The Fifty-fourth Republic - Easter holidays anyone?

[StaffRepFeistyClub]

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.

Do not give the staffroom password to non-staff as it attracts the wrong sort of crowd.

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. Do not sit on the chairs and do wear a mask

"Only one in two schools plan to let their pupils sit mini-exams." Very judgemental wording (and who says "one in two" rather than "half'? - not the point, but weird).

What exactly are ‘non-conformist’ children? Aren’t these the children we normally argue are not best served by exams?

Non conformist children are lazy boys who look at female teachers with derision and then cram for a bout 2 days and then blame the teacher when they get a crap grade or piss everyone off by getting an A.

the ALGI group 9who are behind this article possibly) have a fixation with them and with SEND. SEND is an important issue but one peep at any thread on here that even fleetingly mentions SEN does show how 'crusading' some of the parents can be.

They also have a fixation with that bollocks Russell Group 2013 research that show we 'can't predict'. It's so crap. Every so often Denis Sherwood pops up to try to convince them that exams are also not fairly graded but they don't believe him.

A lot of this is also being fuelled by selecting universities and fucking Halfon with his silly horse metaphors.

Am engaged in full on row with the poster of said FB post at present but I won't win. Her DD is now at university. I have no idea why powerpoint shave anything to do with the CAG process.

I am not letting my students do mini exams because they don't fucking exist. I answered that question 'don't know'. as did many.

I pointed that out about the markschemes noble but she just said mocks use exam board past papers. I told her these were often the ones the students couldn't access yet. A little learning is a dangerous thing...

Teacher Tapp really annoyed me actually because it was only after setting that question that they discovered the exam boards weren't releasing special mini exams until mid April and some not at all.

schoolsweek.co.uk/action-is-needed-now-on-school-ventilation/?fbclid=IwAR21DiZdhibh-1bPRPi8o1Q2IqYvVxVb3cvo0zyscmOSVjcXmajBh4pc49w

and who says "one in two" rather than "half'?

I think it must be in some general style guide for print and broadcast media that if you give numbers intended for comparison purposes you use as many different forms as possible. For example:
"One third of people said (a), 20% said (b), one in two thought (c), a quarter were undecided and seven in ten thought the government were outright liars."

Hi folks. DS’s Geog teacher called this morning so she is responding promptly. Basically this is a full paper mock and mini assessments only in the summer. I did query this but I think it was to tie in with the smaller assessments on this paper linking without too much of an Easter gap. I still don’t agree with the main onus being in March though. The whole doing a GCSE in one year might work but not when you have 3 months lockdown. I raised the issue of sitting the exam in November but she said there would be full content on that, which currently isn’t her intention to cover. No Geog lesson in Autumn either as they are taking different options come September. What a mess the whole thing is.

It really is!

I am suffering massive cognitive dissonance today with all the stuff on the telly with ministers urging us all to stay outside in small groups and telling us indoors is dangerous.

Unusually, the BBC ran a story about a primary school that had to close before the holidays. Not seen much of that.

I have received a couple of requests for tutoring from today up to June 15! (friends of friends of friends) basically, they want me teach cherub/s a past paper each session.

err that would be a no from me ...

One of my SEN pupils went home today with coughing. Apparently they were coughing yesterday, too. Seriously, if I have to isolate over Easter I am going to be absolutely devastated. Not least because I'm working some holiday outdoor events and if I have to cancel I'll be out of pocket.

@KatherineOfGaunt that is really tough.

I fear that parents are not being truthful and have reported some suspicions to SLT based upon what students have said.

Only one in 2 are 'letting' students do them is a very glass half empty way of saying half of all schools will rely on them totally. Others using them as part of the assessment and some not at all. Agenda much?

I'm still waking up thinking about the school wanting to use my ideas but giving someone else the job. I think it hasn't bothered me but presumably I wouldn't wake up thinking about it if that was true.

Yes what you wake up worrying about is always a 'good' indication of what's rattled your subconscious, IME! But there's also the 'things can seem better in daylight' effect. What keeps you awake doesn't necessarily need action, but it can help you know your own insecurities better.

Yeah. It's pathetic but I feel rejected by the school. I think they know I can't afford to keep working on such a small contract and therefore don't care if I leave. Why should they though really.

Anthropology hasn't put the guy I'm in communication with over the remote job off of me so I'm going to have to put together a cv for him.

Hate doing cvs. Will just be a one page job. I think the recent experience of being turned down has knocked my confidence and I'm worrying about getting the role and not being good enough. I'm aware of how pathetic this all sounds hence trying to squish it down.

Anyway. Minor stuff

(not to say that your concerns aren't legitimate honey)

I know. They are kind of irrelevant though because it's done and dusted so I'm annoyed that some part of my head is holding onto it.

Struggling to write a CV. I don't think he wants a list of jobs - he wants a story and USPs to sell to presumably crazily high fee paying parents. Though he did say he doesn't care too much about CVs and just uses them for his first round of sifting through applicants then onto interviews which when they're online aren't too big of an investment or hassle for them. Just need to get it done and sent off but my confidence seems to be on the floor

I note with interest today that Halfon's alma mater is Highgate School. Watching him squirm and try and deflect issues about the rape culture scandal engulfing it on BBC this morning was very interesting.

Up to that point, I had thought the chair or the education select committee was state school educated (he tries his best to sound it).

Failed an interview today. Bollocks.
I really, really need to leave my place.

Oh herdy, sorry to hear that.

Sorry herdy.

Sorry, herdy

@MrsHamlet

Bobs across the land loved VAK. Nah, miss. I can't do essays. I'm a kinaesthetic learner, innit?

thats cuz Bob is a nonconformist type guv.

Sorry to hear that herdy. I'm sure something will come up soon. I know how much you want to leave where you are now.

Honey it would still be bothering me too, so I don't think it's at all strange that you're still thinking about it. Good luck with writing your CV. Fingers crossed that you get this post, I think it sounds really good. 🤞

Woohoo... 3 children excluded today. It's nutso around 'ere...

3 of yours, Rule or 3 in total?