Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[D.A.F.C]

If you walked up to your boss and said "94% of my work here makes no difference" i'm fairly certain they'd soon be saving 100% of your salary

100% of bosses are unnecessary.

[Todd_is_God]

5 minutes ago, MixuFruit said:

That doesn't subtract from the underlying truth of it. I mean we've just had a months long experiment demonstrating which jobs are essential and which aren't.

I'm not disagreeing with the underlying sentiment of it.

More pointing out how ridiculous it is saying it out loud and, in this case, using it as a way of pretending "blended learning" is a positive thing.

[Todd_is_God]

Just now, D.A.F.C said:

19 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

If you walked up to your boss and said "94% of my work here makes no difference" i'm fairly certain they'd soon be saving 100% of your salary

100% of bosses are unnecessary.

You get an alert when someone types "boss" don't you?

[Jacksgranda]

Listening to a spat on Radio Ulster about how and when the schools will re-open. The schools here close in a week, same as England, afaik. (Obviously they have been closed for weeks). The teachers union rep is on saying planning and setting up for the re-start will have to be done in a week as the school holidays start and if things aren't in place by then, it won't be done on time. 

There's a teacher on now saying there's no chance of them not taking their holidays. She's kind of contradicting herself by saying they don't know when they'll get their holidays as they will still be working (although obviously not getting things prepared for re-opening under social distancing requirements etc.). Glad she's not teaching my grandchildren...

Edited June 22, 2020 by Jacksgranda

[Todd_is_God]

Is it only teachers that we want to bash for not wanting to have to come in to work during their holidays, or is it everyone?

[Marshmallo]

42 minutes ago, D.A.F.C said:

1 hour ago, Todd_is_God said:

If you walked up to your boss and said "94% of my work here makes no difference" i'm fairly certain they'd soon be saving 100% of your salary

100% of bosses are unnecessary.

What a lot of shite

[madwullie]

1 hour ago, MixuFruit said:

I suppose it's not unreasonable for a teacher to focus on the teaching/learning bit of why kids are at school rather than the so their parents can go to work bit of why kids are at school.

The focus seems to be on making sure that kids are in front of a teacher for 100% of the time, without considering there may be other ways to improve the quality of education they are receiving. 

I can see the merit in suggesting that say 66% of the time with a teacher  in small groups might produce better outcomes (and better learning) than 100% of the time spent sitting in a class of 32.

It's a bit of a shame that no-one has considered this might be a good time to deal with the known problems of our education system and consider other methodologies that might look very different, but be better for the kids and the country in the long run. 

Edit: not suggesting this blended learning business is any good, more pointing out that doing things the way we always have done just because that's the way we've always done them isn't a particularly strong argument. 

Edited June 22, 2020 by madwullie

[WhiteRoseKillie]

9 hours ago, peasy23 said:

Decent article in Private Eye about where the science went wrong, including Professor Ferguson ballsing up the figures early on.

 

https://www.private-eye.co.uk/issue-1524/columnists

 

Nobody in any of the top government positions at the moment gives you much confidence in their abilities. It's debatable whether a lot of them would be competent MPs, never mind being responsible for a government department.

 

"MD" has been absolutely superb in his documenting of this constantly rolling clusterfúck. Decent piece in the latest "Page 94" podcast as well. I only wish the Eye wasn't alone in its standards - the mainsream journalists (press and broadcast) should be shown this, and told, "this is how it's done, you lazy, incompetent, stupid patsies".

[madwullie]

1 hour ago, Todd_is_God said:

All very well, but in what other job can you essentially say "over 9/10ths of what I do here doesn't make any difference" and it's fine?

If the school model is that inefficient why hasn't it been brought up before?

It's a ridiculous line designed to influence daft parents into thinking that them overseeing their children sitting in the kitchen on an iPad is a more efficient way of learning than them being lead in person by a qualified teacher.

 

Teachers have been crying out for smaller classes, better IT infrastructure and training, time for development of better resources and methodologies for years. 

Austerity and the push from authorities and SLT to have your a school a couple of points higher in an excel graph usuay put paid to that. Maybe it's changed dramatically in the 3 or so years since I've been out of teaching, but I doubt it.

SNP govt as much to blame as anyone else for this btw. 

 

* braces self *

[WhiteRoseKillie]

2 hours ago, superbigal said:

Said official also pushed for the centralised app.
Said officials mates profited from the failed app.
Everyone knows the public sector and IT is a bad partnership. f**k up after f**k up.

You're not seriously framing this in a "Public Sector baad" way, are you?

"Right Wing arsehóles taking advantage of positions of power to enrich friends and colleagues by awarding PS contracts wherever said friends profit", maybe.

[vikingTON]

21 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

Is it only teachers that we want to bash for not wanting to have to come in to work during their holidays, or is it everyone?

If NHS staff operated on the same half-arsed, clock-watching, my work here is done principle as teachers then the country's healthcare system would be overwhelmed. Not just by coronavirus but every bog-standard winter as well.

As teachers are state employees who provide a public service and haven't been doing even remotely their contracted workload over the past three months while still picking up 100% pay, it is entirely reasonable for them to be expected to make up for that lost ground later in the year. 

Edited June 22, 2020 by vikingTON

[WhiteRoseKillie]

1 hour ago, MixuFruit said:

I suppose it's not unreasonable for a teacher to focus on the teaching/learning bit of why kids are at school rather than the so their parents can go to work bit of why kids are at school.

