schools opening when it has snowed!

brummiebabe

thegirlintheattic wrote: »

I would be interested in why very few arguments about school closures focus on the loss of a day's worth of education and instead on parents having to take time off to supervise their children.

This actually is my concern. We have so much focus on the importance of attendance, how missing so many days off school impacts significantly on a child's education, and yet our school (and I'm only talking about our school) can be guaranteed to close with any adverse weather - we don't even need to wait for a text to know it will be shut!!

Also, there's been a lot of talk on here about being a 'babysitting' service & the kids just watching DVDs if they do make it in...why???? Surely there could be a 'snow day' plan in place that can include educational activities that could be used for children who do make it in - with ideas for aiming activities at different age groups etc? Whichever staff did make it in could then follow this plan & make the day worthwhile for the children (and I do think this plan should involve some opportunity to play in the snow;))

DVDs are an easy option. It annoys me that the last week of the summer term is spent watching DVDs (at our school again) or helping teachers clean the classroom (again...talking about my experience here) when those are important days of my child's education. They then have the nerve to threaten to fine families who take their child out of school for a holiday in that last week.....

I actually think schools were probably right to shut yesterday & do understand the issues....but for me, what annoys me as a parent, is the longer term messages we're sending the children about the fact that everything stops because it snows! It's not preparing them for the real world I'm afraid - and doing that is part of their education !!

johnnyl

Valli wrote: »

Invalid argument. I never brought the ratio up. I did assert, after others (and you) had mentioned it, that the maximum class size, in KS1, is 30.

There is a differences between businesses, where all the people in there are contracted employees, and schools, where the staff have a duty of care (in loco parentis) to the pupils.

when I asked why 20% of schools were shut but not 20% of other businesses the sole legitimate argument against that was that other businesses could withstand SOME staff not showing up however if a few teachers did not show up they could not open. It was a legal requirement.

This was the only valid point made against the question that I made and once the thing it relies on is an untruth then the whole argument falls down.

johnnyl

coolcait wrote: »

It's fascinating to see that 146 of his posts have been made since 29/12/12 - and most of those 146 posts are concentrated on three threads:

'Term-time holidays' - johnnyl's input falling into the category of 'teacher-bashing

This thread - johnnyl's input falling into the category of 'teqcher-bashing'

the 'social services onto me about not having child in nursery' thread - johnnyl's input falling into the category of bashing another group of professionals.

And always the same style.

Always.

there is a common theme, I dont like hypocrites and it just so happens that I find them in abundance in that community.

Isnt it ironic that many on this thread justifying disturbing my childs education because of a bit of snow are happy to lambast me if I take my kids out on holiday. Isnt it funny that the same people are happy to go on strike and disturb my childs education but I have to put up with sanctimony and patronisation if I remove mychild from the education system for a small amount of time. Hypocrisy....nobody likes it. Dont be a hypocrite if you dont want challenging on it.

gregg1

brummiebabe wrote: »

This actually is my concern. We have so much focus on the importance of attendance, how missing so many days off school impacts significantly on a child's education, and yet our school (and I'm only talking about our school) can be guaranteed to close with any adverse weather - we don't even need to wait for a text to know it will be shut!!

Also, there's been a lot of talk on here about being a 'babysitting' service & the kids just watching DVDs if they do make it in...why???? Surely there could be a 'snow day' plan in place that can include educational activities that could be used for children who do make it in - with ideas for aiming activities at different age groups etc? Whichever staff did make it in could then follow this plan & make the day worthwhile for the children (and I do think this plan should involve some opportunity to play in the snow;))

DVDs are an easy option. It annoys me that the last week of the summer term is spent watching DVDs (at our school again) or helping teachers clean the classroom (again...talking about my experience here) when those are important days of my child's education. They then have the nerve to threaten to fine families who take their child out of school for a holiday in that last week.....

I actually think schools were probably right to shut yesterday & do understand the issues....but for me, what annoys me as a parent, is the longer term messages we're sending the children about the fact that everything stops because it snows! It's not preparing them for the real world I'm afraid - and doing that is part of their education !!

So how would you justify the fact that my OH set work for her students on the website on Friday, that the parents had been made aware that this would happen in the event of school closures, and yet not one student completed the work?

brummiebabe

gregg1 wrote: »

So how would you justify the fact that my OH set work for her students on the website on Friday, that the parents had been made aware that this would happen in the event of school closures, and yet not one student completed the work?

I can't justify that......if that'd been my children then they would have done it....providing they weren't with Grandparents who has no access to Internet!!! I'm quite clear with my children though about the importance of their education.......

Kaz2904

johnnyl wrote: »

Isnt it funny that the same people are happy to go on strike

It wasn't just teachers who went on strike. It is their legal right to strike to protect their pensions. Blah blah ad nauseum.
I would suggest that perhaps you retrained as a teacher to start encouraging change from the bottom but I think it would probably tip you over the edge when you realised that half the things which are done aren't done out of spite and done to spoil our lives.

mrcow

misiek404 wrote: »

Why so much fuss about tiny bit of snow? I grew up in a country where there are 4-5 months of winter, tons of snow, average temp around -15c and no one ever closed my school

Surely you can understand the issues?

If you're living in an area that has 4-5 months of heavy snow/winter, then it makes sense to heavily invest in a infastructure geared towards clearing it/coping with it for that extended period of time.

In the UK, we get heavy snow perhaps once every couple of years for a week or two. It makes no economic sense to invest in such an infastructure.

If the government started increasing taxes to pay for such things, there would quite rightly be an outcry.

marisco_2

Kaz2904 wrote: »

I would suggest that perhaps you retrained as a teacher to start encouraging change from the bottom but I think it would probably tip you over the edge when you realised that half the things which are done aren't done out of spite and done to spoil our lives.

:eek::eek::eek:

Noooooooooooooooo

Dont suggest johnnyl retrain as a teacher please. Haven't we all got enough to cope with already, without the distinctly nasty possibility that he could end up as a colleague _pale_

He wouldn't last five minutes. To be an effective teacher you need to possess life skills and knowledge, that he has demonstrated frequently on this thread, he simply does not possess

So nice to see that a vast number of his posts have been removed by the forum team over night. Makes this thread far more pleasant to read.

marisco_2

brummiebabe wrote: »

Also, there's been a lot of talk on here about being a 'babysitting' service & the kids just watching DVDs if they do make it in...why???? Surely there could be a 'snow day' plan in place that can include educational activities that could be used for children who do make it in - with ideas for aiming activities at different age groups etc? Whichever staff did make it in could then follow this plan & make the day worthwhile for the children (and I do think this plan should involve some opportunity to play in the snow;))

I absolutely agree with you on this. If only a small number of my class make it in, I use these days to go back over areas in subjects where the childrens grasp of things isn't yet 100%. We had a PSHE lesson out in the snow yesterday morning which was lovely. The children loved it and it was a very positive lesson. I was left very impressed by their focus and how well they followed my directions despite there being the obvious distraction of snow. The strengths of a good teacher is to think on your feet and adapt to all manner of changing classroom situations.

Before you ask why I am on here at this time johnnyl, I am on a course today nearby which starts at 10am.

Wyre

My lass, despite being the only one in her (secondary) school class that showed up, was taught in each lesson. I was quite happy with this as it meant she got 1-1 tuition. Can only have done her good - very impressed with the teachers at her school.