Schools closed until February? (part 3)

sabat

alroley wrote: »

Being in an overcrowded, small, badly ventilated room with 30+ unmasked people while a virus that has been described as "rampant" by the HSE is not safe.

"Rampant" is not a property of the virus itself. The odds of a teacher contracting it in a classroom and dying must be (tens of?) millions to one.

Newbie20

If it goes to predicted grades again this year it’s going to end up being a complete farce.

Last year we were told to be as accurate and fair as we could be and not to give the result of what someone might get on their best day. I did this to the best of my ability and my results were broadly in line with what my school tends to get in that subject.

I know a couple of other teachers that were too generous. Now to be fair, they mightn’t have set out to be overly generous but when you know the students in question, they were generous, no doubt about it. In my mind this wasn’t a big problem because we had been assured that the results would be standardised. And then sure enough they did a u-turn, scrapped the standardised scores and hung the teachers that had correctly followed the guidelines out to dry. They completely changed the terms of the predicted grades after the teachers had completed their end.

So if the predicted grades happen this year they can go get ****ed if they think I’m falling for the same trick twice. If I think a student has a chance of a H1 I’ll be giving it. If I think a student would be borderline to pass or fail, she’ll be passing.

This isn’t to mention the fact that they screwed over the schools that always get exceptionally high scores (don’t teach in one myself)

Redser87

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Didn’t they say, or at least strongly imply, that children of frontline and essential workers will be able to attend this time around, at least at primary level (like in the UK and as it should have been from the outset). Don’t know about special ed though.

Found this quote on thejournal.ie if it's what you mean

khalessi

sabat wrote: »

"Rampant" is not a property of the virus itself. The odds of a teacher contracting it in a classroom and dying must be (tens of?) millions to one.

Hey you are welcom to come in and take the risk.
Feck the rest of them saying you need to train.
I'm shortstaffed I am sure we could find you something, it is perfectly safe:D;)

alroley

sabat wrote: »

"Rampant" is not a property of the virus itself. The odds of a teacher contracting it in a classroom and dying must be (tens of?) millions to one.

Well, we know teachers have died in the UK and there's not tens of millions of teachers there. So, no.

Bananaleaf

alroley wrote: »

Link?

Bananaleaf wrote: »

oh now, I will have to go searching. It wasn't any official news source, which is why I said apparently, but I definitely saw something. Will have a look around

Aw I'm really sorry, I can't find it. I'm pretty sure it was a screen grab of a twitter account and it was either posted in this thread or the Covid Megathread

Redser87

Bananaleaf wrote: »

Aw I'm really sorry, I can't find it. I'm pretty sure it was a screen grab of a twitter account and it was either posted in this thread or the Covid Megathread

Aodhán O'Riordan apparently wants a mix of online and in- school, according to thejournal

alroley

Newbie20 wrote: »

If it goes to predicted grades again this year it’s going to end up being a complete farce.

Last year we were told to be as accurate and fair as we could be and not to give the result of what someone might get on their best day. I did this to the best of my ability and my results were broadly in line with what my school tends to get in that subject.

I know a couple of other teachers that were too generous. Now to be fair, they mightn’t have set out to be overly generous but when you know the students in question, they were generous, no doubt about it. In my mind this wasn’t a big problem because we had been assured that the results would be standardised. And then sure enough they did a u-turn, scrapped the standardised scores and hung the teachers that had correctly followed the guidelines out to dry. They completely changed the terms of the predicted grades after the teachers had completed their end.

So if the predicted grades happen this year they can go get ****ed if they think I’m falling for the same trick twice. If I think a student has a chance of a H1 I’ll be giving it. If I think a student would be borderline to pass or fail, she’ll be passing.

This isn’t to mention the fact that they screwed over the schools that always get exceptionally high scores (don’t teach in one myself)

I regret some of my grades that I gave last year. I followed the video that the department provided, but turns out I shouldn't have followed them.

I am the same as you - if it happens again I will know what to do.

Wombatman

This year's 6th have missed out on one third of the two year leaving cert course, all things considered, and that's a conservative estimate.

This 'education' that they are supposed to be getting is about more than just points surely? It's to prepare them for life, or further education at the very least.

However they get their points and their pat on the head, what about the teaching hours they are missing out on? Teachers on here must appreciate the value of teaching hours, right?

Last year's LC class got to do their mocks AFAIR and were moving into full on study mode after that. For most, the course was covered at that point.

In the real world, 2021 6th years would be looking for their money back for a service not fully delivered.

Locotastic

TexasTornado wrote: »

I think we'll now see teachers, SNA's, school bus drivers etc.. all bumped up the list and vaccinated quick smart. I always found it weird that the government said it was a priority to keep schools open and they where so far down their priorities. Get it done and hopefully we'll see them open up again by end of Feb start of March.

I think teachers being vaccinated will have very little to do with it tbh so it won't make a difference really if there's still thousands of children unvaccinated coming and going every day while community levels are still high.

