Sixty Seventh Republic - under temporary guardianship

[Hercisback]

In the absence of staff and her fabulous thread titles and witty openers here is a 67th thread. The broom cupboard is overflowing so time for another Republic. Hopefully we hear from staff soon.

Stolen from thread 66.
'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 for school staff to let off steam.

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.'

@DrMadelineMaxwell

We are back to the whole household isolating here (Wales) if someone has symptoms or a positive pcr (I assume triggered by a lft)...until they get a negative result themselves. Then they can carry on as normal. Seems a little more sensible but the HT will be tearing their hair out as it must mean a higher likelihood of staff having to be off getting a test if anyone in their family is symptomatic whereas up til now they only missed time if they were.

HT is a firm disbeliever of illness and staff absence.

That's what our risk assessment says for after half term. Just school though, not area. It's been agreed by our LA. Ch have to have a negative PCR on day 5 if a household member is positive. So lots of kids and staff off for 5 days. If families don't want to test a child, then they must do the full 11 days isolation before returning.

I'm concerned about the amount of remote learning I'm going to be providing - it can't be really good because we're all in class full time. I haven't thought about work once over the holiday, should probably engage a bit tomorrow - mapping Oak, White Rose and Bitesize against our curriculum.

Bloody sensible policy. No doubt England will adopt it after Christmas when things have reached a real critical level of shitness

Yep, England will want to make sure the horse has definitely bolted before they shut the stable door.

Have got ‘the dread’ already about tomorrow-wishing we had a two week half term!

I already had a school panic dream - wearing pyjamas to teach Y8, being incredibly late because I couldn't find the classroom and writing on the projector screen in whiteboard marker while predictably the class go wild.

Why is that even a thing 15 years in? My Y8s are fine!

KB is still banging on about original sin and there's an article in the Spectator about her so I guess she got the attention she was craving.

@noblegiraffe

KB is still banging on about original sin and there's an article in the Spectator about her so I guess she got the attention she was craving.

She really seems to like the sound of her own voice.

What does her new education tsar job actually involve??

What does her new education tsar job actually involve??

I think it’s to do with social mobility. It’s always seen as a good thing, isn’t it? Except that in reality it generally includes downwards as well as upwards mobility. Maybe “levelling up” is seen as a one-way escalator to financial comfort and stability for all, though it’s hard to see how this can happen given the current Government’s policies and track record.

KB is still banging on about original sin and there's an article in the Spectator about her so I guess she got the attention she was craving

She’s got a point about toddlers being arseholes (mine were at least). She’s out in across in an appalling way though and has chosen to keep digging herself into a hole.

Ffs. Partner has woken up ill. He's also probably massively hungover, but claims to be sweaty and fevery. Day before I go back to school and child has an inset that my parents are covering.

For some reason he's always adverse to testing himself, so I look forward to this afternoon's PCR argument. He had a negative LFT on Friday (return from holiday test).

@noblegiraffe

I already had a school panic dream - wearing pyjamas to teach Y8, being incredibly late because I couldn't find the classroom and writing on the projector screen in whiteboard marker while predictably the class go wild.

Why is that even a thing 15 years in? My Y8s are fine!

Retired for four years and still get them. Mine are always about being late due to half hour walks between buildings and arriving without a prepared top-set or A - level lesson.

The relief on waking is amazing!

Partner's dad (doing childcare for us until Wednesday) has tested positive, his mum is now ill too and off for a test. Partner with symptoms, child's school full of it.

So, that's all of us off for a PCR today. We've been everywhere this half term, track and trace will have a field day with us....

I don't think they're really bothering anymore, are they?!

@borntobequiet

What does her new education tsar job actually involve??

I think it’s to do with social mobility. It’s always seen as a good thing, isn’t it? Except that in reality it generally includes downwards as well as upwards mobility. Maybe “levelling up” is seen as a one-way escalator to financial comfort and stability for all, though it’s hard to see how this can happen given the current Government’s policies and track record.

The whole Tory idea of social mobility works on demonising the working classes and the belief that no one wants to be working class. It's a very confused ideology. I am interested to see how KB's ideas work outside of heavily funded London/ free school bubbles.

I guess it's easier to expose your disadvantaged kids to cultural capital when you have excellent public transport to free national museums AND there are universities close by to aspire to without having to move cross country.

And without having to pay £600 to hire a bus for the day, which means £20 a child to go to 'cultural capital' before you even get to the culture. No family wants to afford that.

I got a quote for a bus to London for a theatre trip. £1000. Nope.

When everyone is middle class whose going to wipe bums, clean toilets, collect the bins etc?

How about just sorting out rent costs, falling wage value and general making sure salaries cover the cost of living instead of pretending everyone can be a lawyer?

Whose or who’s? It should be the latter shouldn’t it? I feel like I’m losing skills like grammar that I’m sure used to be ok.

Who's as it's short for who is.

When we say "middle class" in America we mean a much wider range of people. In theory it should be everyone. Like I'd consider the janitor and principal to both be middle class--neither are homeless or part of the 1% you know? In practice...you know.

I just prefer the idea of middle class being kind of everyone instead of having like, posh connotations.

@noblegiraffe

I guess it's easier to expose your disadvantaged kids to cultural capital when you have excellent public transport to free national museums AND there are universities close by to aspire to without having to move cross country.

Yeah, I'd like to see her plans for Jaywick.

How is it the middle if there’s no working class? That seems a bit like a denial of income and opportunities by semantics. I’m talking about socioeconomic groups rather than poshness or making a comment on worth when I talk about classes.

Interesting to hear about the American take on it but surely there’s even bigger disparities between a lawyer and a janitor in the USA given the cost of education and healthcare? Doesn’t that get swept under the rug by linguistically pretending they’re in the same socioeconomic lane?

Is a plumber middle class? Many are very well paid due to skills shortages.

T-Levels are supposed to be giving technical qualifications parity with academic ones but social mobility usually focuses on trying to convince kids on FSM to take French rather than to get Tarquin to take construction.

I feel another sociology lesson coming one about class! Don't worry; won't bother!

I like the American notion of the middle class, those in gainful employment, neither very wealthy nor very poor.
“Middle class” in this country assumes a level of education and cultural interest that in fact many middle class people don’t have. Me, for instance. I mostly read trash, avoid broadsheet newspapers, have given up on the BBC, am not interested in the theatre, art or music and can’t be bothered with most political discussion (by which I mean I don’t want to listen to views I disagree with). One of my brothers is definitely “middle class” by the education and cultural interests thing, the other two are more like me.

In reality, I’m just intellectually lazy.