School not using Video Conferencing but lashing out the homework

afatbollix

Don't ask a web forum.

Send an email to the principal, They will be best to answer your questions and might be able to help you.

I know what my kids are getting help with and I'm happy with it. You should be pushing your school to do more...

afatbollix

plodder wrote: »

Why exactly?

Did you not read the explanation under it? :rolleyes:

Blazer

touts wrote: »

Not all networks allow this. You aren't allowed theather with a three account. They will cancel your account and charge you if you are caught doing this.

done it for years and three have never charged me for it.
As long as you don't go downloading 30 or 40gb its grand,

gnf_ireland

Teach30 wrote: »

I wouldn’t have a 5 minute chat with students in school why would I want to chat with them over zoom? My personality type doesn’t suit “chatting” it’s not something I find easy. I can’t imagine I’m alone in this. In fact I can safely say I’d find chatting one on one very awkward, even if I had the technology for it.

Grand in school if it’s related to a piece of work or giving advice on work but a 5 minute casual conversation with a student is not realistic .

Depends if you are a primary or secondary teacher. My comments are more for primary where the kids spend all day with the same teacher and they have little chats with them

This problem is not going away. There is no magic solution - but a solution will need to be found. Teachers may end up having a less desirable solution forced on them rather than a preferable one they input into. But it needs some initiative and thought leadership and not just listing all the problems

Upforthematch

Teach30 wrote: »

I wouldn’t have a 5 minute chat with students in school why would I want to chat with them over zoom? My personality type doesn’t suit “chatting” it’s not something I find easy. I can’t imagine I’m alone in this. In fact I can safely say I’d find chatting one on one very awkward, even if I had the technology for it.

Grand in school if it’s related to a piece of work or giving advice on work but a 5 minute casual conversation with a student is not realistic .

Out of interest - how would you feel about a 5 minute weekly chat with their parents - to see how they are getting on supervising the children's progress with their homework.

noodler

Teach30 wrote: »

I refuse to do this zoom thing with students I feel no way comfortable with it so don’t see why we should be pressurised into it. Currently using my own mobile phone data to upload and download work, my home internet is far too poor to send pictures etc. I’ve run out of data and my bill will be astronomical next month. Who’s going to foot the cost?

I have no laptop and using a phone with a cracked screen. My home circumstance mean it’s not possible to record videos unless you want to hear my elderly parents on the phone in the background or the tv/radio blaring all day. They have zero concept of being quiet.

So who ever here thinks it’s easy for teachers to teach from home I can assure you not everyone has appropriate circumstances.
I would give anything to get back into the classroom. If only for peace from my parents.

I firmly believe I’m doing my best under the circumstances, if I manage to email them
work I’m doing well. I’ll correct it when I get it but it takes hours to download, open, correct and then send replies. I had serious eye strain before the break from looking at phone.

Teach30 wrote: »

I wouldn’t have a 5 minute chat with students in school why would I want to chat with them over zoom? My personality type doesn’t suit “chatting” it’s not something I find easy. I can’t imagine I’m alone in this. In fact I can safely say I’d find chatting one on one very awkward, even if I had the technology for it.

Grand in school if it’s related to a piece of work or giving advice on work but a 5 minute casual conversation with a student is not realistic .

You can't be serious with any of this, surely?

gnf_ireland

afatbollix wrote: »

GDPR and children is very serious.

Basically they can't give permission for storage of any of their data not even their names. So for schools or companies who control this (Not the teachers) they only allow the data to be stored on school or company equipment and can be deleted after.

Yes, its a bit crap that something really meant for the googles of the world affects keeping a kids name on a PC but that's what it did.

GDPR is serious for everyone - not just for children. But it’s is also about consent and the difference between a data owner and data processor. Parents consent to things all the time - this would be no different. And if they don’t want to that fine too.

It’s a handy excuse for everything these days

The Bishop Basher

noodler wrote: »

You can't be serious with any of this, surely?

This crisis will really expose those who can’t or won’t adapt.

G-Man

Principals, teachers, inspectors and DoE are all professionals here. We really need them to start thinking and working out a solution here.

Many schools have sent no explanation of anything via email, phone or letter of education expectations during this time.. In a time when everything is closed and no expectation for it to be open - its time for schools to adapt to delivering curriculum online or remotely.

Even if not delivering anything, can they not start to evaluate and monitor kids performance. Can they not start making calls to pupils once a week to at least check in.

