The Forty Third Republic - Lockdown learning continues - when is half term?

[Staffdontblowitnow]

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

Egypt is back on. Just had to change dates-I presume they've decided to trim the number of flights a week and I happened to book the day that got axed. Crossing everything this one doesn't get cancelled too. I'm currently having to burden a lovely friend with dealing with dodgy complex owners trying to take my flat and have had to employ a lawyer. Fuck bloody Covid.

A pitifully weak or avoidant form tutor has passed on a parent email to them to 'all teachers of'. Basically a rabid sounding dad angry that his child got 3s from some subjects when he is a terribly important key worker (which he tells us 4 times in his email) and teachers should recognise how hard they are trying.

Our engagement scores are 1: handed in everything, 2: made some form of engagement even if it was handing a completely empty google doc and 3: not a dicky bird. She'd had a 2 from me anyway but he just passed it on to all teachers rather than just reply to the guy reiterating what the numbers stood for and how we do recognise efforts hence being generous to the point of suckers with the 2 grade.

This didn't need passing on it needed action from the form tutor but no surprise he's not a man for doing his share and was a nightmare to share groups with when I was working in the same department as him because he far more enjoyed being seen as cool and fun than actually tackling behaviour and effort and progress.

Warning ⚠️ sexism, in form of the made up crime of misandry, why are so many male teachers so fucking lazy and disorganised yet never get pulled up on it because they talk a good wall? When I was in science and had to use a room mainly occupied by a male teacher there would be stools all over the place, rubbish all over the floor and a teachers bench covered in piles of paper accumulated over weeks of neglect. If I'd left a lab like that our, female, bulldog of a hod at that time would have torn strips off of me.

I used to loudly and publicly point out that their lab was a shit tip and being in a shit tip effected my students engagement and behaviour. The most dirty and unashamed fucker got promoted to an additional second in department (despite the fact he couldn't even keep himself and his space within basic levels of hygiene) because he was the only applicant.

He'd say yes he'd done all of the tasks assigned to him for his extra 3kish a year then ended up off sick and us discovering he hadn't done any of it, just blatantly lied.

So yes I'm sexist but lazy arsed men who are none the less seen as heroes for just being male in teaching drive me nuts.

Wow well done Nick Gibb you managed 34 remote questions in the HoC. The speaker pointed this out and looked very impressed.

Big deal. That's one lesson's worth

@TheHoneyBadger that may be true but certainly isn't in this house. DH is super tidy/organised in everything including teaching and I'm a mess generally. My organizational skills are not the best.

Did Mark Harper of the Covid Recovery Group say on Today prog that reopening primaries was all about the economy?

PUAUS schools have screenshot a tweet from Prof Alice Roberts saying that, but when you go to her twitter page, no sign of it!

However her Em Twitter is full of lots of other goodies , inc a retweet of something American which suggests that Biden is going to up measures in schools.

stray "Em"!

@Monkeytennis97

Wow well done Nick Gibb you managed 34 remote questions in the HoC. The speaker pointed this out and looked very impressed.

Big deal. That's one lesson's worth

Did he actually answer any of them?!

@Appuskidu no don't be silly!

It may be a scientist thing monkey and of course it's not all men. It may also be particularly bad in my school.

In my current department we technically have 2 males but they also have slt responsibilities and never turn up to department meetings or contribute to planning etc.

I think part of it is most middle level managers are female and seem to feel more comfortable tackling women than men.

I 'half' jokingly tell ds he should become a primary teacher or a secondary pe teacher as he'll be a head within ten years.

It doesn't work for all though. The best head of year I ever worked with was an ex coach driver who was fabulous with teachers and students alike and would have made a fantastic head but had reached the glass ceiling for decent people with concerns for student and staff wellbeing. You had to be a yes man in a cheap burtons suit who didn't give a damn about students or staff to progress the slt ladder.

Our slt is super crowded with invisible people. I was cynical about a couple of newcomers to slt but they actually do crazy shit like replying to emails and thanking people for their efforts.

Primaries will be back after half term without any additional measures. I'd put money on it. Either straight after half term, or randomly 1st March.

Yeah, I think the argument for primaries is always screwed by the economy angle.

My sleep is rubbish at the moment - up until the wee small hours.

We get regularly messages from SLT about mental well being & sleep etc. I just roll my eyes and think 'jog on'. If I was teaching 10 lessons a week life would be easy but no I teach 27. And no I don't want effing emails about could you look at XYZ/take a survey/participate in an e-staff room call/blah blah blah.

Just leave me alone and let me crack on with teaching the syllabus. I don't need more screen time and I don't need you joining my calls making some poncey observations which even the students cringe at. I will talk to SLT in person when we return - thanks!

Clearly, I am losing my sense of humour in some areas but some of the essays I have received from students have been hilarious.

The highlight of my day has been an email conversation with an ex student (left y13 last year) who had the subject line "hello from your favourite student"
Obviously I don't have favourites.... but it was so NORMAL

Thread on depression in kids (SO REOPEN SCHOOLS) has been taken down while MNHQ investigate.

Are they going to take action against blatant astroturfers or was it a pbp? Anyone report that one?

Live tweets of Nick Gibb twitter.com/schoolsweek/status/1354058433067151361?s=21

There will apparently be answers in the next few days.

No mention of mitigation measures.

Apparently Boris is on at 5, wonder if he'll say anything re schools.

Not if he can help it.

Just to say:
It's clear U4T are going to go in hard on MH.
Why?
Well, I think it's because they are being given 'back-room' help.
The figures on MH that are emerging - amongst all groups - are quite alarming.

I suspect they've been given a heads-up on figures we haven't even seen yet.

The key thing is that MH issues are alarming across all groups. Young people in particular.
But since that group includes students ... well, it's clear the magic bullet isn't to re-open schools.

The magic bullet is to ramp up professional care. Which has been woeful and is now stretched to breaking.

@noblegiraffe

Thread on depression in kids (SO REOPEN SCHOOLS) has been taken down while MNHQ investigate.

Are they going to take action against blatant astroturfers or was it a pbp? Anyone report that one?

I wonder.
It would be good if MN could - but I'm not sure they have the capacity to do that.
It's a real problem with social media.

Better a get a new thread ready to go just in case schools are mentioned.

Gormless Gav did say that there would be two weeks notice for schools os they dont really have to say anything until 8 Feb for a half term return until we are going to have a scenario where primaries are back just before half term and then have half term off before going back again - jeez ...

Sorry. I don't mean to go on about MH.

I'll stop now because I know it's too much for a lot of us.

I was just made lunch by my daughter. Noodles. Her cooking skills are a lockdown joy.

I reckon it'll be an announcement today, to say there will be an announcement on Friday about schools - that's 2 weeks before half term warning for primaries. That leaves 3 days for the media and the Tory PR machine (in which I include U4T) to go hell for leather on it until then.

Even Marina Hyde in the Grun mentioned today that 'PHE says schools are safe to go back'. That's about as 'non CRG' as you can get.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_staffroom/4147531-The-Forty-Fourth-Republic-primaries-sort-of-in-secondaries-out-Gormless-Gav-says-two-weeks-notice?watched=1&msgid=104038147#104038147

ready to rumble

go go go ..............................