Fade Into You

I don't think schools are going to be open any time soon. The schools are closed. They are going back to work. They will be closed for a few weeks. The kids will be back in school. They won't be in school until they are ready. They can't be sitting in class with no social distancing. They'll be working from home. They don't have to wear masks. They aren't going to have to go to work on Monday. They might have to do some of the work from home but that's it.

The schools are closing. They're not going to open. They have to close. They may not be in the classroom. They could be in class. They've

Fade Into You

Fade Into You wrote: »

I don't think schools are going to be open any time soon. The schools are closed. They are going back to work. They will be closed for a few weeks. The kids will be back in school. They won't be in school until they are ready. They can't be sitting in class with no social distancing. They'll be working from home. They don't have to wear masks. They aren't going to have to go to work on Monday. They might have to do some of the work from home but that's it.

The schools are closing. They're not going to open. They have to close. They may not be in the classroom. They could be in class. They've

Are you okay?

TTLF

Pain. Nothing but pain is what I feel right now.

I know it’s all out of my control but seriously imagine doing online school up until February midterm, coming back and going straight into the mocks

I really have been trying I have, but it’s just so unfair I can’t have a typical LC. Students don’t even get any reward or acknowledgement for this (unlike the primary school kids who got the national no homework day) were just told to move on with it and “do our best.”

But what if I can’t do my best because I missed out on education, I can’t get the college course I’m dreaming of because I’m stuck learning online and I don’t retain any info because I’m up in my room all day starting at a monitor.

I really hope to an extent we’re not doing zoom calls based off our timetable all day, because I’d rather do work and give it in in my own time so I can balance at home life and not be stuck in an awkward call all day.

I pray I can stay on track and not get overly distracted with things. Or become super lazy and only do my homework and attend class (no extra personal study)

I know that’s fully in my hands, but it’s tough going being stuck in your room all day and being told to try your best, when all you feel inside is unmotivated and pain from online school.

Sorry for this small rant but it sucks so so much I can’t believe this is happening. But I also don’t want “exam levels” to return to class either because it’s unfair for me since it’s way too unsafe to mix with anyone right now with my underlying issue. It’s horrible. I hate this

Thanks for reading

jimmytwotimes 2013

No decision today according to this.

https://twitter.com/rtenews/status/1346343707352698881?s=19

Drifting towards their favoured Friday @17.00 slot for announcements and as little time as possible for people to adjust

Lillyfae

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Any school/teacher giving out work this week should be ashamed of themselves for their unashamed points scoring.

Ya, shame on them for wanting to be prepared and caring about their students education

Hold My Hand

I had a horrible feeling this was coming when we got our Christmas holidays. The kids really thrived in our school since August ... 80 days of solid teaching. The lack of a Christmas concert meant we could really work on literacy (we’re a DEIS school with 85 pc of children who have English as an additional language). I hope a decision is made soon. I want to head in and organise resources ... last March we had NO warning and the children went home with little. At least if they have resources (play dough, flashcards, counters, worksheets, etc.) the problem of no printers won’t arise. We’ll use Seesaw for online interaction. To be honest, last August I was optimistic with regards to our schools being safe. Not anymore. The slow and inadequate response of the health agencies when cases arose has been worrying. Principals have their hands tied.

mirrorwall14

TTLF wrote: »

Pain. Nothing but pain is what I feel right now.

I know it’s all out of my control but seriously imagine doing online school up until February midterm, coming back and going straight into the mocks

I really have been trying I have, but it’s just so unfair I can’t have a typical LC. Students don’t even get any reward or acknowledgement for this (unlike the primary school kids who got the national no homework day) were just told to move on with it and “do our best.”

But what if I can’t do my best because I missed out on education, I can’t get the college course I’m dreaming of because I’m stuck learning online and I don’t retain any info because I’m up in my room all day starting at a monitor.

I really hope to an extent we’re not doing zoom calls based off our timetable all day, because I’d rather do work and give it in in my own time so I can balance at home life and not be stuck in an awkward call all day.

I pray I can stay on track and not get overly distracted with things. Or become super lazy and only do my homework and attend class (no extra personal study)

I know that’s fully in my hands, but it’s tough going being stuck in your room all day and being told to try your best, when all you feel inside is unmotivated and pain from online school.

Sorry for this small rant but it sucks so so much I can’t believe this is happening. But I also don’t want “exam levels” to return to class either because it’s unfair for me since it’s way too unsafe to mix with anyone right now with my underlying issue. It’s horrible. I hate this

Thanks for reading

As a teacher please talk to the school. You and ALL your year group. Sixth years have a voice. Our school tried to cancel tests this year. Sixth years took less than 48hrs to get theirs back. They wanted proper ones because they missed the summer exams and wanted the practise. Which is understandable. The teachers hadn’t known they were being cancelled, it was management

The media are obsessed with live teaching. Many parents think it’s the only show in town. As a consequence many many principals put huge pressure on teachers to be live all the time and that will be worse this year. It becomes a competition between the local schools

My school is 1:1 with iPads. We now know from our students they don’t want full live. We know they couldn’t cope. But we surveyed and collected data and can back it up to cranky parents or media if necessary. Many schools won’t have that data

So you talk to your school. You ask for what you need. Email your year head yourself. And your principal. And you get your parents on the phone. And every other parent. You are very articulate. You have a voice. And you are old enough to speak up for yourself. And if it doesn’t work at least you tried. The very best of luck

If you are like our average student you want a mix of video recorded lessons by teachers with access to them for support and some opportunities for video check in or one live class during the week. So make sure you are heard

average_runner

For primary schools a good online solution would be for teachers to record videos of the lesson and tell the kids what pages to work on after the video.