Things are not ideal, but we are into 2nd month of this and to get another dose of pdfs, many of which we cant print, for which there will be no feedback on is very poor form.

AmberGold

afatbollix wrote: »

Don't ask a web forum.

Send an email to the principal, They will be best to answer your questions and might be able to help you.

I know what my kids are getting help with and I'm happy with it. You should be pushing your school to do more...

Well If the reactions here are anything to go by I’m glad I did ask the forum.

gnf_ireland

Upforthematch wrote: »

Ask a principal what their problems are - I just think it's not fair to be adding to them.

Children are missing out - regardless - because they are not in the classroom.

Thankfully the children are not missing out on homework. They have the resources i.e. the books. They have the supervision i.e. you. and they have the deadline i.e. the teacher's email.

From what I can tell, they are missing out the novelty factor of an online class. That's not essential and I don't believe is as 'simple' as you make out.

Hmm I would love to know a principals problems right now. Schools are closed. No teachers onsite, no parents around and no students to be seen.

Ok they have to sort out next years admissions - part of their role.

What extra workload do principals have right now ? Genuinely I am interested to know ?

Ray Donovan

Primary School Teacher in the midlands here -

Firstly I'd like to ask the OP is how the school is getting the work to you? If you have no way to contact the class teacher after that, that is totally not on and smacks of lack of professionalism, incompetence and dare I say it, laziness.

From our school's perspective we have done the following -

All class teachers AND learning support teachers have set up a Google Classroom.

From here I can only explain how mine works - I have two posts scheduled on GC for 9am tomorrow. The first is a welcome back note, explaining the structure for the next 2 weeks (at least) and so on. The second is a word document outlining all work for the week including links to specific websites to look at for various topics.

- Let me give you a real life example for PE - I currently have the children on week 3 of a couch to 3k running programme (we did week 1 and 2 before Easter). So they have 3 walking/running activities to do during the week. I also have 2 links on the document to youtube videos that are 10-12 minute physical activities (star jumps, boxing, sretching etc). So for this they click on the link and follow the video's instructions.

On Google Classroom I actively encourage feedback from students and I ask them to upload photos of their work so I can have a look to tell them well done and give some feedback if necessary. This week we will also have a flash quiz on their reading where at random times I will post some questions on their English reading and the first correct reply wins. We'll keep a tally during the week and have a prize for the winner (e.g take one thing off from next week's work)

So that is how I work it. I know a lot of teachers are doing their best with their resources and I am also well aware there is a substantial amount not pulling their weight at all (anecdotally I have heard this is pretty substantial among LS teachers.

The only extra thing I feel I could be doing is making videos for my students demonstrating various things but school management was pretty clear they didn't want us going down that rabbit hole. And I am available all during the school day on Google Classroom so it's easy contact me.

touts

touts wrote: »

Not all networks allow this. You aren't allowed theather with a three account. They will cancel your account and charge you if you are caught doing this.

Are you for real? Been doing this since 2017. I use the all you can eat plan and have never had an issue. It was basically my home WiFi for ages till I moved into a house share with WiFi. I still do when I am away from home and need internet for other devices.

thomasdylan

afatbollix wrote: »

GDPR and children is very serious.

Basically they can't give permission for storage of any of their data not even their names. So for schools or companies who control this (Not the teachers) they only allow the data to be stored on school or company equipment and can be deleted after.

Yes, its a bit crap that something really meant for the googles of the world affects keeping a kids name on a PC but that's what it did.

I don't think this is correct at all.

If it is an issue just anonymise names.

Xertz

The old GDPR road block gets thrown around a lot.

Teach30

Upforthematch wrote: »

Out of interest - how would you feel about a 5 minute weekly chat with their parents - to see how they are getting on supervising the children's progress with their homework.

No problem with this, parents are the primary educators after all and therefore should be keeping a close eye on what work is being done. Be madness in my scenario as I teach over 100 students across the week.

I dont want to get into trouble with dept or parents for not trying hard enough to issue work especially when I am trying. As usual teachers can’t please everyone.

gnf_ireland

G-Man wrote: »

Principals, teachers, inspectors and DoE are all professionals here. We really need them to start thinking and working out a solution here.

Many schools have sent no explanation of anything via email, phone or letter of education expectations during this time.. In a time when everything is closed and no expectation for it to be open - its time for schools to adapt to delivering curriculum online or remotely.

