Coronavirus: Johnson on all pupils returning to school

[Javert]

I don't know what the issue is - it's all completely easy.

This happened in my town.

When the coronavirus crisis came and the schools closed, all the children in my town and the surrounding area were fully progressive.

They all walked into town (on account of the travel restrictions and lack of public transports) and went to the one remaining bookshop in the area, where they formed an orderly 10 mile long queue with 2m spacing.

They then went into the shop one by one requesting the books they needed. 

The bookshop, having only one copy of each book, photocopied the book using their incredibly high speed copying machine (don't tell the copyright holder) and gave copies of all the books to every child for free, using their massive cash reserves to pay for it.

The children then formed a giant socially spaced circle to do their studies.

[papasmurf]

Libraries, don't make me laugh ,it simply isn't true that libraries need footfall to be viable . They suffer from the great Tory curse, of knowing the cost of something , whilst ignoring its worth.

Precisely.

[Good old]

Even their music lessons have been done on Zoom. Is that so impossible in the state system? Where there is a will there is usually a way.

The problem is that all school age children don't have access to the internet and IT at home, then there are rural areas with no or slow broadband.
If the internet and broadband is necessary to educate the nations children they should have access to it.

The problem is plain and simple , the best chance of a good solid education comes with privilege . Not being able to afford the Internet is at this moment tantamount to not being able to afford text books .
Those that can afford the privilege of a first class education, should have grasped   enough  knowledge  to know how little gets done when the funds are not available in any situation.

So no one ever rose to prominence our pulled them selves up without having access to broadband? Cobblers. History is littered with examples of people who made something of them selves against all the odds. The problem is society has evolved to think that the world owes them something, that the government should just hand them everything on a plate.

Buy a book, go to a library... Oh no you can't, they%u2019ve all closed cause no one ever used them. If I owned a book shop and a young child walked in and explained their library was closed and their family couldn%u2019t afford decent internet they%u2019d be asked to wash their hands and read what they wanted. Instead of facilitating this dad just cracks open another can of Stella and say%u2019s it%u2019s Boris%u2019s fault. Modern society in a nutshell.

Of course some people can claw their way to a level thought to be successful, even with no  formal education. My grandfather built a substantial business, and he could barely read and write. And some get through the cracks to reach high positions in society. But it%u2019s a proven fact that private privileged education has been ,and is the most common background for those in high places. The government should have one obligation, that is to support an education system that produces as many highly qualified individuals it possibly can .And follow that with a national structure that can use their expertise without ever having to seek expertise elsewhere .
Libraries, don%u2019t make me laugh ,it simply isn%u2019t true that libraries need footfall to be viable . They suffer from the great Tory curse, of knowing the cost of something , whilst ignoring its worth.

[papasmurf]

You regularly post this when someone disagrees with your PoV and it is childish and offensive. You've posted the same about me and it neither true nor funny.

I do when their comments are of the "let them eat cake," "are there no prisons," "are there no workhouses," variety.
It is not just recently but I have many times helped young people with study when  a book they needed to study was either not available off of the shelf in the local county library system, or very expensive to buy. (They would not be available in bookshops either except by ordering them.)
I have a wide range of books that I have purchased for study in the past, that cover a wide range of topics, that I have studied.
I have only recently had a request for one specialist set of data I have in book format, that is very limited in numbers published. (They are normally only issued to specialists.)

[Barry]

Frankly you are way out of touch and probably posting from Tory HQ.

You regularly post this when someone disagrees with your PoV and it is childish and offensive. You've posted the same about me and it neither true nor funny.

[Good old]

Imposing distancing is the problem. The kids have more chance of being hurt by measles than Covid. The teachers problems have to be addressed ,as do all other working situations, that's unavoidable. The parents are fearful because they are confused, mainly through being badly  advised in particular with regard to the risks their children are faced with.

I think the concern with children is not the risk they face, but the ability for them to spread the virus around a classroom which will then be brought home to parents who are at risk.