This will give parents an on demand situation where they be able to work around their own job and help the kids with their work.

Zoom calls with the class during the week was a great success last time, kids got to talk to their teacher and friends. Kids have a special relationship with their teachers for sure.

mirrorwall14

average_runner wrote: »

For primary schools a good online solution would be for teachers to record videos of the lesson and tell the kids what pages to work on after the video.

This will give parents an on demand situation where they be able to work around their own job and help the kids with their work.

Zoom calls with the class during the week was a great success last time, kids got to talk to their teacher and friends. Kids have a special relationship with their teachers for sure.

We had one zoom call for our junior infant (we had the on demand, multiple videos every day etc) but god he hated it lol. Just shows that a mix is what’s needed in my opinion

Afroshack

Mr infomaniac wrote: »

In my opinion its even worse mentally to be off school for these extended periods.

I can take my kids out every day walking and playing hurling and football in garden.
I cant educate them as i am not very well educated myself.
I worry we will have a generation of undereducated kids.

1 posotive of all this pandemic is ive started spend more time outside with my kids.

Read with them! It’s fantastic for their literacy - just 20-30 mins a day

average_runner

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

We had one zoom call for our junior infant (we had the on demand, multiple videos every day etc) but god he hated it lol. Just shows that a mix is what’s needed in my opinion

Junior infant are so young so harder again. Ours are 2nd and 4th class.

khalessi

Interesting causal link
Should be looked at more
https://twitter.com/dgurdasani1/status/1346362176035020800

thomas 123

khalessi wrote: »

Interesting causal link
Should be looked at more
https://twitter.com/dgurdasani1/status/1346362176035020800

Nice to see someone looking at this data - nephet and the government do a wonderful job at avoiding any media deep dive into it.

khalessi

thomas 123 wrote: »

Nice to see someone looking at this data - nephet and the government do a wonderful job at avoiding any media deep dive into it.

Probably more acceptable like this

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-01009-0

Published: 16 November 2020
Ranking the effectiveness of worldwide COVID-19 government interventions
Nils Haug, Lukas Geyrhofer, Alessandro Londei, Elma Dervic, Amélie Desvars-Larrive, Vittorio Loreto, Beate Pinior, Stefan Thurner & Peter Klimek
Nature Human Behaviour volume 4, pages1303–1312(2020)Cite this article

SusanC10

What are your thought this am ?
Schools online until end of Jan or Feb Midterm ?
Will there be provision for children of frontline / essential workers? Disadvantaged kids ?
If so, what will it be ?

wirelessdude01

thomas 123 wrote: »

Nice to see someone looking at this data - nephet and the government do a wonderful job at avoiding any media deep dive into it.

Did you see their faces yesterday when asked had they done any research/study?

wirelessdude01

SusanC10 wrote: »

What are your thought this am ?
Schools online until end of Jan or Feb Midterm ?
Will there be provision for children of frontline / essential workers? Disadvantaged kids ?
If so, what will it be ?

What I expect is a mish mash of a mess, them trying to pander to everyone and getting nothing right. Fully expect that they will want us to cater for both online and inperson at the same time..

I went through my class last night and I think 17 of them could lay realistic claims to being from homes of a "key/essential" worker such is the range of stuff that is still open.

beggars_bush

Afroshack wrote: »

Read with them! It’s fantastic for their literacy - just 20-30 mins a day

A child's reading ability is nurtured on their parents lap

scrubs33

SusanC10 wrote: »

What are your thought this am ?
Schools online until end of Jan or Feb Midterm ?
Will there be provision for children of frontline / essential workers? Disadvantaged kids ?
If so, what will it be ?

It will probably end up being the usual ham fisted mess. They will try to replicate the essential worker clause from the UK but not define it enough. Time wise I think they will go initially until the end of January with the option of reviewing progress and then say buildings will reopen after mid term. I don’t know what they will do for the disadvantaged kids. I’m still expecting an announcement on Thursday with the usual leaks etc tomorrow.

JimmyVik

SusanC10 wrote: »

What are your thought this am ?
Schools online until end of Jan or Feb Midterm ?
Will there be provision for children of frontline / essential workers? Disadvantaged kids ?
If so, what will it be ?

Imagine if DES, nphet, hse, govt had planned for this in August instead of sticking their heads in the sand and hoping for the best.


MY sense is that schools were full of it. Asymptomatic kids broke up a couple of days before Christmas.
Parents thought, oh, the kids are fine, the govt and nphet said they cant spread it. Lets bring them shopping and visit the families. Sure the kids cant spread it.