Even if not delivering anything, can they not start to evaluate and monitor kids performance. Can they not start making calls to pupils once a week to at least check in.

Things are not ideal, but we are into 2nd month of this and to get another dose of pdfs, many of which we cant print, for which there will be no feedback on is very poor form.

And just to add - this problem is not going away any time soon. Teacher - Student ratios and general over crowding makes social distancing hard in a school environment and there will be no magic vaccine rolled out globally before September. The problem needs to be addressed by people wanting to help and solve the problem

We will all have to adapt here - teachers, students and parents alike !!!

nuttyboy79

Let's fast forward a bit here and bring in David Attenborourgh "day 4327 of the Covid 19 lockdown boards.ie is dead except for the 3100th teacher bashing thread"

I've 5 kids ranging from 1st class to 6th year all of them have had contact on a daily basis with their teachers. The 2 in primary school through Whatsapp, E-mail and an app called Classdojo, has their been any video conferencing no but guess what they're in primary school it's not that big a deal.
The other 3 that are in secondary school have had different levels of contact from not much apart from E-mails and work being assigned on another portal called Edmodo to 8 daily classes on Zoom.
From what I've seen and heard from relations that have kids there's plenty of work being done and it all seems to be directly related to the level in school they are at.

AmberGold

Ray Donovan wrote: »

Primary School Teacher in the midlands here -

Firstly I'd like to ask the OP is how the school is getting the work to you? If you have no way to contact the class teacher after that, that is totally not on and smacks of lack of professionalism, incompetence and dare I say it, laziness.

From our school's perspective we have done the following -

All class teachers AND learning support teachers have set up a Google Classroom.

From here I can only explain how mine works - I have two posts scheduled on GC for 9am tomorrow. The first is a welcome back note, explaining the structure for the next 2 weeks (at least) and so on. The second is a word document outlining all work for the week including links to specific websites to look at for various topics.

- Let me give you a real life example for PE - I currently have the children on week 3 of a couch to 3k running programme (we did week 1 and 2 before Easter). So they have 3 walking/running activities to do during the week. I also have 2 links on the document to youtube videos that are 10-12 minute physical activities (star jumps, boxing, sretching etc). So for this they click on the link and follow the video's instructions.

On Google Classroom I actively encourage feedback from students and I ask them to upload photos of their work so I can have a look to tell them well done and give some feedback if necessary. This week we will also have a flash quiz on their reading where at random times I will post some questions on their English reading and the first correct reply wins. We'll keep a tally during the week and have a prize for the winner (e.g take one thing off from next week's work)

So that is how I work it. I know a lot of teachers are doing their best with their resources and I am also well aware there is a substantial amount not pulling their weight at all (anecdotally I have heard this is pretty substantial among LS teachers.

The only extra thing I feel I could be doing is making videos for my students demonstrating various things but school management was pretty clear they didn't want us going down that rabbit hole. And I am available all during the school day on Google Classroom so it's easy contact me.

Bravo, well done.

My childrens school use Flexibuzz which is basically just a way to message out the homework, nothing interactive as you have done.

plodder

afatbollix wrote: »

Did you not read the explanation under it? :rolleyes:

You said: "A lot of schools don't give laptops to the staff and its a GDPR issue to use your own one."

Why is that a GDPR issue? You said something about data relating to the children, but that has nothing to do with whose laptop they are using.

Windorah

AmberGold wrote: »

Well If the reactions here are anything to go by I’m glad I did ask the forum.

Have you even attempted to contact the school?

I'm more than happy to run through what I am doing for my cohort of students but that really won't help you so I'm a bit baffled about why you think moaning about teachers on a forum would be a more effective use of your time than actually questioning the teachers of your particular school?

Contact either the principal or teacher tomorrow and clearly state what you it is you require.

endacl

Windorah wrote: »

I'm a bit baffled about why you think moaning about teachers on a forum would be a more effective use of your time than actually questioning the teachers of your particular school?

It’s been nearly a week since the last teacher bashing thread. Poster is providing a valuable public service.

TheValeyard

Black_Knight wrote: »

Things can be put in place if teachers want to. Yes there's grpr and no remote policy, but for the sake of their students, do now, ask for forgiveness later.

What you mean by this?

jimmycrackcorm

LaLa2004 wrote: »

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/dublin-gaa-club-apologises-to-parents-after-kids-online-coaching-session-is-zoombombed-with-inappropriate-content-39103093.html

Here's one issue with Zoom, particularly when dealing with those under 18.

