Coronavirus

[MrGongGong]

There is a simple 2 word answer to Mr Gove

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/17/michael-gove-tells-councils-to-look-to-their-responsibilities-and-open-schools?fbclid=IwAR0UjF1PJ1hwvluVVGz-0Z-uIOvUnGWRVeY6GKweOtRytcueTVmKEudkA2Y

He added: “Children only have one chance at education. Over the course of the last decade we’ve made significant strides in closing the gap between the richest and the poorest in our schools. This lockdown has put that backwards.

Pants on fire again

[Pulcinella]

There is a simple 2 word answer to Mr Gove

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/17/michael-gove-tells-councils-to-look-to-their-responsibilities-and-open-schools?fbclid=IwAR0UjF1PJ1hwvluVVGz-0Z-uIOvUnGWRVeY6GKweOtRytcueTVmKEudkA2Y

Pants on fire again

One thing the lockdown has shown is how woeful and patchy the provision for home learning is, in all education sectors.

I'm sure that there must be lots of material available, but it needs to be sorted into some readily accessible place for teachers to tap into, without them having to reinvent the wheel for every piece of work they set.
And of course we need adequate provision of home resources (devices and internet connection) for the students.

My godson's brother's children (both primary school age) in Australia have been undergoing a regular six-hour day of home learning in their lockdown (including breaks/playtime). I imagine that only private schools here have had anything remotely similar (but would happily be proved wrong).

[Dave2002]

My godson's brother's children (both primary school age) in Australia have been undergoing a regular six-hour day of home learning in their lockdown (including breaks/playtime). I imagine that only private schools here have had anything remotely similar (but would happily be proved wrong).

I think it has turned out to be a lot harder than people anticipated. Some teachers have been teaching remotely for weeks, and apparently it's very hard work. OK - it wouldn't be fun for most of us having to deal with a class of kids who were often on the edge of running riot, in a school situation - and then of course there is the preparation and learning required - but apparently some teachers doing the remote learning are now finding that they get hundreds of emails per day, including some - possibly thoughtless ones - from parents concerned how things are going. That's not to knock the parents - but to highlight that remote learning needs to be managed carefully, just as with face to face teaching.

The idea that remote learning/teaching is a soft option and can be easily managed, and is a cheap thing to do, needs to be checked out.

[MrGongGong]

"Remote learning" only works for some things, and some people.
Sadly the people who benefit most from school are likely to be the ones who are unable to access it.
But the likes of Gove don't give a toss about those children anyway

Interesting that the schools the politicians send their children to aren't due to open until September.

This is a real opportunity for an examination of what school is for IMV
but, sadly, one that will be missed entirely

One of the things I did last week was a long interview with a researcher at Tokyo University who is looking at how music education works in various parts of the world. It seems that the really interesting questions and possible ways to work are all happening elsewhere.......

[Pulcinella]

I think it has turned out to be a lot harder than people anticipated. Some teachers have been teaching remotely for weeks, and apparently it's very hard work. OK - it wouldn't be fun for most of us having to deal with a class of kids who were often on the edge of running riot, in a school situation - and then of course there is the preparation and learning required - but apparently some teachers doing the remote learning are now finding that they get hundreds of emails per day, including some - possibly thoughtless ones - from parents concerned how things are going. That's not to knock the parents - but to highlight that remote learning needs to be managed carefully, just as with face to face teaching.

The idea that remote learning/teaching is a soft option and can be easily managed, and is a cheap thing to do, needs to be checked out.

If I were a university student about to start a course in September 2020, I'd certainly want to know that my £9000 fee was being well spent.

In terms of primary school children, I was thinking more, perhaps, of an opportunity for them to start to learn a foreign language or even touch typing; there must be some decent accredited courses that could be tapped into. The Year 5 teacher I have worked with has been pointing his students to some 'bite-size' BBC learning clips/activities, which seem to have gone down well.

