Schools

gilly I think your posts have been pretty nasty quite frankly and aimed as so often not just at teachers but at many public sector workers in general.You say you want all children to be treated the same - so what do you want - all children to go to school, increase risks and rates of infection or no children to go to school and lose many key workers and others of course to lose their jobs? It’s no good just complaining ( but it’s easy)

My daughter is a teacher. She is also a mum and my lovely daughter. She loves her job and has several children in her class with very individual special needs. A couple of them have blossomed this year according to their parents and she is so sad not to be able to finish the year with them. She was in tears last night because of all the uncertainty and she said everyone of the teachers shed tears in the staff room.

We usually look after 4 grandchildren in the school holidays or when needed. Our children themselves have said we are not bringing them to you as you will be both at risk of infection. They are all trying to sort out other arrangements. I am very proud of them for considering our health and not being selfish in asking in these circumstances.

From the horse's mouth - Guidance for schools, childcare providers, colleges and local authorities in England on maintaining educational provision, on gov.uk site.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

I think a lot of us that have children who teach or know teachers are taking some of the vitriol aimed at them personally at the moment; and so they should.

There’s really No need to resort to personal nastiness suziewoozie

My son is a university lecturer. He is currently very busy organising and marking online materials for his students, assessing and grading their work. He is trying to do so working from home, as his partner is ill with suspected Coronavirus. So he is trying to work, look after a sick person, keep the household running. Add into the mix a lively five year old child, off school already because of isolation, and work is not getting done easily. Meanwhile his partner who works in genetic research is unable to contribute to the scientific developments we desperately need.
Just examples.
So many people in so many walks of life are finding life extremely stressful. It ill befits those of us with time to be on forums like this to knock any job or any sector of society.

I think if key workers have a SAHM/D they should do the decent thing and keep their children at home

And again - it’s about risk reduction not about achieving the perfect world

Children are not treated the same ever - it’s a nice idea but impossible. It’s no good gilly harking after the impossible - what do you really want? All at school or none ? Or just for your dgc to be included in the going to school group?

I think the government would have preferred to keep schools open, but that there was a national (media driven?) clamouring for them to be closed. That not enough was being done to prevent spread.

You either belong to one opinion or the other? Which is right? Nobody knows.

Ooops sorry that was in answer to your question suziewoozie

I think children should be treat the same . No one more important or precious than the next .

Just talking to my lovely neighbour across the road . He is a police officer but his wife is a stay at home mum . His oldest son plays footy with my DGS ( now cancelled sadly) he said that technically he could send his boys to school being a key worker even though his wife doesn’t work at all . He’s not sure what to do . Very confusing .

Oh gilly for heavens sake. What do you want ? We are talking risk reduction - this scheme will have many problems but it’s a start - do you want all children to go to school or none? Any risk reduction scheme will not please everyone but it’s hardly as though the virus is a ‘people pleaser’ is it?

I so agree with you again Trisher. Teaching goes way beyond the classroom. It is just as important to give a child a soul as well as a brain and to guide them through life's perils. That is probably why teachers are needed more than ever now to step up to the plate and support those kids.

There will be teachers today who will be devastated watching the children they had regarded as "theirs" walk away without the support and work they had planned for the summer term. They will put a positive face on and accept that the children will see it as a holiday, but many of them will cry behind closed doors. Not just for the children they will miss, but also because they know that the children who most need their help, who should be coming in for food and help, will probably at some point stop coming, particularly as the weather gets warmer. Those children may slip into crime and alcohol and drug abuse and social services destroyed through the cuts will be unable to cope. Teachers have been picking up the pieces for a long time and they will continue to do so.

Quite a list there. In other words just about everyone except those working in Engineering or general industry.

So if all the children who have one parent in any of the above occupations they can go to school . Now tell me that this isn’t turning into a “them and us” society .

Key workers identified -

"Who are "key workers"? The full list includes:

Frontline health workers such as doctors and nurses
Some teachers and social workers
Workers in key public services including those essential to the justice system, religious staff, and public service journalists
Local and national government workers deemed crucial to delivering essential public services
Workers involved in food production processing, distribution, sale and delivery
Public safety workers including police, armed forces personnel, firefighters, and prison staff
Essential air, water, road and rail transport workers
Utilities, communication and financial services staff, including postal workers, and waste disposal workers"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51972793

I have already said this on another thread but, reading some of the vitriol aimed at teachers, I am going to repeat myself.

My next door neighbour is a foundation class teacher and high in the hierarchy of the school. She brought me some shopping yesterday on her way home from work. She looked exhausted. When I commented, she said it was due to worrying about ‘her’ children. She is going to work next week

What I did not say in my other post was that I have seen her working, as I go in to help with the little ones reading. The staff work really hard and, as an ex ward sister on a very busy orthopaedic/ trauma ward so I know what hard work is.

I have no problem with anyone pointing out that there are some teachers who might not be up to the mark

Same as any profession

Haulage drivers for example.

What I do object to is patronising and pompous comments that demean the teaching profession

Making pointless comparisons and generally being unpleasant

Growstuff just because they ARE lazy teachers it doesn't mean they are not human. There ARE those teachers who barely give 70%, I've worked with them. Maybe they too chose the wrong career but today is not the day to dwell on that.

Shalom

Oops posted too soon. I think the point Grandad may have been trying to make is that there are good teachers and bad teachers just like in every other walk of life. They are not saints. I know there are a lot of teachers and retired teachers on Gransnet so daring to say anything even slightly negative and you get set upon .

Where did I say that teachers were skivers growstuff ? Why would I say that? I said that in my DGS’s primary there is a high level of teacher absence. Nothing to do with Coronavirus.