Schools closed until undetermined date - was March 29th

rainbowtrout

Darwin wrote: »

@sitstill I would continue working on the basis that we are going nowhere anytime soon. My place (third level) is making contingencies on the basis that we will be closed for the summer examinations commencing in May which is very sensible in my opinion.

Ya, I've been talking to a few college students whose end of year exams have been turned into assignments instead and other alternatives to sitting in a large exam hall.

Random sample

Not a hope of us going back Monday week. I thought the Taoiseach made that clear on Tuesday.

It’s a matter of when the next announcement will come, and how far it will go.

Random sample

sitstill wrote: »

Also, what is the chance that prolonged closure will happen but they open schools for front line staff children as they have in the UK?

I’d be beyond surprised if we started taking our lead from the uk at this stage in the game.

jimmytwotimes 2013

Weekends now the busy time getting work uploaded. Prob another belt of it Tuesday/ Wednesday evening to keep students going til end of week.

Good to see some students emailing on work before deadlines, hopefully they can set aside all the distractions and get some study done.

ShamoBuc

Random sample wrote: »

I’d be beyond surprised if we started taking our lead from the uk at this stage in the game.

That would be the definition of taking a backward step.
Planning for being out the week before Easter is as near to 100% as you are likely to get.
Prolonged revision over the Easter fortnight and a dedicated week by week plan of work thereafter will be needed.
It's going to be the norm for a considerable length of time I fear. The numbers will dictate everything and we will know better where we are with those in another 5 or 6 days hopefully. By then we should hopefully have a comparable quantity.

khalessi

I could cry been trying to plan a class all evening, bought a laptop and router this morning and I am aging waiting for pages to load, ping speed 683ms

Monumental

khalessi wrote: »

I could cry been trying to plan a class all evening, bought a laptop and router this morning and I am aging waiting for pages to load, ping speed 683ms

I really feel your pain ,have a leaving cert student here . Internet signal is so bad He is doing his best to get work and submit same but its not easy He is really stressing out

ShamoBuc

Monumental wrote: »

I really feel your pain ,have a leaving cert student here . Internet signal is so bad He is doing his best to get work and submit same but its not easy He is really stressing out

That's a problem for many I reckon. Uploading late at night when there might be less of a draw on the internet might help.

Alex86Eire

khalessi wrote: »

I could cry been trying to plan a class all evening, bought a laptop and router this morning and I am aging waiting for pages to load, ping speed 683ms

Do you have data in your phone plan? You could hotspot your laptop so you'd be using your phone data.

khalessi

Alex86Eire wrote: »

Do you have data in your phone plan? You could hotspot your laptop so you'd be using your phone data.

The computer would not hot spot to phone. Anyway kept at it until 1130 then fell asleep and woke at 3am and got the work done then. I just uploaded the last of it for today and am wrecked. Now for corrections and repeat all over again.

Shn99

Will have more clarity re school closures tomorrow
https://twitter.com/newschambers/status/1242153312079753223?s=21

rainbowtrout

Not a huge surprise there. I'd imagine we'll be told we are closed until 20th April and that will be reviewed in due course.

Postgrad10

Yeah there’s no point going in for 5 days and then closing for Easter for two week.

mtoutlemonde

Lc2020 has been busy ... Irish Times has his story.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/this-is-just-the-start-of-an-unequal-leaving-cert-for-class-of-2020-1.4209441?mode=amp

rainbowtrout

mtoutlemonde wrote: »

Lc2020 has been busy ... Irish Times has his story.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/this-is-just-the-start-of-an-unequal-leaving-cert-for-class-of-2020-1.4209441?mode=amp

Ya I saw that earlier, but no disclosure that he's going for medicine (based on his other posts on boards), so if he was that motivated he'd have the head down anyway.

History Queen

mtoutlemonde wrote: »

Lc2020 has been busy ... Irish Times has his story.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/this-is-just-the-start-of-an-unequal-leaving-cert-for-class-of-2020-1.4209441?mode=amp

The uncertainty is awful but you have to wonder how these students will fare at third level if they claim to be unable to motivate themselves now with teachers checking in. No such checks at third level, no phone calls home about homework/attendance etc.

I honestly don't know what solution they will come up with to save the leaving cert for this year's cohort but I'd say the least likely option is predicted grades.

Nice to see the efforts of that student's teachers being recognised though. Fair play to him and to them for being so engaging. I hope my own students are getting some value out of my online offerings, though I must say I've started this week already a little wiser than the last in terms of what is achievable. How are other schools/teachers dealing with students not engaging/submitting work? We're discussing it at the moment.

rainbowtrout

History Queen wrote: »

The uncertainty is awful but you have to wonder how these students will fare at third level of they claim to be unable to motivate themselves now with teachers checking in. No such checks at third level, no phone calls home about homework/attendance etc.

Ya that occurred to me during the week. The Leaving Certs that are claiming they have no motivation working by themselves will be expected to do just that in 6 months time in college.

Currently we are taking attendance everyday, as in if they login to my class group on teams I take that to be present as I know not all students can login live. Few are sending me the work to prove that they are doing it, I know more are doing it, but it's frustrating from my end as I don't know if there's stuff they are missing.

The ones that are perennially poor attenders, don't have books for class, don't have homework done regularly aren't showing up online so that's no major surprise, it's the ones in the middle that might fall between the cracks. I've emailed students by the way of asking them if they have access (as they mightn't) and have they been able to get the work I've set. No reply from any of them.

It's also hard to know how much their parents are letting them get away with at home v. how much their parents think they are doing if they are out at work and not there to supervise.

mtoutlemonde

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Ya I saw that earlier, but no disclosure that he's going for medicine (based on his other posts on boards), so if he was that motivated he'd have the head down anyway.

