Should Teachers be Setting Work:?

March 26, 2020
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0 minute read

Muinteoir Valerie 4

This is such a strange time! It has been two weeks today since I last saw the little boys in my class and I really miss them. I miss our routine, I miss the SNAs, I miss those moments where we would all look at each other in delight when the children would learn something new or surprise us in some way! I miss the days when we would be exhausted by home time and have a cup of tea together! I really miss teaching- teaching an almost two year old just isn’t the same! I just can’t wait to be back in my classroom. On a positive note it is wonderful having so much time with Lara- she is just hilarious at this age, and is learning something new every day.

I think a lot of teachers are experiencing some form of anxiety at this time because some are saying they are giving loads of work to children, and some aren’t giving any. I have received a lot of messages from teachers who are quite overwhelmed by the whole thing.

The way I see it, we should be at work, unfortunately we can’t be , but then the least we can do is check in with parents, or organise some form of work. Every school is dealing with this differently- some are asking teachers to use google classroom, zoom, seesaw and various other learning platforms. Others are emailing parents, updating school blogs or have sent home school work. I think it is important to give parents the option. Not checking in with them at all is not really acceptable in my opinion. Some parents will want some activities or work to help them to have structure in their day and to prevent their children from becoming bored and fed up. I wouldn’t encourage sending home realms of worksheets, rather think about topics like capacity- letting them explore it through water play, or length- measuring obejcts around the home. I guess a more hand on, explorative, play based approach for younger children. I do think the senior classes need some ‘sit down’ work, be it project based , reading, keeping a diary etc.

That is just my opinion- if the parents have the resources and some guidance, then they can decide what to do – whether to not do any of it, twenty minutes a day or a full day- it is their decision. I know I feel better when I have touched base with parents or have something in place for my class. Again, everyone should follow whatever their principal has advised on this matter. Class of Creativity has amazing resources on teacherspayteachers https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Class-Of-Creativity which are amongst the best I have seen in the sea of resources available! I think that teachers are all trying their best at this time and this should be encouraged rather than admonished! Parents are also trying their best and all families work in different ways and have different approaches- so each to their own I say. Today I will say, was a day for outdoor learning all day!

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