Education System during the Covid Pandemic

[81MC]

I ####ing hate that every single store/shop/supplier has messed around with their hours to the point where it’s next to impossible to support them.

At least update your voicemail or something. I get it, but industry is still an actual thing, and making it next to impossible to support your business is not going to help. FFS.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Wormius

That’s a weird schedule. So 2 Friday’s off?

Dude, they now have every Friday off. To be clear, all Fridays are now off. Teachers are teaching three hours a day, four days a week. There have been 18 work days since the last day of classes on Friday, March 13th. In those 18 work days, there have been five days of three hours of instruction. If you're not upset that these $100k/year professionals are taking their full taxpayer-provided salary and giving virtually nothing in return then your expectations for your children's education are way too low. It's bordering on criminal.

They need to go to 30% pay retroactive to March 16 or be laid off.

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Easter Monday has never been an instructional day as long as I can remember. All through the time my kids were i grade school and I don't recall having class that day either.

And FWIW the universities are generally not open that day either.

Yes, but they have taken 13 of the last 18 days off, so now that we're rolling again it's totally ridiculous to maintain their already-gratuitous schedule of time off. They need to make up for the time they already pissed away doing nothing for two weeks.

[jayswin]

I love to support local where possible (only partially covid related) but damn poor boy tire makes it hard.

- We don't want anyone here right now, so just pick your tire and book the appointment or call in and we can tell you what we have (fair enough and agreed right now)

- "You have 82 tire matches for you vehicle"....every single one requires an email for quote.

- "due to covid we likely won't be able to process email quotes, better to call in"

So I can't do any research or anything at all until I call you and ask for a price on every single tire I'm interested in. I know they've won awards for service but anecdotally I noped out of that experience and ordered from Costco. You can't even provide one click pricing (or any click pricing) on your website? That is HUGE in today's online shopping environment.

[GGG]

Aren’t you still counting spring break? Why do they get Friday’s off. That seems like the school boards fault and not teachers

You should be blaming the province right now not teachers. They are handcuffing the good teachers from teaching.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by GGG

Aren’t you still counting spring break? Why do they get Friday’s off. That seems like the school boards fault and not teachers

You should be blaming the province right now not teachers. They are handcuffing the good teachers from teaching.

This is true. I'm aware of one close relative who is a teacher who was uploading video lessons. She was told it was too many hours per week of content and to do less as that was the provincial mandate.

Also, tough to to motivate teenagers in a 30 level class when the province has announced no diploma exams and your class mark can't go down...

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by GGG

Aren’t you still counting spring break? Why do they get Friday’s off. That seems like the school boards fault and not teachers

You should be blaming the province right now not teachers. They are handcuffing the good teachers from teaching.

Of course I'm counting spring break. They had the week before spring break off, so why on earth did they need that, too?

If I was a teacher, I would have emailed my kids and their parents on the first Monday and carried on with our assignments. It's honestly not that hard. My wife and I had them doing exactly that and it took us all of an hour to figure out a curriculum and keep them learning on Sunday night before that first Monday off. A little bit of help from them would have been nice. Instead, they took that week off to scratch their heads, then went on fataing staycation for a week.

The world changed. Spring break could have been cancelled. It's not like it's been passed down from God they get that week off. I actually had a vacation planned for the same week, but I cancelled it to rearrange my life and business to keep things moving. My wife did the same thing at her job. Teachers...watched tv for a week, I guess? I mean, not a single one of my kids' teachers came back from that two weeks off with anything for my kids. Pathetic.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

This is true. I'm aware of one close relative who is a teacher who was uploading video lessons. She was told it was too many hours per week of content and to do less as that was the provincial mandate.

Also, tough to to motivate teenagers in a 30 level class when the province has announced no diploma exams and your class mark can't go down...

She should do it anyway. The province is giving giving guidance on offering the bare minimum of instruction to maybe prevent the brains of kids from atrifying. It's certainly not an actual education with which they're being provided. Teachers should go above and beyond like the rest of us still working.

Yes, the province should make teachers work harder, but I expect teachers to act like grown ups and professionals and to provide the education to our kids that we are paying for. Teachers have to know that means more than 12 hours per week of instruction and then taking days off less than two weeks into this process.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Of course I'm counting spring break. They had the week before spring break off, so why on earth did they need that, too?

