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

[RuleWithAWoodenFoot]

I've spent a bit of today arguing with dickheads on Twitter about vaccine passports for pubs. My point being that how come it's OK for unvaccinated staff and 18 year olds to be (potentially) in classes of 30 in schools, but for the same group of people to require a vaccine passport to make sure they are safe in a pub.

No one can really answer, apart from saying 'masks and tests'. So what? That's the same deal - all they can do is trace you and tell you that you might have it.

[motherrunner]

I hardly ever wear make up. I was my hair and let it dry naturally, can’t even remember the last time I brushed it (I am lucky to have naturally curly hair, it’s almost wait length now because of bloody lockdown so when it does it does as ringlets). My HoD once commented that I have never left the 90s. I took it as a compliment 😆

[motherrunner]

Too many typos - obviously need another coffee!

[Timeturnerplease]

Well done, you’ve all reminded me to buy some BB cream. That’s all I ever wear, and only in the winter, as I have olive skin so in the summer get enough colour to hide my eye bags.

I mistakenly believed that I wouldn’t have to buy any more BB cream, and the Easter holidays spent at the park with the small person would do the trick.

I forgot to factor in the British weather.

[HercwasanEnemyofEducation]

MrsH I'm another never learned make up. My mum didn't use it and nor do I. Yet my siblings love it, wear it daily and look great. I just cannot be arsed!

I saw a twitter thread about what people wear to feel confident at work and it was so interesting. Start of my career would have been dress, heels, proper jacket. Now I concluded what I wear has very little impact on how I feel, I'd just want to be comfortable .

[motherrunner]

My typical daily dress is a ‘smart’ T-shirt (I get hot easily), a short skirt and biker boots. Told you I’m a stuck in the 90s!

[motherrunner]

Although my skirt isn’t as short as the ones the girls wear!

[motherrunner]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9435887/Women-teachers-scared-walk-school-corridors.html

Apologies for DM link but I thought the comments were particularly ‘interesting’ in response to an article about female teacher harassment by male pupils. Apparently we’re at fault as there are few men to instil discipline and the eduction system has been too feminised. Overall we deserve it.

[Piggywaspushed]

The feminisation argument is straight out of the Tony Sewell playbook.

Anyone else still keeping up with that? They used a load of academics' names without their knowledge or permission, ignored business leaders and any evidence which countered their own take, had to decided not to publish a bit where Tony Sewell said he wanted a standardised 'British History According to the New Right' textbook and their medical conclusions have been savaged by the BMJ. Every leading expert is wondering why there was only really educational expertise on the panel. Leading educationalists are wondering where the broad educational expertise is! Even Boris seems to be distancing himself from it : but I am sure they will find another way to give us our longer school days!

Not sure when we will also fit in all the CPD brainwashing Gav thinks we need.

[ChloeDecker]

Morning!

Yep, I’m a Next/M and S dresses person at work with thick black tights usually! Stopped wearing makeup under masks though as spots were getting too prevalent but I usually wear powder makeup from Bare Minerals.

Re:vaccine passports and masks potentially going from classrooms, I get more and more depressed and angry in equal measures that I still haven’t been vaccinated but apparently should be grateful that I will by July apparently and in the meantime, didn’t I know there is no Covid in schools!?

Just skimmed that article motherrunner and I’m not surprised at the conclusion.

[Piggywaspushed]

Mind you there is a thread running at the moment where plenty of MNers think it is perfectly OK for a teenage boy to talk to his mum (via text) like a piece of shit. I am always surprised by wider MN's very lax approach to teenage discipline and how offended they are by any remotely authoritarian approaches by teachers. One of them literally wrote 'you were rude first' about the mother!! When I first joined MN I was astonished by the attitudes towards teenage drinking on MN. Part of the sexual assaults/harassment stuff is tied up in these wealthy laissez faire parents facilitating parties. In my school catchment-and it seems elsewhere- they provide loads of alcohol for parties for 14 and 15 year olds. I even heard of one who provided drugs.

Katherine Birbalsingh says boys at her schol don't sexually harass anyone. She didn't sat she would rip their testicles off if they did. She just said' there is none of that nonsense'.

[Cracklefraggle]

Another all girl school here. Semi selective on other side of the city. Often had to walk 3 miles if I missed the bus. Great academically and gave me loads of confidence BUT socially I would have done better in a mixed school I think. Not girly at all, struggled with friendships and, later in life, relationships.

Other option was the local comp which was dreadful. Mum pushed to get me in the 'good' school and I am grateful that she did.

[ChloeDecker]

I agree Piggy. From my perspective, I am always facepalming at the casual attitude to unrestricted access to technology (especially from a very young age), that ‘gaming addiction’ doesn’t exist apparently and that it’s not harming their children (although usually boys) and at least keeps them quiet at home and ‘off the park benches drinking cider’.