Yer, I agree. But if it gets education running again, switch the emphasis to behaviour patterns around the elderly, vulnerable types, of which I am one. There remains a question mark over when safe levels for my group in any situation will ever be achieved. Denying the kids their education will not change that. In the case of vulnerable parents ,make arrangements ,with the aid of borrowed IT facilities, if necessary to carry on education at home . Not ideal but workable and cost effective,I would have thought. Always remembering what the true cost is going to be if this isn't solved soon.

[Nalaar]

Imposing distancing is the problem. The kids have more chance of being hurt by measles than Covid. The teachers problems have to be addressed ,as do all other working situations, that's unavoidable. The parents are fearful because they are confused, mainly through being badly  advised in particular with regard to the risks their children are faced with.

I think the concern with children is not the risk they face, but the ability for them to spread the virus around a classroom which will then be brought home to parents who are at risk.

[papasmurf]

So no one ever rose to prominence our pulled them selves up without having access to broadband? Cobblers. History is littered with examples of people who made something of them selves against all the odds. The problem is society has evolved to think that the world owes them something, that the government should just hand them everything on a plate.

Buy a book, go to a library... Oh no you can't, they've all closed cause no one ever used them. If I owned a book shop and a young child walked in and explained their library was closed and their family couldn't afford decent internet they'd be asked to wash their hands and read what they wanted. Instead of facilitating this dad just cracks open another can of Stella and say's it's Boris's fault. Modern society in a nutshell.

The current educations system is built around IT and the Internet.  Frankly you are way out of touch and probably posting from Tory HQ. Also book shops have a very limited range of books. 

[johnofgwent]

Isn't the school sending work home in any form either online or hard copies? My grand-kids are at private school but have had a full online timetable since after the first week of lock down. My grandson's common entrance papers were hand delivered - with instructions not to touch them for 72 hours, invigilated at home and returned for marking. It's not easy since Dad is working from home and their broadband isn't brilliant, so the kids are using parent's phones to manage to attend classes.  Even their music lessons have been done on Zoom. Is that so impossible in the state system? Where there is a will there is usually a way.

Well how much is the term's fees I wonder ?

Melissa has been set homework by the school which she has been doing, and extracurricular musical theatre and dance workshops were set up by her extracurricular dance academy teachers.

She had to come here to use the faster broadband at one point for her schoolwork, but not now.

[Nick]

Even their music lessons have been done on Zoom. Is that so impossible in the state system? Where there is a will there is usually a way.

The problem is that all school age children don't have access to the internet and IT at home, then there are rural areas with no or slow broadband.
If the internet and broadband is necessary to educate the nations children they should have access to it.

The problem is plain and simple , the best chance of a good solid education comes with privilege . Not being able to afford the Internet is at this moment tantamount to not being able to afford text books .
Those that can afford the privilege of a first class education, should have grasped   enough  knowledge  to know how little gets done when the funds are not available in any situation.

So no one ever rose to prominence our pulled them selves up without having access to broadband? Cobblers. History is littered with examples of people who made something of them selves against all the odds. The problem is society has evolved to think that the world owes them something, that the government should just hand them everything on a plate.

Buy a book, go to a library... Oh no you can't, they've all closed cause no one ever used them. If I owned a book shop and a young child walked in and explained their library was closed and their family couldn't afford decent internet they'd be asked to wash their hands and read what they wanted. Instead of facilitating this dad just cracks open another can of Stella and say's it's Boris's fault. Modern society in a nutshell.

[Javert]

Isn't the school sending work home in any form either online or hard copies? My grand-kids are at private school but have had a full online timetable since after the first week of lock down. My grandson's common entrance papers were hand delivered - with instructions not to touch them for 72 hours, invigilated at home and returned for marking. It's not easy since Dad is working from home and their broadband isn't brilliant, so the kids are using parent's phones to manage to attend classes.  Even their music lessons have been done on Zoom. Is that so impossible in the state system? Where there is a will there is usually a way.

That is why your grandchildren are at private schools.

