Schools closed until March/April? (part 4) **Mod warning in OP 22/01**

Stateofyou

mcsean2163 wrote: »

It's a very small fraction that have both parents as frontline workers. From the stories I've heard I'm sure something could be done to accommodate them and I'm sure it would be much appreciated. In my experience, frontline workers are incredibly professional but I wonder how they'd feel the next time they have to treat a teacher.

Maybe it's on the GOVERNMENT not retaining and hiring enough health care workers year after year to staff our hospitals? It's not the fault of teachers, who have families too, who have to stay home and teach remotely while minding their own families. You need to direct your anger and begrudgery to the proper place - the people in charge who haven't managed the HSE well enough, going back decades now. But surely you know that, seeing as your wife is a HCW.

Locotastic

Stateofyou wrote: »

WTF is wrong with your logical thinking in that post there? It's community and hospitals first. As obviously 1million + students and staff mixing are going to affect what happens on a broader scale. Your wife is a frontline healthcare worker and you can't see that schools closing is to protect the health care system primarily? FFS.

Essential workers have been left to sort it themselves, yet again.

How do you propose where essential workers who are parents manage to homeschool and work?

It's perfectly OK to be annoyed and frustrated about it.

Thousands of people currently isolating as close contacts are expected to come back to work in healthcare, that to me is more of a worry for everyone involved.

They will be working alongside coworkers and patients, not the best decision.

Stateofyou

mcsean2163 wrote: »

Tbh, I'm focused on the frontline hospital workers who are working to save the lives of covid19 patients and receiving no support.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/554617/hospital-employment-in-ireland/

69,000

Say half have children of school age and if those, 20% have are both working in the same profession. That's around 3,500 families nationally.

I agree, they should be accommodated. It's shocking. Rather than step forward and answer irelands call teachers have hid behind their unions and ran away, abandoning the families of frontline hospital workers ...again.

Explain your logic there please. "They ran away".. based on what information? "Abandoned the families of front-line hospital workers"? How did the individual teachers do that when they are TOLD what to do by government. I think you need to reel it in here and have some respect. Everybody is under pressure but you're choosing to take your anger out on an entire industry who don't deserve it, on a thread in which you know has a lot of teachers which is so insulting. Would you say what you have to their face? I doubt it. Don't forget there is real people here so keep that in mind before you baselessly attack people doing the best for our children in unprecedented times.

wirelessdude01

vid36 wrote: »

It is pure speculation at this point, but I think the Leaving Certs will be back first in early February. Everyone else after the mid-term.

Based on?

Stateofyou

Locotastic wrote: »

Essential workers have been left to sort it themselves, yet again.

How do you propose where essential workers who are parents manage to homeschool and work?

It's perfectly OK to be annoyed and frustrated about it.

Thousands of people currently isolating as close contacts are expected to come back to work in healthcare, that to me is more of a worry for everyone involved.

They will be working alongside coworkers and patients, not the best decision.

I don't need to propose anything. And it is not up to the teachers to solve the issue nor is it their fault. People need to direct their ire at the group that actually calls the shots - government. And they don't give a flying F what I or anyone else here proposes we do.

wirelessdude01

Stateofyou wrote: »

Explain your logic there please. "They ran away".. based on what information? "Abandoned the families of front-line hospital workers"? How did the individual teachers do that when they are TOLD what to do by government. I think you need to reel it in here and have some respect. Everybody is under pressure but you're choosing to take your anger out on an entire industry who don't deserve it, on a thread in which you know has a lot of teachers which is so insulting. Would you say what you have to their face? I doubt it. Don't forget there is real people here so keep that in mind before you baselessly attack people doing the best for our children in unprecedented times.

A little bit of teacher bashing is a great relaxer for some.

hesaidshesaid

mcsean2163 wrote: »

I logged in and the first post I saw was protect teachers. I guess it set me off.

In the first lockdown my partner worked over 20 days in a row and we're lucky because I don't work in frontline hospitals although my job was essential work. I lost that job because I chose to mind the kids and having just found and started a job again I'm nearly back in the same boat but so what.

I don't know how the many families we know are coping when both are hospital workers. I think it's awful there is absolutely no provision for people in their situation.

Have to say very impressed by the online support from our school this time around and in general have great admiration for the teachers our children have been through. Good luck all and apologies for going a bit over the top, government, I need to write to them, not here.

State of you, wirelessdude - he took it back. See above.

Stateofyou

Yeah, just seeing that he "took it back." But that's the things with words/attacks. You can't take them back once they've been said. They still had the impact. I will say that was decent of that poster to do. Would be nice though if people would have a think about things first before taking it out on people who are already going through enough. I think a lot of people forget there are real people contributing to and reading these threads. The lack of decency bothers me.