They posted up an open link on facebook. That's like leaving you car running outside a cafe while you go in to have your lunch for an hour.

RugbyLad11

[QUOTE=Teach30;113211934]I refuse to do this zoom thing with students I feel no way comfortable with it so don’t see why we should be pressurised into it. Currently using my own mobile phone data to upload and download work, my home internet is far too poor to send pictures etc. I’ve run out of data and my bill will be astronomical next month. Who’s going to foot the cost?

I have no laptop and using a phone with a cracked screen. My home circumstance mean it’s not possible to record videos unless you want to hear my elderly parents on the phone in the background or the tv/radio blaring all day. They have zero concept of being quiet.

So who ever here thinks it’s easy for teachers to teach from home I can assure you not everyone has appropriate circumstances.
I would give anything to get back into the classroom. If only for peace from my parents.

I firmly believe I’m doing my best under the circumstances, if I manage to email them
work I’m doing well. I’ll correct it when I get it but it takes hours to download, open, correct and then send replies. I had serious eye strain before the break from looking at phone.[/QUOTE]

I'm sorry but it sounds like you're just looking for excuses, for a start you can get a three sim for unlimited data and it costs just 20e a month for all you can eat data.

gnf_ireland

nuttyboy79 wrote: »

Let's fast forward a bit here and bring in David Attenborourgh "day 4327 of the Covid 19 lockdown boards.ie is dead except for the 3100th teacher bashing thread"

I've 5 kids ranging from 1st class to 6th year all of them have had contact on a daily basis with their teachers. The 2 in primary school through Whatsapp, E-mail and an app called Classdojo, has their been any video conferencing no but guess what they're in primary school it's not that big a deal.
The other 3 that are in secondary school have had different levels of contact from not much apart from E-mails and work being assigned on another portal called Edmodo to 8 daily classes on Zoom.
From what I've seen and heard from relations that have kids there's plenty of work being done and it all seems to be directly related to the level in school they are at.

And that is your experience and well done to those teachers and schools for it.

By contrast, my youngest daughter got her weekly email sent from the school gmail account this evening. 2 pages of instructions - 50% to be downloaded from Twinkl. There is no mechanism to feed anything back to the teacher and the next we will hear from her is next Sunday or Monday morning.

The older one, a class above, the teacher sends daily notes to the girls (not personalised obviously), puts plenty on google classroom and always responds to homework submitted within 20-30 minutes. She is clearly doing her best

Parents are realists and understand the situation we are in - but an email once a week is poor form and seriously let’s the side down !!

And believe it or not, teacher bashing is not a sport to fill the gap of soccer or GAA. Most people genuinely could not care less what they do - but at time’s like this, even we all have to adapt and work together, some teachers have seriously gone missing with zero accountability and are defended to be extremes by their colleagues, very much creating a us versus them situation

Dr Turk Turkelton

Personal experience here. Principal had been very good at keeping in touch through email and even school video chats on Google hangouts.
Senior infants teacher has been amazing sending out assignments and checking in through email during the week. Also held a "class" on hangouts as she just wanted to see the kids- so sweet.
She also sent every kid in the classroom one of the free postcards for Easter which was a real hit with the little one getting her own post from the teacher of all people.

The one in second classes teacher sent two quick emails with about an hour's work in both. Probably took her 10 minutes to write. No other contact.
Times like this really show what people are made of.

Windorah

gnf_ireland wrote: »

And that is your experience and well done to those teachers and schools for it.

By contrast, my youngest daughter got her weekly email sent from the school gmail account this evening. 2 pages of instructions - 50% to be downloaded from Twinkl. There is no mechanism to feed anything back to the teacher and the next we will hear from her is next Sunday or Monday morning

Have you queried this with the teacher? There was yet another bloody thread a while back about how teachers were so out of touch and how dare they expect parents to be at home supervising homework and sending in work to meet deadlines etc etc . Ya can't bloody win!

Teach30

RugbyLad11 wrote: »

I'm sorry but it sounds like you're just looking for excuses, for a start you can get a three sim for unlimited data and it costs just 20e a month for all you can eat data.

I’m already paying €80 pm. I’ve had three at home and reception is terrible which is why I switched.
As I said I don’t want to get in trouble for lack of internet but dept or school not offering me much choice either.