No matter what happens the state schools won't be doing much of anything until September and the teachers will spend most of their time sending out excuses and blaming the government.

Of course, the real worry will be if the kids learn more outside school than in 

That's just so depressing. What an example to the kid's.  Mine went through the State system although they attended a very good Grammar at secondary. We were set to go private if they hadn't got in. My local Comps were abysmal at the time, but even then both were encouraged to add outside learning as well as outside activities. Perhaps there will be some who will turn to full time home schooling in future after this. I can't believe that many are doing nothing. There are course books for many subjects relevant for each year. Perhaps lots of parents have gone that route. Do teachers really not care?

It's not really true that many schools are doing nothing at all.  The teachers were having to look after children of key worders, and even with that most of the schools are setting work for the children and running online classes.  The difference is that many private schools are running the full Normal lesson timetable as online lessons.

From what I've seen teachers are still working just as hard.

Also, some parents don't force their kids to turn up to the online lessons and there's nothing the school can do about it.  That's not the teacher's fault. 

[T00ts]

Isn't the school sending work home in any form either online or hard copies? My grand-kids are at private school but have had a full online timetable since after the first week of lock down. My grandson's common entrance papers were hand delivered - with instructions not to touch them for 72 hours, invigilated at home and returned for marking. It's not easy since Dad is working from home and their broadband isn't brilliant, so the kids are using parent's phones to manage to attend classes.  Even their music lessons have been done on Zoom. Is that so impossible in the state system? Where there is a will there is usually a way.

That is why your grandchildren are at private schools.

No matter what happens the state schools won't be doing much of anything until September and the teachers will spend most of their time sending out excuses and blaming the government.

Of course, the real worry will be if the kids learn more outside school than in 

That's just so depressing. What an example to the kid's.  Mine went through the State system although they attended a very good Grammar at secondary. We were set to go private if they hadn't got in. My local Comps were abysmal at the time, but even then both were encouraged to add outside learning as well as outside activities. Perhaps there will be some who will turn to full time home schooling in future after this. I can't believe that many are doing nothing. There are course books for many subjects relevant for each year. Perhaps lots of parents have gone that route. Do teachers really not care?

[Borchester]

Isn't the school sending work home in any form either online or hard copies? My grand-kids are at private school but have had a full online timetable since after the first week of lock down. My grandson's common entrance papers were hand delivered - with instructions not to touch them for 72 hours, invigilated at home and returned for marking. It's not easy since Dad is working from home and their broadband isn't brilliant, so the kids are using parent's phones to manage to attend classes.  Even their music lessons have been done on Zoom. Is that so impossible in the state system? Where there is a will there is usually a way.

That is why your grandchildren are at private schools.

No matter what happens the state schools won't be doing much of anything until September and the teachers will spend most of their time sending out excuses and blaming the government.

Of course, the real worry will be if the kids learn more outside school than in 

[johnofgwent]

Melissa goes back to school for three hours a day, starting July 1st.

Sarah has been told she is not required back to work at the school she works in until the start of the next school year.

[Javert]

Even their music lessons have been done on Zoom. Is that so impossible in the state system? Where there is a will there is usually a way.

The problem is that all school age children don't have access to the internet and IT at home, then there are rural areas with no or slow broadband.
If the internet and broadband is necessary to educate the nations children they should have access to it.

The problem is plain and simple , the best chance of a good solid education comes with privilege . Not being able to afford the Internet is at this moment tantamount to not being able to afford text books .
Those that can afford the privilege of a first class education, should have grasped   enough  knowledge  to know how little gets done when the funds are not available in any situation.

This is part of it.  Another part is that private schools are operating a private business, and the staff and teachers are very well aware that if they don't delivery the service the parents are paying for, they will all end up out of a job pretty quickly.

State schools is a different matter because you can't really just close the school down or stop paying the teachers (well I suppose you could but most countries would not do that), and also state school teachers have been lumbered with babysitting for children of key workers and vulnerable children, not to mention that many state schools have a lot less space, smaller classrooms and larger class sizes which all adds extra problems.