible. really hop e it's not accurate as what does that say for kids and also everyone elses health.

If it does that t o everyone i dont think they should be able to get away with herd immunity for under 50.

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9148817/Post-COVID-lungs-look-FAR-worse-type-terrible-smokers-lungs-surgeon-says.html

Thank you, @SantaAssociationRepresentitve for the new thread. I missed a lot of the previous one.

Yesterday was ridiculously busy - I was literally in front of the computer from 9am until gone 5pm including a hasty 10-minute lunch, the last four hours in video meetings, one after the other. I was really losing it by the end. So today I've dialled back on the screen as much as possible.

Thanks for thread!

Another crazy day here.... despite being unpaid. Am going to ask to be paid for 0.8 this half term as I seem to have taken on everything Teams and it take up ALL the time 😱😱😱

@EnemyOfEducationNo1 did you get your Teams question sorted?

@HSHorror are you thinking of Covax, Bill Htes' (and others') project where facts donate towards buying vaccines for poorer countries? But I think there was something about %s in that too, yes.

Typos, sorry Gates' and govts

Grrrr asterisks get interpreted by MN....

Jumping on hope everyone is ok x

Hello all, happy Friday.

Oooh look at this

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/14/regulator-refuses-to-approve-mass-covid-testing-schools-in-england?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

@Appuskidu

42! When did we start this-was it during lockdown?! Feels like it has always been here!!

I think it was when schools were going to open and there was all the teacher bashing going on?

When all the parents had tried a few weeks of homeschooling while wfh and were very bloody sick of it.

thanks staff

Twas what I was alluding to born

Thank you once more, Staff

After trying to explain ‘specificity’ v ‘sensitivity’ to someone who thought our saviour was going to be the testing (“we can know we have it and all the kids can come back, yeah.”) in real life the other day I felt so full of Moan I stayed away from the Staffroom. Heard enough galloping bollocks this week to last me a lifetime and these people are the only ones I am allowed to talk face to face with 🤦‍♀️
Restriction to local area has also hit me quite hard. Usual disclaimer about knowing other people have it far, far worse, but my mental health has taken quite a hit this week.
Anyway, every day is a step closer to normality so 🥾🥾🥾🥾🥾