I’ve actually gone onto my local town 15min drive away, sat in car at night on my own and uploaded work. I’ve walked up the road and done the same for sending emails.

AmberGold

Teach30 wrote: »

I’m already paying €80 pm. I’ve had three at home and reception is terrible which is why I switched.
As I said I don’t want to get in trouble for lack of internet but dept or school not offering me much choice either.

I’ve actually gone onto my local town 15min drive away, sat in car at night on my own and uploaded work. I’ve walked up the road and done the same for sending emails.

Eye strain, broken mobile, no broadband, no PC.

Extreme case, you’re excused!

whatdoicare

My 6 year old is getting fupping tons of work from her teacher to do and tbh I've been hacking it down to a smaller load because it's just too much to be force feeding two hours of writing into her and then work on her computer and all this other ****e the teacher expects her to do. Also note, I'm off work right now so I can actually sit down with her and help her out. Others don't have that luxury.

(Meant to add) in fairness to the teacher she has an app I take a photo of the homework and send it to her and she has commented on every single piece and even sent a recorded message to her. So I know the teacher is happy with her work and progress

I'm going to be extra honest and say if the sun is out therell be very little homework as shell be going out the back and getting fresh air. Her mental health is far more important right now and shes stuck in the house with no other kids her age to talk to so we gotta help her in any way we can well being wise.

I cant imagine trying to get her to sit down for hours every single day to do a virtual class. It's just not going to be doable. Its not the same as a real classroom. She is surrounded by distractions. It's not fair on her and unless I can duct tape her to the chair clockwork orange style therell be no way to keep her attention for more than a few minutes.

Even the virtual classroom on rte isnt keeping her attention all that well. Sitting down with her and working through her plan for the day is working much better. Some days she does more and some days less and for myself and most parents I'm in contact with it seems the best way to work this.

gnf_ireland

Dr Turk Turkelton wrote: »

Personal experience here. Principal had been very good at keeping in touch through email and even school video chats on Google hangouts.
Senior infants teacher has been amazing sending out assignments and checking in through email during the week. Also held a "class" on hangouts as she just wanted to see the kids- so sweet.
She also sent every kid in the classroom one of the free postcards for Easter which was a real hit with the little one getting her own post from the teacher of all people.

The one in second classes teacher sent two quick emails with about an hour's work in both. Probably took her 10 minutes to write. No other contact.
Times like this really show what people are made of.

This is roughly our experience as well. One teacher going well above and beyond (although not as far as yours) and one gone missing in action.

If only there was a level of consistency in approach - even within the same school.

Your SI teacher seems fantastic. The social side is so important at that age and that’s what they miss most about school. We can do the academic side - but the other things teachers are trained in is where they need to make an effort.

We can guess the schoolwork needed to be done at this stage. Spend the time on supporting the child instead. Write each of the 30 odd kids a personalised note and ask them to send one back (photo and email).

Most parents are not asking for the world - just a bit of engagement !!

gnf_ireland

Windorah wrote: »

Have you queried this with the teacher? There was yet another bloody thread a while back about how teachers were so out of touch and how dare they expect parents to be at home supervising homework and sending in work to meet deadlines etc etc . Ya can't bloody win!

There is a balance to be had during these times. Many parents are working full time from home right now, handling childcare and trying to do some level of schoolwork so the kids are not behind when they get back.

Deadlines for children who can work independently is fine. Deadlines for children who need constant supervision is difficult for many.

The efforts and support needs to be tailored to the class and age. What works for 3rd year won’t work for 3rd class etc.

And I accept it’s difficult to win - but many talk about a single email from the teacher each week. In that regard, I assure you parents cannot win either

As for contacting the teacher - she has not shared her contact details so only general office email address.

gnf_ireland

whatdoicare wrote: »

My 6 year old is getting fupping tons of work from her teacher to do and tbh I've been hacking it down to a smaller load because it's just too much to be force feeding two hours of writing into her and then work on her computer and all this other ****e the teacher expects her to do. Also note, I'm off work right now so I can actually sit down with her and help her out. Others don't have that luxury.

(Meant to add) in fairness to the teacher she has an app I take a photo of the homework and send it to her and she has commented on every single piece and even sent a recorded message to her. So I know the teacher is happy with her work and progress

I'm going to be extra honest and say if the sun is out therell be very little homework as shell be going out the back and getting fresh air. Her mental health is far more important right now and shes stuck in the house with no other kids her age to talk to so we gotta help her in any way we can well being wise.