If I was a teacher, I would have emailed my kids and their parents on the first Monday and carried on with our assignments. It's honestly not that hard. My wife and I had them doing exactly that and it took us all of an hour to figure out a curriculum and keep them learning on Sunday night before that first Monday off. A little bit of help from them would have been nice. Instead, they took that week off to scratch their heads, then went on fataing staycation for a week.

The world changed. Spring break could have been cancelled. It's not like it's been passed down from God they get that week off. I actually had a vacation planned for the same week, but I cancelled it to rearrange my life and business to keep things moving. My wife did the same thing at her job. Teachers...watched tv for a week, I guess? I mean, not a single one of my kids' teachers came back from that two weeks off with anything for my kids. Pathetic.

They were preparing for the online transition. In the CCSD it took about a week to get going.

Your complaint is with the province. I bet you are getting your x hours of work per week as mandated by the province. They also didn’t have the whole week before off. Those weren’t all planned to be instructional days either. I’m surprised you aren’t demanding support on Saturday’s and Sunday’s because the world has changed.

The short answer is to complain to your MLA that their directives on education are insufficient and need to be increased.

To respond to your other post they are being specifically instructed not to give more work than the provinces mandated amount. This is not about Teachers not going above and beyond. It’s about a province setting a direction and school boards and teachers following the directives. They currently don’t have a choice to do more.

[VladtheImpaler]

I am fully on board with Sliver now. I have never encountered a more entitled group in my life. It's like they won't even acknowledge that there is something going on in the world. Have to take spring break, have to take all holidays like nothing has changed. Maybe throw some PD days in there. My wife, who is a very restrained person, actually wrote to our principal about maybe doing some video teaching and helping the parents who work from home. The response? The response was - "if it is too much, you don't have to do the assignments we send". So, they will not do any extra work at all, but we don't have to either. Unbelievable! I now hate these people. Yes, apparently there are some teachers going the extra mile, but none of them work at our school.

[Sliver]

And it's totally unethical to accept that big paycheque when they know they aren't delivering on what they've been hired to do. Yes, I'm mad at the province. Yes, I'm mad at the ATA. But I'm mostly mad at the teachers because they could open their laptops and teach some GD lessons, and mark some assignments, and zoom the kids, and put in eight hours a day, five days a week to help us all out by doing nothing more than their basic jobs. Have they no sense of ethical responsibility? This isn't a fataing vacation. They are failing us all when we need them to step up now more than ever.

[Engine09]

I know quite a few teachers, all they can talk about is how they deserve more money, class sizes are too big and they've been waiting for scheduled raises.

Most of their salaries after 10 years in are higher than people I know in oil/gas, try to explain to a teacher that a lot of guys in the oil field have no union, you lose your job you get nothing, good day sir. If you haven't been getting a regular salary increase that's regrettable but people in other areas have been sent packing for the past decade with zero.

It's a pretty safe and comfortable position, they're insulated from that world. This attitude Silver is experiencing must be some type of "payback" in their view.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Sliver

And it's totally unethical to accept that big paycheque when they know they aren't delivering on what they've been hired to do. Yes, I'm mad at the province. Yes, I'm mad at the ATA. But I'm mostly mad at the teachers because they could open their laptops and teach some GD lessons, and mark some assignments, and zoom the kids, and put in eight hours a day, five days a week to help us all out by doing nothing more than their basic jobs. Have they no sense of ethical responsibility? This isn't a fataing vacation. They are failing us all when we need them to step up now more than ever.

They are doing what they have been hired to do. Teach based on the direction given by the province and their board

But they can’t because their employers won’t let them. If your workers decided to open your store when you had it closed it wouldn’t be considered going above and beyond.

[Sliver]

lol, if my employees want to go the extra mile they just do and I don't even hear about it because they're adults and have a sense of obligation to the end users and take pride in what they do. They work really hard and thankfully at my work we've fostered a culture of not doing a half-ass job and the bare minimum.

Teachers can do the bare minimum, like they are. They can also say, 'if you find this material interesting, I've put together a work sheet so you can explore this topic more on your own time.' Boom, they're not breaking any rules - which, by the way, they could bend and not get in trouble - and now parents and students have some tools to continue actually learning the curriculum.

This is not hard. Quit making excuses for receiving a crap education and the worst value imaginable for what these people are getting paid.

[chubeyr1]

Originally Posted by GGG

They are doing what they have been hired to do. Teach based on the direction given by the province and their board

But they can’t because their employers won’t let them. If your workers decided to open your store when you had it closed it wouldn’t be considered going above and beyond.

GGG are you telling us all teachers are being told not to teach?

