The Forty Sixth Republic - online learning has killed the 'snow day'

[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

Are you anxious about going back to school? And if so, why?

We were having this chat last night - I'm still not worried about covid, I'm more worried about the logistics. I'm also now worried about behaviour management again, gaps all over the place and so on. It's just going to make the job harder and so much less fun.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

Are you anxious about going back to school? And if so, why?

We were having this chat last night - I'm still not worried about covid, I'm more worried about the logistics. I'm also now worried about behaviour management again, gaps all over the place and so on. It's just going to make the job harder and so much less fun.

I’m more worried about expectations when we go back-it’ll be all about Ofsted as that just hasn’t been a focus for a year-we’ve just muddled through-desperately trying to get through each day covering classes and trying to provide some sort of stability for very wobbly kids (and staff!).

Now, they’re back and raring to go, it’ll be back to data, accountability, impact, deep dives and CATCH UP. Plus trying to do all the other stuff like before as covid obviously hasn’t gone away-we’ll still have staff and kids getting it and will struggle to staff classes adequately.

I think it will finish my HT off.

Behaviour, crowding, still rushing round zones, no movement time or break... think that's about it. Particularly worried about dealing with the already very poorly behaved kids following another lockdown where they have not engaged at all and get exponentially worse each time they're out of school for isolating or closures.

I don't want them in my classes which may sound awful but they're going to be even more unmanageable and waste even more of my classes learning time and my energy.

Being upset because kids don't care about us was my biggest stress point, massively triggered by mask refusal. Lack of support in corridors form senior staff. I am anxious about twice weekly tests.

Being stuck behind a desk. I will miss Google Classroom ( I monitor their work SO much more and give so much more individual feedback), and jamboards and being able to get kids to do research during a lesson.

I don't want them in my classes which may sound awful but they're going to be even more unmanageable and waste even more of my classes learning time and my energy.

Yes, this was exhausting in September/October. At that point we put a load of them on part time timetables because it just wasn't safe them being in school. That bit is sort of making me think about finding another job, even though I totally love the people I work with.

Oh yes, forgot : anxious about catch up and the pig's ear that GCSEs and A levels will be.

Being upset because kids don't care about us was my biggest stress point, massively triggered by mask refusal

I’ve seen several very senior staff reduced to tears over this. We genuinely care about these kids. It’s such a slap in the face when they tell you they don’t really care of you get sick.

So many people can’t seem to grasp the extremely simple concept - that their actions affect others.

I meant the word I don't often say was s*, not 'apologies'
I apologise a lot!

I don't want them in my classes which may sound awful but they're going to be even more unmanageable and waste even more of my classes learning time and my energy. That's me as well. I can identify a couple in each class who will be an absolute nightmare in terms of behaviour. Most will be fine, possibly a bit more low level disruption than normal but generally fine, but those couple in each class will make it so much harder than normal. The ones who think it's fun to destroy a lesson completely, doing whatever they think will do that. That's my biggest worry about going back. I mean, the chaos of grades for GCSE and A Level, but realistically I'll just do what I'm told for that, and what comes out of the other end is not my fault it will be the fault of the DfE and their system. Behaviour in my classroom is very much seen as my fault. So when X kicks off and needs to be removed, there are always questions about why I didn't handle it better, even though X has kicked off in every lesson that day and couldn't care less about being removed.

@WhenSheWasBad

Being upset because kids don't care about us was my biggest stress point, massively triggered by mask refusal

I’ve seen several very senior staff reduced to tears over this. We genuinely care about these kids. It’s such a slap in the face when they tell you they don’t really care of you get sick.

So many people can’t seem to grasp the extremely simple concept - that their actions affect others.

Yup.

I think all of the above (the kids don't care; the parents don't care - not all, obviously) is what gave me massive stress last term, too. Not just because we are risking our safety and giving up so much of our family time for them, but because it kind of feels like: what's the point? They're being reared into being so selfish these days, so self-obsessed. I don't know if it's celebrity culture or "be kind" (but not really) culture or what it is, but society is so broken. I had days where I thought there was literally no point in the education system existing except as a babysitting service. Let the children who want to have access to the internet and a decent library and let the rest crack on with doing whatever they like.