I cant imagine trying to get her to sit down for hours every single day to do a virtual class. It's just not going to be doable. Its not the same as a real classroom. She is surrounded by distractions. It's not fair on her and unless I can duct tape her to the chair clockwork orange style therell be no way to keep her attention for more than a few minutes.

Even the virtual classroom on rte isnt keeping her attention all that well. Sitting down with her and working through her plan for the day is working much better. Some days she does more and some days less and for myself and most parents I'm in contact with it seems the best way to work this.

But your child is getting what they need off the teacher - a level of encouragement and support. Ok they may be a bit OTT on the work, but that can be cut down to something manageable at your discretion.


Virtual classroom is not suitable for younger kids. I don’t think anyone is saying it is. But it is a tool in the armour that is available if needed.

One thing a class of 6 year olds could do in a virtual classroom is sing a song together etc. That’s about it !!

But not all teachers are as engaging as that and some are left very lacking at the moment

gnf_ireland

endacl wrote: »

It’s been nearly a week since the last teacher bashing thread. Poster is providing a valuable public service.

No there was another one earlier and ended up with teachers turning on each other !!

Dylan94

It is not as simple as some make it out to be. I'm a secondary school teacher. I am lucky, since my school has provided laptops.

I have been doing constant online video classes, which for a huge part have been such a waste of time. Most students (even 6th years) don't bother to show up for the lessons and when they do there is very little engagement.

Prior to Easter my living situation allowed me to do online classes. Now they don't as I have moved back to my parents, where it is often noisy and I don't have a suitable place to broadcast from. I will not be inviting students to see me in my bedroom.

Instead I will be uploading 1 hours worth of work for students to do for each of my scheduled classes and uploaded at the end of the day. I will be online to answer questions via email but I won't be doing anymore video calls.

Anyone who is concerned about the level of work being done. I would tell them to relax. Even of the work is done now, it will still have to be done from scratch in a real classroom to ensure that everyone is on the same page when they return.So focus on your child's wellbeing and happiness right now. Not education, the professionals will take care of that when we return.

Also, for what its worth, teaching online has been so much more time consuming than normal classroom teaching. All of the resources have to be adapted to suit online learning. I am genuinely burned out from it.

whatdoicare

gnf_ireland wrote: »

But your child is getting what they need off the teacher - a level of encouragement and support. Ok they may be a bit OTT on the work, but that can be cut down to something manageable at your discretion.


Virtual classroom is not suitable for younger kids. I don’t think anyone is saying it is. But it is a tool in the armour that is available if needed.

One thing a class of 6 year olds could do in a virtual classroom is sing a song together etc. That’s about it !!

But not all teachers are as engaging as that and some are left very lacking at the moment

True. Some teachers arent doing much. A friend of mines child got very,very little, I'm talking "skipping and colouring" and she came to me and took my lesson plan.


But in saying that, the parents that went looking on twinkl or other parents for work will be the ones joining the virtual class and the ones who arent wont be bothered with virtual classes either.


So its swings and roundabouts there. If my ones teacher had offered me nothing I would have just picked random pages out of her books to do and downloaded from twinkl. No parent who actually cares about their childs education is going to just accept
No work and skipping instead.

Coralcoras

My husband is a teacher and currently working to upload work on google classroom using the family laptop. I absolutely oppose the notion of zoom. Where are me and my new baby going to go for the day? The bedroom? Ir should my husband present to his students from his bedroom???

Windorah

gnf_ireland wrote: »

There is a balance to be had during these times. Many parents are working full time from home right now, handling childcare and trying to do some level of schoolwork so the kids are not behind when they get back.

Deadlines for children who can work independently is fine. Deadlines for children who need constant supervision is difficult for many.

The efforts and support needs to be tailored to the class and age. What works for 3rd year won’t work for 3rd class etc.

And I accept it’s difficult to win - but many talk about a single email from the teacher each week. In that regard, I assure you parents cannot win either

As for contacting the teacher - she has not shared her contact details so only general office email address.

Exactly my point! A single teacher cannot possibly know what is happening in thirty something homes in order to tailor the resources and info.
Surely the email address is sufficient and you could either request more input or simply query what is being provided?

Many teachers are also battling childcare and working from home at this time...