[Dave2002]

If I were a university student about to start a course in September 2020, I'd certainly want to know that my £9000 fee was being well spent.

I couldn't possibly comment.

Often the finances are such that in fact even £9000 isn't really enough, but for the coming session it may turn out to be poor value. Normally of course, students concerned about that sort of issue could take a gap year - but I fear that isn't going to be a realistic option for a while, so either the students or the universities - and in practice both - will suffer. There presumably aren't going to be the hordes of incomng foreign (even EU ...) students coming in to make up the funding deficits.

These are not good times - but at least most young people still have lives before them, and hopefully things can only get better.

[jayne lee wilson]

....better satire than Brooker.....

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/15/zoom-dog-groom-how-stay-alert-covid-19-boris-johnson

[Pulcinella]

....better satire than Brooker.....

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...-boris-johnson

Just love the photo caption of BJ with dog and minder!

Typical. Boris has always got someone else to pick up the shit.

Maybe, just maybe, he won't be able to duck the issues quite so much in the coming days, though.

[MrGongGong]

This is a response by a writer friend of mine to the Guardian article (he went to Oxford and is published by Faber so has the cred )

“If you really care about children, you’ll want them in schools.” Absolutely fuck right off, Gove, you despicable, gaslighting little titmouse. As if you or your party give a shit about children; you just want the parents back on the treadmill of the economy, which, being Tories, you value a hell of a lot higher than the the welfare and benefit of society. We'd send our kids back to school if only schools weren't mortal fucking danger zones, thanks to the the criminal, worldbeating negligence of your party. "Staggering"? The only staggering thing is that you think anyone would trust you with the wellbeing of their kids after the colossal, disgraceful balls up your government have made of this pandemic. Fuck right off to hell."

He has a great way with words IMV

[LHC]

I couldn't possibly comment.

Often the finances are such that in fact even £9000 isn't really enough, but for the coming session it may turn out to be poor value. Normally of course, students concerned about that sort of issue could take a gap year - but I fear that isn't going to be a realistic option for a while, so either the students or the universities - and in practice both - will suffer. There presumably aren't going to be the hordes of incomng foreign (even EU ...) students coming in to make up the funding deficits.

These are not good times - but at least most young people still have lives before them, and hopefully things can only get better.

Overseas students (or rather the lack of them) is going to be a real concern for universities, as it is their fees that subsidise all other teaching and research activities, all of which would otherwise make a loss. These students could be put off both by the UK's response to the pandemic, fears that Asian and Chinese students in particular may not be welcome, and the high costs of courses that may be largely delivered remotely (you can forget £9000 a year as well, foreign students have to pay up to £35,000 a year to study in the UK).

[Braunschlag]

This is a response by a writer friend of mine to the Guardian article (he went to Oxford and is published by Faber so has the cred )



He has a great way with words IMV

How eloquent - and right on MrGG

[Old Grumpy]

Interesting article regarding infection risk of choral singing and playing wind instruments in today's Observer.

Also featured here.

OG

[MrGongGong]

Can't see much wrong with this ?
An act that would inspire confidence maybe ?

[Bryn]

Can't see much wrong with this ?
An act that would inspire confidence maybe ?

Plenty wrong with it. For a start, each boy has his own room, so there is considerably less difficulty in practising 'social distancing'. So might offer a false sense of security to other institutions where boarders share a dormitory. The Wall Game might take out a few, come November, I suppose.

[MrGongGong]

Plenty wrong with it. For a start, each boy has his own room, so there is considerably less difficulty in practising 'social distancing'. So might offer a false sense of security to other institutions where boarders share a dormitory. The Wall Game might take out a few, come November, I suppose.

I wasn't being 100% serious
BUT the other one doing the rounds suggests that it's safe to send you children back to school after parliament has been sitting for a couple of months without cases.

Now that Scotland isn't available as the "testing ground" (as Steve Bell used to put it) it seems that others will have to fulfil that role.