Bear's school has been doing its best over the last few months. It is fighting against the flood. The area has been pretty badly hit by Covid and bear told me that eight of his classmates, out of around 30, were home isolating this week. He doesn't think that many teachers have been affected, but who knows?
The school is in Kirklees, and there is a large Muslim population. It's similar to Bradford, and there is an article on the BBC here about the issues of multigenerational households. It refers to Muslim households, where three generations routinely live together, but it isn't confined to Muslims. Father lived with us for a few years and it was awesome and completely entertaining. Mind you, having father live with us was a positive experience, but if my mother had moved in I think that there would have been a murder within the month. I wouldn't recommend it as a general suggestion but on a case by case basis. What the article says is that the kids pick up Covid at school and, while not having symptoms or having mild symptoms themselves, pass it on to their grandparents, who are affected far more severely and sometimes tragically.
To try and space things out, the school are having the younger three years, the ones furthest away from GCSEs, rotate having a week learning at home. So during the week beginning 7 December, bear will be learning from home for a week, before going back as normal the following week when a different year group will be off. It looks like for the time being it will be two weeks in and one week at home. They are insistent that pupils follow a proper timetable and also that they wear clothing appropriate for a non-uniform day - they aren't insisting on school uniform, but they are not allowing pyjamas.
I wonder if it is some sort of trial run. It doesn't look like they will be getting the same sort of education that they would in the classroom, with quite generic lessons. And what if they need help? I was utterly useless to bear with the Treaty of Lausanne, and he wouldn't even bother me with anything scientific. He said he was enjoying the algebraic equations today. I assume he said that to confuse me as that sentence made no sense whatsoever.
Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have father around for this. I remember that he had a wonderful habit of nodding, smiling, and doing what he felt like with no idea of risk whatsoever. He did bomb disposal in the 1950s. He never seemed to grasp the concept of 'perhaps it would be too risky'. That, in his opinion, happened to other people. He also had a knack of talking to people and getting to know them and making them like him. I know that if he was still here at the beginning of the crisis, we would not have been able to move for toilet paper because he would know someone. He always knew someone.
The boiler is more or less okay now. I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend.
Hugs and good health to all.
Once covid got into the schools here (east coast of Yorkshire) in September the cases skyrocketed because so many kids don't show symptoms and now we have one of the worst rates in the county. I think many schools are having to look at ways of dealing with the increasing absenteeism. Government figures for attendance don't seem to tally with all the people I speak to whose children and grandchildren are in classes that have been sent home. And now there's a furor over the academy trust who want to end term a week early to ensure no children are isolating over Christmas... I think it's going to get very confusing (and stressful for all you parents).
ReplyDeleteIf you wanted to (and had time!) is there a schedule of what Bear is learning when, so if you wanted to read up on the Treaty of Lucerne in advance you'd be able to? Or at least to read up on methods of researching and sorting information and then communicating it, which is essentially what the vast majority of academic learning is trying to teach you. A lot of the facts are incidental! You already have a huge head start on the communicating front, after all...
I talked to my Mum today and she said that both of my Great Nephews are off from school isolating as someone they come into contact with at school has it.
ReplyDeleteOur local school district never went back. The university did - but they have been closed down again. I hope things get better soon.