This unfettered access to online gaming/social media, online groups and forums (you mentioned incel a while back too, which is worrying isn’t it?) is a huge reason for cyberbullying, depression, anxiety, radicalisation, behaviour in schools and racism and sexual harassment.

But it’s the elephant in the room because it is the one area controlled solely by parents and carers and is the one area most don’t want to deal with or even acknowledge exists.

[HercwasanEnemyofEducation]

Katherine B is way off the mark for that comment. How does she know exactly what gets said and how they behave at all times?

[MsAwesomeDragon]

How does she know exactly what gets said and how they behave at all times? That's an excellent question. There must be times when pupils are unsupervised, or at least very loosely supervised, and kids can say anything at those times without her out her staff knowing. I mean, they may well have a fantastic culture where they genuinely don't say/do anything sexual, but it's not possible for her to know that it has never happened at all. I would be incredibly surprised at any school where nothing of that nature has ever happened.

I'm another who doesn't wear makeup and doesn't even know how to apply it properly. I didn't even wear makeup on my wedding day. My sister offered to do it for me as she's pretty good at it, but I don't really recognise myself when wearing it so I declined. My hair is very short too. Officially it's a "pixie cut" but I can't tell the difference between that and a short back and sides (I seem to have gone for my dad's haircut). My work wardrobe is black trousers with a smart top (t shirt type normally) and maybe a cardigan for the winter. Then casual dresses for the summer (my latest dresses are from mountain warehouse, as they have pockets but look smart enough for school)

[motherrunner]

The unlimited social media is scary. On each of the DC’s Team’s pages there is a work thread and a chat thread so the class could chat socially. Parents were told this would be supervised in school hours but not to let them on it out of school hours. I never allowed my DC to ‘chat’ in it at all but I would scan the thread. Sometimes pupils were on there until 11pm, my DD is in Yr 5!

[MsAwesomeDragon]

My dd might have been one who would have been on til 11pm during lockdown actually. Because we changed all of our schedules so we could fit everything in. I didn't want her getting up til after 9 so I had guaranteed quiet time in the morning to record my videos for school, so of course she was then going to bed that much later as well. Normal bedtime is 9pm when she's getting up at 7am, so for her to get up at 9am bedtime moved to about 11pm. She was still pretty closely supervised on her internet usage, but the timings were just different. We did get very lax on how often she was on screens during lockdown, and it's difficult to justify reducing it again when dh is on his computer literally all day (and I'm a bit of a phone addict too). She's had a few falling out with friends, but no more than she's had actually at school with the same people. We supervise who she's talking to and what they're saying to reach other so we can intervene if necessary.

[WhenSheWasBad]

@motherrunner

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9435887/Women-teachers-scared-walk-school-corridors.html

Apologies for DM link but I thought the comments were particularly ‘interesting’ in response to an article about female teacher harassment by male pupils. Apparently we’re at fault as there are few men to instil discipline and the eduction system has been too feminised. Overall we deserve it.

I should have learnt by now not to read the Daily Mail comment section. Dear god.

[Iamnotthe1]

The level of access and unmonitored use of social media is really concerning. There is a reason why the people who created and manage these platforms don't allow their children on them.

For me, all social media should be age-gated at 18 with proof of age (credit card or whatever) required for access. But the companies will never do that.

In twenty years, we will look back and be shocked and disgusted with what we let children do and access online.

[RandomGrammarPun]

Over the years, I've been hugely vilified on here for saying my ds had no tech at all until 10 (game console), no phone until secondary, Net Nanny software on his devices until 16, and no social media until 16. "Ooh, he'll be behind at school, he won't be able to use technology..." Bollocks, he was reading before school, has a massive attention span (ok, he is autistic, but the attention span of kids now is zero) and he can use a PC and type better than most his age. It takes one minute to learn how to use an ipad. Bollocks does it make a kid "behind" at technology to make sure they are at least fluent readers before you hand them one.

[MrsHamlet]

I ask my year 12 when we do Lang and tech to estimate how much time they spend online. They always underestimate by tens of hours.
It really irks me when they email or teams message me at stupid o'clock. I don't have my phone in my bedroom (and I don't have alerts) but it bothers me that they're getting in touch at 11pm/3am/whatever. It feels wrong.

[Piggywaspushed]

Mine email me at stupid o'clock and then don't ever check whether I replied!

[Piggywaspushed]

Agree with every word random. I now have one who spends too much time on his laptop (a hermit) and another who is very capable of holding quite lengthy intelligent conversations. He is about as good with an actual laptop as your average teenager (ie a bit crap). We don't own any tablets. Call of Duty is banned in my house anyway!

I accept I can't control DS1 any more but at least he knows my standards!

I think as teachers we see how tired kids who stay up gaming all night are and how much this affects them in lessons.

[RandomGrammarPun]

Oh yes, to add to my strict parent list: allowed age-restricted games only when you hit that age and no screen time Mon-Thurs term time. Until age 16. In sixth form, he self-regulated and does still now at Uni.