Absolutely this. Anyone who believes that the prime motivation for re-opening schools is anything other than releasing the kids' resource units parents to get back to work really isn't paying attention.

The idea that this Government wants the Working Class educated beyond a basic ability to contribute to the economy is fucking laughable. 'Twas ever thus, mind - look at the number of grown adults who were genuinely unaware of the less savoury aspects of Empire until some of the hoi-polloi got a bit shouty about it recently.

[Todd_is_God]

8 minutes ago, madwullie said:

Teachers have been crying out for smaller classes, better IT infrastructure and training, time for development of better resources and methodologies for years. 

Austerity and the push from authorities and SLT to have your a school a couple of points higher in an excel graph usuay put paid to that. Maybe it's changed dramatically in the 3 or so years since I've been out of teaching, but I doubt it.

You are right they have.

Absolutely none of which has anything to do with the "classroom teaching isn't very good, please teach your kids at home as this will really benefit them, honest" lie being told here though.

Perhaps once this is done that should be revisited.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

1 hour ago, MixuFruit said:

The perk of a strong and effective trade union I guess.

It really is quite apparent at times which posters (like me and, I assume, yourself) work in unionised workplaces, and those who have to eat shít from their bosses on a daily basis. What would be funny were it not so tragic is that many of the same posters adhere to the "unions are a Bad Thing" mantra perpetuated by those exact same employers. Add in a tendency to describe any kind of social or economic justice as "Loony Left madness", and you have the Tory party's perect voter - a cretin with a place on the Electoral Roll.

Edited June 22, 2020 by WhiteRoseKillie

[Honest_Man#1]

1 hour ago, D.A.F.C said:

1 hour ago, Todd_is_God said:

If you walked up to your boss and said "94% of my work here makes no difference" i'm fairly certain they'd soon be saving 100% of your salary

100% of bosses are unnecessary.

Please explain this. Please...

[Big Fifer]

5 minutes ago, virginton said:

If NHS staff operated on the same half-arsed, clock-watching, my work here is done principle as teachers then the country's healthcare system would be overwhelmed. Not just by coronavirus but every bog-standard winter as well.

As teachers are state employees who provide a public service and haven't been doing even remotely their contracted workload over the past three months while still picking up 100% pay, it is entirely reasonable for them to be expected to make up for that lost ground later in the year. 

That's not the story I get from my pals who are teachers though. Always difficult to compare careers but teachers are, based on what I hear, constantly complaining about doing marking out of hours and having to complete stuff on Sundays etc. Given my age most of the teachers are in the first 5 years of their careers, perhaps the more learned teachers fit into the "1500 and I'm outta here" bracket. 

[madwullie]

9 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

You are right they have.

Absolutely none of which has anything to do with the "classroom teaching isn't very good, please teach your kids at home as this will really benefit them, honest" lie being told here though.

Perhaps once this is done that should be revisited.

I was responding to you saying "If the school model is that inefficient, why hasn't it been brought up before." 

Asking for smaller classes, more support assistants, research into different ways of learning, better and more integrated IT, training in the use of that IT etc IS pointing out that the current school model is inefficient. 

Edited June 22, 2020 by madwullie

[WhiteRoseKillie]

34 minutes ago, Marshmallo said:

What a lot of shite

The lad's estimate may be a tad high, but anecdotal evidence from those working from home during the lockdown is that they're hitting their targets quicker, feel better and are generally better value for money for their employers than they were when stuck in a cubicle with some wee pocket fascist on 50p/hr extra snooping round ensuring no personal calls, no P&B(!) or other inappropriate Internet access, and timing their every toilet break. So much so, that a slump in commercial property sales and rentals is anticipated as companies realise they don't need so many staff in a built workplace.

Every organisation ahs at least one level of superfluous management - this crisis has shone a spotlight on them. Turns out that, for the most part, you actually CAN trust the shopfloor staff to get the job done without cracking the whip all the time.

Edited June 22, 2020 by WhiteRoseKillie

[The Moonster]

15 hours ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

Germany's ‘R’ rate goes up to 1.79.

 

https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/21/germany-fears-second-coronavirus-wave-r-rate-leaps-1-79-12883024/

 

 

 

 

 

Devi Sridhar has pointed out that Germany were running at around 200-300 cases per day and one outbreak at a factory has them at 1000 cases. We're racking up over 1000 cases per day in the UK at the moment, a similar outbreak would be much worse for us, not least because we'll likely do f**k all to contain it other than ask people nicely to stay home.

[madwullie]

Added this as an edit to my last post but probably better its in a post itself. 

Edit: noone is saying half home learning half at school is the answer to these problems. That's just what they seem to have come up with at short notice to deal with what's happening now. 

I'm teaching my p3 and last year nursery sons just now, and it's clear the model their school is using right now doesn't work. They can't rely on us to teach new concepts so in the main it's been revision work. I've done some stuff that I'm interested in that I think they'd like etc. Both of which highlight the main problem which is inequality of learning. Every kid should have the exact same opportunities, and that's not even happening within individual schools atm, let alone across the authority or (scoff) across the country. 

My high-school teacher friends have been saying that it's impossible to get all kids to engage. It's the same 10 every day, and of course it's the lower ability / kids from more troubled households that aren't engaging, no matter how many emails home, calls with parents, visits from staff etc. 

Edited June 22, 2020 by madwullie