Words have power, we need to choose them carefully.
Before I write the rest of this, I want to say that I have every respect for parents at home with their kids trying to get them to learn.
I can only imagine the stress – even children who are darlings at school will be bratty handfuls at home if asked to do something they don’t want to, that’s natural and if it were otherwise would be slightly troubling. If kids in their own homes don’t feel comfortable enough to express displeasure then that’s a whole other blog post.
This is about the language used by the government & media – and the way they have, yet again, painted teachers as selfish, lazy troublemakers, whilst at the same time expecting them to use their own time, money & resources to deliver ‘high quality’ online learning at the drop of a hat with no support or training as well as going to school to be infected by the disease vectors we know as pupils. The language choices of the media shape the opinions of the masses… that’s how we ended up with this government & BREXIT – but that’s a whole other blog.
1. SCHOOL ARE NOT CLOSED – they are very definitely open, ask any teacher/TA you know. They are currently not only providing education but also child care & social care (incidently – they do this a lot in normal times, it’s just nobody is bothered then).
A friend of mine in the primary sector said that on any given day they had about 60% of kids in, and nearly 100% of the staff. Constantly saying the schools are closed is denigrating the work done by those in school caring for children, whilst trying to meaningfully educate the ones at home as well. It paints a very clear picture in the media that I can actually see forming a pathway for the more suspectible thinkers that will lead to ‘well if the schools are closed why are we paying teachers/our taxes’.
2. Unless parents are devising their own learning tasks to meet curriculum outcomes they are NOT HOME-SCHOOLING. They are helping their children with an excessive amount of homework. It’s not fun – but it’s not fun for the teachers or kids either.
Calling it ‘home schooling’ is offensive to the teachers who have spent hours developing the learning activities, offering support online and delivering live & video lessons AT THE SAME TIME as providing in person child-care etc. It is offensive to them because it subconsciously cuts them out of the process completely – just like the message that ‘schools are closed’
Consequentially, the media has painted a picture of teachers who can’t be bothered to do their jobs and parents having to pick up the slack – it’s familiar rhetoric. They’ve already suggested cutting holidays because obviously teachers get all those holidays and only work until 3.30pm. This would be disastrous as teachers are near enough burnt out already.
Branding it ‘school online‘ or similar would have sent a positive message. Instead they’ve chosen to call it home-schooling and publish endless articles about how difficult it is, never mind the innovation and dedication of teachers that are using methods & technology they had never had the opportunity to explore before, with little or no training, and have had to rework all their resources – in some cases literally overnight.
It is also offensive to real home educators, who work hard all the time to develop their children’s learning, device & provide educational activities and put time in to the curriculum.
It has been quite evident since the beginning of this pandemic that in this country, school and teachers are valued far more for their role as social carers & child-minders than they are as educators. All teachers know they have a social care role, I find it interesting that it seems to be news to the government and the masses.
It is quite obvious that the government have no idea what happens in state schools. This was initially apparent when they suggested we halve our class sizes to allow for social distancing and every teacher went ‘oh okay, because we teach classes of 30 out of choice, and magically have a ton of empty classrooms & spare teachers lying around’. When this was pointed out, they declared the schools would reopen anyway because kids weren’t at risk. Anyone who works with children will tell you its almost impossible to socially distance from them, especially when you are trying to help them learn – proximity is important. PPE is impractical.
If we needed any more evidence that the government have no idea how hard teachers work, and how difficult their job is, then I think when Gavin Williamson, the so-called minister for education, had the affront to suggest that parents should contact Ofsted if they felt online lessons were ‘poor’, we now have plenty. It bit him in the arse, I’m happy to say.
Read all about it here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/ofsted-emails-schools-lockdown-remote-learning-complaint-b1785947.html
Teachers don’t like the schools being closed any more than anyone else – but let’s understand why. The term ‘learning loss‘ is bandied around a lot. Let’s be clear, your child’s future will not be jeopardised because they’ve forgotten what a participle is, can’t solve a simultaneous equation or explain an oxbow lake. It also won’t be the end of the world if they have to take a step back with literacy & numeracy development and relearn a few basics – in fact it may make their skills stronger (in the same way that drivers who pass their driving test the second time around are generally more skilled than those who pass the first time).
As a professional online teacher, whose never seen any of her pupils face to face, I can tell you for certain that it is perfectly possible to gain all the learning you need online – if all you are interested in is content. (Our kids love it – because the majority hated the school environment.) What is concerning teachers is the loss of ‘soft’ skills & social skills – listening, sharing, following rules, teamwork, creativity, confidence, concentration, self-discipline, kindness – the list goes on.
A recent headline mentioned that a headteacher had said that he felt the continued closure of the schools was ‘neglectful‘ of the most vulnerable in society. He’s right, and he wasn’t talking about curriculum learning. He was talking about the fact that a substantial amount of children go to school to be looked after and loved. It’s where they have access to emotionally available adults who listen to what they have to say, it’s where people notice if they are hungry, tired, unwashed or upset – and then can do something about it. Its where people treat them like they have value and are good company. And if you are thinking ‘yes, but surely they also get that at home’ I suggest you read the rest of this blog and be thankful you had no idea that they don’t.
Scaling the Chalkface - educational ranting for the terminally exhausted. 