To be honest, I didn't read all of it as I had seen it here so many times 😄

mtoutlemonde

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Ya that occurred to me during the week. The Leaving Certs that are claiming they have no motivation working by themselves will be expected to do just that in 6 months time in college.

Currently we are taking attendance everyday, as in if they login to my class group on teams I take that to be present as I know not all students can login live. Few are sending me the work to prove that they are doing it, I know more are doing it, but it's frustrating from my end as I don't know if there's stuff they are missing.

The ones that are perennially poor attenders, don't have books for class, don't have homework done regularly aren't showing up online so that's no major surprise, it's the ones in the middle that might fall between the cracks. I've emailed students by the way of asking them if they have access (as they mightn't) and have they been able to get the work I've set. No reply from any of them.

It's also hard to know how much their parents are letting them get away with at home v. how much their parents think they are doing if they are out at work and not there to supervise.

I'm getting the same although I did tell my students they weren't on holidays and was disappointed with their level of engagement - assignments being completed all evening

I have also found that two students that struggle in front of me, send on the assigned work about thirty minutes after I put it up. The mothers of the country are great

Boredom could be setting in as well.

olestoepoke

Are predicted grades really an option? I think that may be somewhat unfair. I could be wrong but, what about students who traditionally didn't do well in their mocks? They get a bit of a kick up the backside from their terrible mocks results and this motivates them and they go on to do well. I also went to school with a guy who was very intelligent but bone lazy. He would miss class regularly, do things last minute and generally not do well with continuous assessment but he was like a ninja when it came to exams and aced most of them.

mirrorwall14

Closed until after Easter is a given. But even as a teacher it’s very frustrating to not have better clarity so I do have sympathy with the LCs. What about the deadlines that still remain in May? What about CBA’s? What about LCA tasks? Junior Cycle itself? Leaving cert?

We’ll have missed three weeks of class time at that stage. At what point do we say our kids have missed too much close to the exam? How much time do you need with exam students? Honestly I need 4 weeks minimum. I am not finished courses. Picked up all my classes this year after maternity last year and my maths class are all trying to get through HLJC. Trying to get them back on track coming back in May would be difficult. So that means for me I need to be back in school for start of May. That doesn’t seem realistic tbh

mirrorwall14

Just to add I’ve a very high level of engagement, only 2-3 in classes that are late regularly or not presenting work but all would have been on that list even in a standard school day or wouldn’t have been in.

However I’m aware that’s not even replicated across my own school. I use iPads and classroom all the time in my classroom so they are all very familiar with it and know the drill and that I will chase them. I’ve also massively revised down my expectations because if their houses are anything like mine they’re a mix of chaos and worry and stress. I’m guessing that’s why

rainbowtrout

I'd be looking at it from the point of view that all students are missing the same amount of time in school, not all courses can be finished, but all exams can still be marked on a curve.

Rosita

I did have to laugh at that Irish Times article in that the only hint of a solution given to the unequal nature of the LC was using predicted grades as per the UK. Yeah, people wouldn't whinge about that at all. :rolleyes:

Treppen

Rosita wrote: »

I did have to laugh at that Irish Times article in that the only hint of a solution given to the unequal nature of the LC was using predicted grades as per the UK. Yeah, people wouldn't whinge about that at all. :rolleyes:

I'm all for predicted grades.

I predict all my students will get H1 .

What's the problem eh?

zero_

Why would anyone agree to predict students grades?! You may live in or near the community in which you teach and expect to be given authority on grades which are decisive in determining someones college and therefore future course?

Total crap.

Postgrad10

The predicated grades wouldn’t work here at all. Hands up anyone on here that did poorly in the mocks and brought the results up majorly in the real thing.

zero_

It wouldn't work here - and it wouldn't work in the UK either - but the government in the UK may well force people or use some sort of method of moving students on to third level. Who knows?? Strange days.

Rosita

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Closed until after Easter is a given. But even as a teacher it’s very frustrating to not have better clarity so I do have sympathy with the LCs. What about the deadlines that still remain in May? What about CBA’s? What about LCA tasks? Junior Cycle itself? Leaving cert?

We’ll have missed three weeks of class time at that stage. At what point do we say our kids have missed too much close to the exam? How much time do you need with exam students? Honestly I need 4 weeks minimum. I am not finished courses. Picked up all my classes this year after maternity last year and my maths class are all trying to get through HLJC. Trying to get them back on track coming back in May would be difficult. So that means for me I need to be back in school for start of May. That doesn’t seem realistic tbh

That's an interesting post. I suppose if there is an acceptance that on-line teaching and work is on-going then it could be said that there is no real reason why the exams could not take place from the point of view of student preparedness. Otherwise we are saying that what's happening at the moment is of no value.

Now there's no doubt that a lot of what is going on at the moment is about optics rather than any real deep belief that students are sitting all day in anticipation hitting the refresh button on the laptop. But saying its of no value publicly won't happen.

Any announcement regarding state exams will be made when they have no choice and no sooner than that. We saw it with the closure of the schools where they made the announcement only on foot of a WHO declaration the previous evening (even though it was already obvious it would happen) and did so in the middle of the school day on which the closure was happening with the minimum official notice to all concerned.

Expect the same to happen with the JC which will definitely not take place. Rest assured the decision's already taken even if that's only because it is the only possible decision. They have to cancel it either because schools cannot go back or else to facilitate the Leaving Cert taking place. There's just a fear of being collared by the media for reacting too soon so its announcement will be delayed as long as possible.

When it is undeniable that schools are not returning after Easter they might have to get off the pot.

Hamsterchops

spurious wrote: »

Schools closed until March 29th..

Schools closed until 31st August?