Source please! A name! They will be fired tomorrow.

If I decided to open up my bosses store tomorrow on my own? I have been doing this for the past month. Boss seems to love it!

My boss did not order me to stop manufacturing product! I also doubt anyone from ATA told teachers to stop teaching. Again give us a name or source. We can get rid of that group or person really quick with public outrage.

GGG I dont know what warped narrative you are trying to say here.

If teachers are not going to teach they should not be paid. If they are being told not to teach their superiors should be fired immediately.

[Danijam]

Originally Posted by GGG

They are doing what they have been hired to do. Teach based on the direction given by the province and their board.

This comment goes back to a theory I have. Presumably some teachers have only ever been in the education system. They have only ever been directed what to do. They have only ever had summers, Easter, Christmas, PD days, spring break and Friday afternoons off. It probably explains the entitlement, the evident paralysis without direction and the incomprehension of what it would even mean to go above and beyond. Might also explain the tone-deaf-at-the-best-of-times “hope everyone had a relaxing spring break” email greetings. I honestly don’t hold it against them, the same way I wouldn’t hold that attitude against a child.

[Scroopy Noopers]

That same attitude applies to so many unions and trades that I’m almost used to it at this point.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by chubeyr1

GGG are you telling us all teachers are being told not to teach?

Source please! A name! They will be fired tomorrow.

If I decided to open up my bosses store tomorrow on my own? I have been doing this for the past month. Boss seems to love it!

My boss did not order me to stop manufacturing product! I also doubt anyone from ATA told teachers to stop teaching. Again give us a name or source. We can get rid of that group or person really quick with public outrage.

GGG I dont know what warped narrative you are trying to say here.

If teachers are not going to teach they should not be paid. If they are being told not to teach their superiors should be fired immediately.

So you are telling me if your boss told you the store hours were 12-5 during the Covid outbreak and you unilaterally decided that the hours would be 8-8 he would be happy with you. I do not believe you.

They are being told by the province to provide 5 hrs of work per week for grades 4 - 6. 10 hrs for grades 7-9 and 3 hrs per class for high school. The source has already been posted for those who wish to follow the link. Allow me to quote myself

Originally Posted by GGG

https://www.alberta.ca/student-learn...-covid-19.aspx

For grades 4-6 kids get an average of 5 hrs per week. It’s dumb. Older grades get more though.

In conversations with both of my kids teachers They have been told by their administration to limit assignments to the 5 hrs and do not go over. These 5 hrs include instructional videos.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Danijam

This comment goes back to a theory I have. Presumably some teachers have only ever been in the education system. They have only ever been directed what to do. They have only ever had summers, Easter, Christmas, PD days, spring break and Friday afternoons off. It probably explains the entitlement, the evident paralysis without direction and the incomprehension of what it would even mean to go above and beyond. Might also explain the tone-deaf-at-the-best-of-times “hope everyone had a relaxing spring break” email greetings. I honestly don’t hold it against them, the same way I wouldn’t hold that attitude against a child.

This is such a demeaning way to talk about a whole profession. You also clearly do hold it against them. Also have you really never experienced a teacher going above and beyond for a student?

One of the things I think your post skirts around but misses the point (and this is from an outsider view) is that the curriculum And organizational structure is fairly strict in what gets taught and that bureaucracy gets in the way from delivering the best outcomes.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by GGG

This is such a demeaning way to talk about a whole profession. You also clearly do hold it against them. Also have you really never experienced a teacher going above and beyond for a student?

One of the things I think your post skirts around but misses the point (and this is from an outsider view) is that the curriculum And organizational structure is fairly strict in what gets taught and that bureaucracy gets in the way from delivering the best outcomes.

People with integrity don't abdicate fulfilling their responsibilities because a beurocrat told them to.

Also, what about my thought that a teacher aiming to help actually educate these children to the standard of pre-Covid times could just offer up additional materials as an option beyond what the province has outlined?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Sliver

People with integrity don't abdicate fulfilling their responsibilities because a beurocrat told them to.

Also, what about my thought that a teacher aiming to help actually educate these children to the standard of pre-Covid times could just offer up additional materials as an option beyond what the province has outlined?

So your comfortable with your employees extending the open hours of your business even if you specifically told them not to.

Write your MLA and school board trustee and demand answers. Your specific teacher is unlikely to be the problem. Have you asked them why they aren’t assigning more work or doing certain things that you are looking for?

Have you provided feedback to what is working and not working for online assignments in a constructive way?