Stateofyou

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

A little bit of teacher bashing is a great relaxer for some.

Ye don't deserve it though. I think I'm taking a break tonight. I'm after seeing a few of my neighbours today blatantly breaking restrictions and I'm just so frustrated over the selfishness of it all. My faith in humanity took enough of a hit as it is and then I caught up on this thread. Have a great night all, hope the schooling is going well on both ends.

hesaidshesaid

Stateofyou wrote: »

Yeah, just seeing that he "took it back." But that's the things with words/attacks. You can't take them back once they've been said. They still had the impact. I will say that was decent of that poster to do. Would be nice though if people would have a think about things first before taking it out on people who are already going through enough. I think a lot of people forget there are real people contributing to and reading these threads. The lack of decency bothers me.

It's a tough time all round. I'd imagine everyone on boards has their own story of hardship at the moment. As someone said on Twitter this morning, 'I long for precedented times'. I can't wait to talk about all this in the past tense.

mcsean2163

khalessi wrote: »

Yes it is a disgrace childcare was not sought for HCWs, Leo and Simon were supposed to sort it during the last lockdown but they fecked up. It is the government people should be riled at about this, not picking certain professions and giving out they aren't doing it.

I find this very upsetting. This poster continues to vilify parents that expect their children to be both educated and cared for while in school.

Someone said a while back would you say that to someone in person and it was a good point. I got carried away and went a bit over the top, a bad day, apologies.

But the same back at you, would you jeer at parents that organise their work life around schools in person? I expect not.

khalessi

mcsean2163 wrote: »

I find this really sickening. This poster continues to vilify parents that expect their children to be both educated and cared for while in school.

I find it sick that you feel it is ok to vilify teachers, and cannot figure out it is childcare HCWs need at the moment in a pandemic and then think it is ok to say sorry about ranting and continue to do so. Horrible attitude I think.

khalessi

Btw way nice editing

mcsean2163

khalessi wrote: »

Btw way nice editing

Sorry, I didn't finish. That's my full response.

hesaidshesaid

mcsean2163 wrote: »

I find this really sickening. This poster continues to vilify parents that expect their children to be both educated and cared for while in school.

Ah come on. She is making the distinction between childcare settings, like after-school care and education settings, like schools. There is a difference.

There are also different qualifications for both professions.

Children are educated and cared for in schools. This is not news to anyone. If you open a school during a pandemic with the sole purpose of childcare, it is no longer a school.

This issue has been discussed many, many times here, there's no point going down this road again.

mcsean2163

hesaidshesaid wrote: »

Ah come on. She is making the distinction between childcare settings, like after-school care and education settings, like schools. There is a difference.

There are also different qualifications for both professions.

Children are educated and cared for in schools. This is not news to anyone. If you open a school during a pandemic with the sole purpose of childcare, it is no longer a school.

This issue has been discussed many, many times here, there's no point going down this road again.

In my area are a couple both medical hospital professionals with two children under 10. What should they do?

km79

I’m suprised it took so long for the thread to be derailed by teacher bashing tbh
It was a good run with plenty of debate and ideas up until this point
It’s a pure train wreck now . Nothing relating to the thread title in pages

For what it’s worth I agree with the poster who said in the midst of all this nonsense that they think it will be L Certs only before mid term .
There is no way all year groups will be back .
Leaving Certs and Special needs students at most imo .
And things need to improve considerably first

khalessi

mcsean2163 wrote: »

On my road are a couple both medical hospital professionals with two children under 10. What should they do?

Start another thread about it, write to the government. You just have a problem with teachers,, you were here having a go at teacher a few months ago. Off with ya.

km79

mcsean2163 wrote: »

On my road are a couple both medical hospital professionals with two children under 10. What should they do?

Maybe a nice neighbour would form a bubble with their household to help out ?

Smacruairi

mcsean2163 wrote: »

In my area are a couple both medical hospital professionals with two children under 10. What should they do?

Email Norma Foley and ask her why an essential workers list contains 18 different sectors which means my creche is 100%full. Then you can ask her why there were not arrangements made for this contingency. Then you can email josepha Madigan and ask why arrangements weren't made for special needs children, even if it was just respite. Then you can email NPHET for recommendimg that schools stay closed to minimise spread of the virus.

hesaidshesaid

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said “some early signs of progress” were being seen with regard to daily cases numbers and positivity rates.