Dr Turk Turkelton

gnf_ireland wrote: »

This is roughly our experience as well. One teacher going well above and beyond (although not as far as yours) and one gone missing in action.

If only there was a level of consistency in approach - even within the same school.

Your SI teacher seems fantastic. The social side is so important at that age and that’s what they miss most about school. We can do the academic side - but the other things teachers are trained in is where they need to make an effort.

We can guess the schoolwork needed to be done at this stage. Spend the time on supporting the child instead. Write each of the 30 odd kids a personalised note and ask them to send one back (photo and email).

Most parents are not asking for the world - just a bit of engagement !!

We are seriously impressed with the commitment from the young senior infants teacher here as are all the other parents we've been in contact with.
Tbe 2nd class teacher has really shown her true colours though- stereotypical mid 40's with obviously no interest in the job apart from the paycheck- it's disgusting really.
Again the principal is mid 50's and also very impressive in these times.
Have read through posts from some of the teachers in here as well and a lot seem to be on top if their game and should be applauded for that.

gnf_ireland

whatdoicare wrote: »

True. Some teachers arent doing much. A friend of mines child got very,very little, I'm talking "skipping and colouring" and she came to me and took my lesson plan.


But in saying that, the parents that went looking on twinkl or other parents for work will be the ones joining the virtual class and the ones who arent wont be bothered with virtual classes either.


So its swings and roundabouts there. If my ones teacher had offered me nothing I would have just picked random pages out of her books to do and downloaded from twinkl. No parent who actually cares about their childs education is going to just accept
No work and skipping instead.

Absolutely agree 100%

But for many (myself anyway) it’s not about teaching content. I can see what’s in the books that’s coming up next and go to the likes of twinkl etc to get content

It’s about the encouragement and support aspect - esp with younger kids. Before the Easter break we were asked why is x’s teacher sending her back comments when mine is not and why do you never upload my work to google classrooms ? I set up a google classroom for her, just to ‘pretend’ she was sending stuff to the teacher !!! Sad eh !!!

Children need social interaction too. They have had 5 weeks of the family and while it’s been great at times, it’s tough at others. But we are all in this together and know it’s here for the long haul.

It’s just sad and frustrating in equal measures to see the disparity between the efforts of teachers.

c.p.w.g.w

touts wrote: »

Not all networks allow this. You aren't allowed theather with a three account. They will cancel your account and charge you if you are caught doing this.

That's weird, as I am with 3. And often hotspot my phone to download and steam stuff in work

gnf_ireland

Coralcoras wrote: »

My husband is a teacher and currently working to upload work on google classroom using the family laptop. I absolutely oppose the notion of zoom. Where are me and my new baby going to go for the day? The bedroom? Ir should my husband present to his students from his bedroom???

And can I ask what would you do if your husband worked for a company that meant he had to go on calls at this time ?

Zoom allows backdrops to be in place so everything beyond the presenter is a picture. It’s handy in cases like that

This is not ideal for anyone - but maybe zoom is preferable to going back to the school classroom in mid May, which according to the papers is also on the table.

Coralcoras

gnf_ireland wrote: »

And can I ask what would you do if your husband worked for a company that meant he had to go on calls at this time ?

Zoom allows backdrops to be in place so everything beyond the presenter is a picture. It’s handy in cases like that

This is not ideal for anyone - but maybe zoom is preferable to going back to the school classroom in mid May, which according to the papers is also on the table.

So I must breast feed in the back ground and take care of my new baby under a ‘digital cloak’ with office sounds for the foreseeable future? Eh no.. for many obvious reasons. I need the run of both rooms and the house needs to be quiet. Other parents will understand this.

If he was working for a company I would have the same objection. I live in a very small apartment and my newborn needs to sleep.

gnf_ireland

Windorah wrote: »

Exactly my point! A single teacher cannot possibly know what is happening in thirty something homes in order to tailor the resources and info.
Surely the email address is sufficient and you could either request more input or simply query what is being provided?

Many teachers are also battling childcare and working from home at this time...

Why can teachers not accept that a certain level of their colleagues are not pulling their weight and taking the easy option here?

In every place I have worked there have been people who have gone above and beyond and those who do the bare minimum to get by. I seriously doubt teaching is any different and the last few weeks have indicated this. I can accept this is human nature and those who coast will always do so and nothing will change that

But teachers, especially online, defend their colleagues to the death giving every excuse known to mankind and fail to see that maybe, just maybe, there is merit in the point raised

Everyone here is juggling childcare and most with work as well. Teachers are not special in that regard. Now frontline healthcare workers - that’s a different story

Sheep breeder

gnf_ireland wrote: »

And that is your experience and well done to those teachers and schools for it.