@MsAwesomeDragon

I don't want them in my classes which may sound awful but they're going to be even more unmanageable and waste even more of my classes learning time and my energy. That's me as well. I can identify a couple in each class who will be an absolute nightmare in terms of behaviour. Most will be fine, possibly a bit more low level disruption than normal but generally fine, but those couple in each class will make it so much harder than normal. The ones who think it's fun to destroy a lesson completely, doing whatever they think will do that. That's my biggest worry about going back. I mean, the chaos of grades for GCSE and A Level, but realistically I'll just do what I'm told for that, and what comes out of the other end is not my fault it will be the fault of the DfE and their system. Behaviour in my classroom is very much seen as my fault. So when X kicks off and needs to be removed, there are always questions about why I didn't handle it better, even though X has kicked off in every lesson that day and couldn't care less about being removed.

Yep. I can't be doing with justifying removals and having to be seen to go through all the motions only for them to outright lie and say they weren't give warnings etc. I'm going to be positive and polite but if they go fast through the warning system and are removed that's that. I think we have to be allowed to do that more with our really disruptive characters now when learning time matters even more than ever. Yet I'm aware how frowned upon it is and that we'll be judged if we remove often.

I don’t know how I feel. I actually prefer working from home - my stress is lower but I don’t know how much is not having to run about everywhere. I would miss being able to give such individual feedback but would gain back being able to engage some that don’t remotely. I would like to just have the atmosphere you get in a classroom but will also then know we’ll get all the other crap back which there has been less of. It was physically exhausting, and mentally, but then I did more steps. I also wonder if I am marginally less worried now I know I will at least have had the first jab although I know that doesn’t necessarily mean a lot.

I’d be pleased to see lots that I teach, and who are missing school/social activities but equally not pleased to deal with behaviour of the other end of the spectrum.

I also feel like we’ve just got to grips with this now at my school and doing another half term would be easier because we know what we’re doing.

My school usually think everything will be back to normal quickly but they are convinced we’re not going back before Easter interestingly.

Nodded along with you too Random sadly. Except that's what the Tories are scared of when school closes - that those ones will do whatever they like and they are more expensive to care for in the criminal justice system than just lock up in schools daily.

Yes I did just say that. Sometimes we are just stopping station before the CJS kicks in.

The last our head said about going back was "8th March is still quite a way away, and there's no guarantee any of us will actually be back then anyway. So don't burn out trying to be all things to all pupils, do as much as you can and we'll fix it when we can see them again" which was weird.

I'm going to miss lessons being 45 minutes long.

But I do want to see the kids again, particularly my Y13, some of whom I've taught since Y10. I've lucked out with my classes this year, they're all generally nice, even bottom set Y9 and middling Y10. Annoying, and not the best behaved, but nice.

I agree with that honey and I teach in a fairly normal school. We don't have a hugely deprived, inner city intake, we're pretty average. I still think there will be some kids I teach who will be in trouble with the police within the next few years. Some already are. There is a big drug problem in the town we're in, and some of our kids get mixed up in that, and some of them become quite violent (not normally in school, but in the evenings and weekends)

I definitely want to see my year 13 again. I've taught some of them since year 6!!!

God MsAwesome that's a long time! And you have to decide their results!

@CallmeAngelina

"I’m the one stood at the photocopier the break time before the lesson."

I'm the one who has been known to nip to the photocopier during the lesson.

I send a well behaved student who has settled quickly, with my printer code!

Don't have to do it often though, because our science technicians do our printing - they are amazing.

@JanFebAnyMonth

I meant the word I don't often say was s*, not 'apologies' I apologise a lot!

You can't even type it!

I know. I'll be absolutely gutted when we have to give some of them the fair grades they deserve for A Level. If all the evidence I have for lovely Y says she's working at an E, I definitely can't give her the A she thinks she deserves.

Good god you'd be shot for giving away your department photocopier code here!

Many things can be gotten away with that it would be treason.

Average school here too MsAD.

I normally send kids in one of my after school clubs to the photocopier for next day's lessons but couldn't do that all last term because they'd have to touch my lanyard.

We have cloud printing, so my printer code only releases what I've printed, technically guess they could memorise it and photocopy to my account, but I'm not sure they are that bright, or do that much photocopying.