“We can take some hope in them, but we have a long, long way to go,” he said. “In the coming weeks ahead, we will need to draw upon our reserves of resilience from springtime as we can expect to see hospitalisations, admissions to ICU and mortality related to Covid-19 increase day on day.”

The weeks ahead... what do people think this means for schools reopening? Maybe it's pointless to speculate.

km79

hesaidshesaid wrote: »

Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan said “some early signs of progress” were being seen with regard to daily cases numbers and positivity rates.

“We can take some hope in them, but we have a long, long way to go,” he said. “In the coming weeks ahead, we will need to draw upon our reserves of resilience from springtime as we can expect to see hospitalisations, admissions to ICU and mortality related to Covid-19 increase day on day.”

The weeks ahead... what do people think this means for schools reopening? Maybe it's pointless to speculate.

40 or so death yesterday
60 odd today
Hospitals and icu almost full
He says all of those things will increase
Schools won’t reopen before mid term except for MAYBE LCerts and/or special needs students
If testing and tracing is not back up to scratch by then schools simply can’t reopen in any capacity

khalessi

km79 wrote: »

40 or so death yesterday
60 odd today
Hospitals and icu almost full
He says all of those things will increase
Schools won’t reopen before mid term except for MAYBE LCerts and/or special needs students
If testing and tracing is not back up to scratch by then schools simply can’t reopen in any capacity

IMNO calling for all 4000 privatised beds to be nationalised, not just a third,bit of a rollercoaster ahead

km79

khalessi wrote: »

IMNO calling for all 4000 privatised beds to be nationalised, not just a third,bit of a rollercoaster ahead

Can’t believe it’s taken this long for them to make that request
All in this together ......except when money is to be made

Smacruairi

km79 wrote: »

40 or so death yesterday
60 odd today
Hospitals and icu almost full
He says all of those things will increase
Schools won’t reopen before mid term except for MAYBE LCerts and/or special needs students
If testing and tracing is not back up to scratch by then schools simply can’t reopen in any capacity

I personally can't see them opening for leaving certs alone. It'll be everyone, or no one, or a rotating hybrid way for everyone. If it's just 6th,5th yrs and third yrs will complain that they are being overlooked, and you'll have complaints next year that 5th years missed some learning. Also it doesn't solve the reason for schools being closed, that being significant numbers mixing in the one place. You'll also have parents who don't have 6th years pointing at them and saying "oh what harm would having junior infants back in school make" and so on.

khalessi

km79 wrote: »

Can’t believe it’s taken this long for them to make that request
All in this together ......except when money is to be made

The nurses don't make money out of privatised beds. The government were just looking for 1/3 the IMNO rightly asked for more.

km79

khalessi wrote: »

The nurses don't make money out of privatised beds. The government were just looking for 1/3 the IMNO rightly asked for more.

I meant the companies running the private hospitals not the nurses !
Nurses are underpaid !

wirelessdude01

km79 wrote: »

If testing and tracing is not back up to scratch by then schools simply can’t reopen in any capacity

And there shouldn't be calls for then to open either. None of us want this rubbish but the fcuking plebs that won't do what they are asked to are the reasons why schools building are shut. Those of us who work in them aren't to blame.

wirelessdude01

km79 wrote: »

If testing and tracing is not back up to scratch by then schools simply can’t reopen in any capacity

And there shouldn't be calls for then to open either. None of us want this rubbish but the fcuking plebs that won't do what they are asked to are the reasons why schools building are shut. Those of us who work in them aren't to blame.

TTLF

Interestingly enough for LC students they all took to Twitter today and got to the trending tab with 4 different hashtags. The main one being "cancelthelc" and I thought it was interesting, over 23K tweets with that hashtag alone.

Virgin Media news starting to pick up on the stories today of the teenagers who want a fair LC. Good on them! I would also agree we need a fairer LC in fairness due to the last "4 months" of education missed.

As for LC's going in before midterm, I don't really see it happening personally, as another poster said, it's an "all or nothing" situation. Students will just complain that it's clearly still not safe to go in if no other year is going in.
I also read on the news the INMO want the government want to declare a "state of emergency" - we haven't seen that since 1939 during WW2, so if my bets were anything, I won't be seeing school until probably after the break. :eek:

Seems some more clarity has come to light with project deadlines for DCG and possibly Economics to be extended "to the end of the month" or beyond, but of course I think that was more of a given since we're not in school and they have to be worked on in school time.

As for my own studies, Online learning has been of way better quality since March, however it is still draining day-to-day. I've also been slapped with tons of work, so I haven't really had time to do much independent study while trying to balance taking a break so I don't overstress myself.

I hope this insight helped for anyone wondering.