By contrast, my youngest daughter got her weekly email sent from the school gmail account this evening. 2 pages of instructions - 50% to be downloaded from Twinkl. There is no mechanism to feed anything back to the teacher and the next we will hear from her is next Sunday or Monday morning.

The older one, a class above, the teacher sends daily notes to the girls (not personalised obviously), puts plenty on google classroom and always responds to homework submitted within 20-30 minutes. She is clearly doing her best

Parents are realists and understand the situation we are in - but an email once a week is poor form and seriously let’s the side down !!

And believe it or not, teacher bashing is not a sport to fill the gap of soccer or GAA. Most people genuinely could not care less what they do - but at time’s like this, even we all have to adapt and work together, some teachers have seriously gone missing with zero accountability and are defended to be extremes by their colleagues, very much creating a us versus them situation

Like your post, we have two girls in secondary and are finding that there is two types of teachers and confirmed what we thought after the teacher parent meeting. The first type who is putting in a huge effort for the kids and the ones just going through the job of throwing out work and no more information and these are the classes the kids hate because of the teacher,
The big worry we have is the one doing the junior cert is putting in huge hours studying and all for what. The other thing is a lot of her friends are doing nothing for the last two weeks and this is stressing her out big time. They are both back to school tomorrow and will be given huge amounts again with some great help and the others who don’t care just not giving a damn.

gnf_ireland

Dr Turk Turkelton wrote: »

We are seriously impressed with the commitment from the young senior infants teacher here as are all the other parents we've been in contact with.
Tbe 2nd class teacher has really shown her true colours though- stereotypical mid 40's with obviously no interest in the job apart from the paycheck- it's disgusting really.
Again the principal is mid 50's and also very impressive in these times.
Have read through posts from some of the teachers in here as well and a lot seem to be on top if their game and should be applauded for that.

Absolutely applaud any teacher making an effort for their students. Absolutely without question !!

gnf_ireland

Coralcoras wrote: »

So I must breast feed in the back ground and take care of my new baby under a ‘digital cloak’ with office sounds for the foreseeable future? Eh no.. for many obvious reasons. I need the run of both rooms and the house needs to be quiet. Other parents will understand this.

If he was working for a company I would have the same objection. I live in a very small apartment and my newborn needs to sleep.

Firstly congrats on your new born and hope you all stay safe and well. Above anything else that matters more than anything

And yes, I can see the reason for your objection. And while companies would be understanding to a point, it would then come down to whether or not he can do his job given the circumstance.

I can assure you if I was in that position and could not go on calls beyond a few days - my job is untenable and I would be furlonged without doubt !!

Sheep breeder

Teach30 wrote: »

I’m already paying €80 pm. I’ve had three at home and reception is terrible which is why I switched.
As I said I don’t want to get in trouble for lack of internet but dept or school not offering me much choice either.

I’ve actually gone onto my local town 15min drive away, sat in car at night on my own and uploaded work. I’ve walked up the road and done the same for sending emails.

Fair play, what I call a proper teacher who cares about the students. Agree about three same problems with work phone and working toughbook from home. But on the other side there is a thick home economics teacher from mayo if a could get my hands on her, I would gladly do time in mount joy as she has one of our kids driven wrong.

Windorah

gnf_ireland wrote: »

Why can teachers not accept that a certain level of their colleagues are not pulling their weight and taking the easy option here?

In every place I have worked there have been people who have gone above and beyond and those who do the bare minimum to get by. I seriously doubt teaching is any different and the last few weeks have indicated this. I can accept this is human nature and those who coast will always do so and nothing will change that

But teachers, especially online, defend their colleagues to the death giving every excuse known to mankind and fail to see that maybe, just maybe, there is merit in the point raised

Everyone here is juggling childcare and most with work as well. Teachers are not special in that regard. Now frontline healthcare workers - that’s a different story

Again, this is kind of my point! I would never dream of saying that ALL teachers are anything. Hence why I am so adamant that each parent should contact the individual teacher.

I had a traumatic birth with one of my kids and the nurses present were absolutely useless but never in a million years would I tarnish all nurses with the same brush.