Coronavirus: General discussion (see opening post for rules)

[stevejp]

To state my position before replying; I’m a teacher (used to be in charge of ICT in a primary school, hence my membership on here) with an interest (but no great skill or knowledge) in the technical side.

 

More teacher bashing eh? Classy.

 

There is indeed some regular teacher bashing on here. Some of it justified (there are times when I despair of some teaching staff, including some of my own colleagues!), some quite unpleasant and unjustified, the majority, imho, born of a frustration of teachers not understanding the technical aspects and technicians not always understanding the complexities and sometimes unrelenting pressure of teaching.

 

Support staff ought to be included I agree but to suggest many teachers are getting a reward they don’t deserve is ridiculous. This pay rise was recommended by the independent body and the proposals are from before COVID-19.

 

Agreed - and the latter an important point to bear in mind.

 

Why can’t we just accept we all have value and support each other. The politics of greed and envy only divide us and make it easier for us to all lose out.

 

Again, agreed - and in the long run, the people who will really lose out will be the kids - who already have lost out and still have the most to lose.

 

This type of argument (and I completely understand the frustrations of all support staff) only serves those who don’t really value any of us, and whose purpose is served by a policy of ‘divide and conquer’ - because while we are squabbling amongst ourselves, the whole education sector suffers from ‘death by a thousand cuts’ without anyone being in a position of strength to fight it. However, when an experienced, respected (and normally mild-mannered, in my experience) contributor such as @6Foot2 is driven to comment in the way that he has, I’d suggest it behoves all of us to take note.

 

And by the way, anyone who wants to see some real vitriolic argument between different sectors of education, head over to the TES chat rooms and spend a pleasurable (?) hour or two over there!

Edited July 24, 2020 by stevejp

[Primus]

Your facts seem rather broken...

 

I'd argue that any job there are lots of people who don't deserve a pay rise, which is what he said. Many do deserve it, many don't. That same principle applies to teachers and IT staff for that matter (insert other role as necessary).

 

To assume that every person works the same amount as any other is rather bonkers

 

Steve

 

So you would agree that "many" teachers do not deserve their pay rise?

 

Would you agree many doctors don't deserve their pay rise?

 

Would you agree many police officers don't deserve their pay rise?

 

Once again the teacher pay rise was determined by the STRB - a supposedly independent body that Gove tinkered with when he wasn't happy with their opinions (shocker it wasn't because they were recommending too low of a pay rise - he stacked the body with his own people to try to prevent them recommending things the UK Government didn't like).

 

For your light to shine you don't need to diminish anyone else's. Your argument is stronger if you can say look at all these people who work hard - they got a pay rise. We work hard and we didn't.

 

You might feel hard done to and rightly so, I would support all of you when you say you deserve the same rise but to suggest that "many" teachers don't deserve their pay rise is divide and conquer politics.

[Primus]

I think the point being made was that some people ARE getting a pay rise (whether they be teachers or what) and some are not.

 

You are right, it isnt connected to the COVID-19 situation at all but it is understandable that people who have been in and working every single day throughout the lockdown might feel a little bit raw about it when many teachers have only had to be in on a rota basis. Personally I feel teachers work hard and deserve a payrise. BUT so do other school staff and there seems to be no way for us to make our point

 

If you feel this is teacher bashing, I am sorry. edugeek is a space where people can offload their problems and I'm afraid that for educational IT, those problems are often teacher related. Not always, of course, but you must have read enough posts to feel and understand the frustration. We do try to allow people to let off steam but we do keep an eye on things

 

Not every technician has been in and working every day - I can tell you that the team I manage have been treated the same as teaching staff, working from home for the vast vast majority of the time and then on a rota system thereafter.

 

This is *once again* the problem with blanket statements.

 

If you have issues with your working conditions you don't resolve them by pulling other people's conditions down. You resolve them by challenging them and providing as united a front as possible. If you alienate the majority of the staff working in schools (teachers) then having a united front is going to be tricky to say the least.

[Dos_Box]

:mod:Back on topic now please everyone. Any more bashing of anyone or each other will have us closeing this thread for 'housekeeping' and than I'll have to spend a very irritated Saturday sending PM's!

[Arthur]

Second wave for UK in September?

 

Israeli Data Show School Openings Were a Disaster That Wiped Out Lockdown Gains

 

Of 1,400 Israelis diagnosed with COVID-19 last month, 657 (47 percent) were infected in schools. Now 2,026 students, teachers, and staff have it, and 28,147 are quarantined.

[Andrew_C]

Second wave for UK in September?

 

Only to be expected.

[smurfomatic]

Northampton threatened to be under "local lockdown" soon due to a spike in cases, but (as ever) not really clear what that will mean.

 

Advice from the council sent out yesterday only seems to confuse the issue. We're trying to work out if "Limit contact with others outside of your household or bubble" means we have to stop our recently resumed touch rugby training - which is already limited to pods of six with no contact.

[6Foot2]

Corona from an earlier time:

 

 

[mikeprice]

Corona from an earlier time:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]58697[/ATTACH]

 

 

Used to get them from the 'pop man' when he came down my Grandad's road

 

 

Yee gods - that was a long time ago

[mikeprice]

 

damn - looks like I have storing mine all wrong

 

 

now - who is the first to search for the correct storage on the WWW

[Arthur]

Death of the great British pastime: Virtual queuing to be introduced in Sainsbury’s

 

The great British pastime of queuing patiently is set to become the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic as supermarkets are launching apps allowing people to ‘virtually’ wait in line while sat in the comfort of their cars.

 

Sainsbury’s has announced it will start trialling a new ‘virtual queuing’ app from Monday, which will let people book an online place in the social-distanced lines outside its supermarkets.

 

Customers will then be able to wait in their cars or a nearby coffee shop until they receive an alert telling them they are close to the front of the queue.

 

The Telegraph has learned that John Lewis is also set to launch a similar scheme in three of its department stores and at six Waitrose supermarkets in August.

 

However, the trials have prompted concerns from charities that they could exclude older people who do not have smartphones.

 

Sainsbury’s said for people who are unable or do not wish to download their queuing app they were setting up a separate service where customers can be added to the virtual queue by staff and then receive a text message when they are close to the front.

 

Nigel Blunt, Director of eCommerce at Sainsbury’s, said: “We’re always on the lookout for how we can make our customers' lives easier using technology. We’re trialling a virtual queuing system which enables shoppers to hold their place in the queue using their smartphone and we will be listening closely to feedback from our customers and colleagues.”

 

Sainsbury’s system, which runs via the app ufirst, will be piloted first at its stores in Uxbridge, Pimlico, Dome Roundabout in Watford, Leicester North and Newham Royal Wharf.

 

Sainsbury’s said the trial will run until mid-August and access if the new system is actually more convenient for shoppers and saves them time standing in line.

[Rob_D]

As long as there's a space out the front of the store where people can wait (maybe in the order they arrived) while they're in the virtual queue, I think it could work.

But realistically, (especially as someone who really just "pops in for a couple of bits") I see it as being way too much of a faff and I think it will kill the walk-in trade. You also have to wonder how many people will wind up missing their slots or giving up and going home/elsewhere without cancelling their slot.

[LeMarchand]

I thought they'd tried this weeks ago?

 

Our local recycling centre has a booking system. I've never managed to get a slot, but can't see how you can guarantee that you get to the gates in a 15 minute time slot if other people are also trying.

[blueday]

Has anyone got any suggestions for ensuring glasses don't steam up with a mask? My glasses aren't big or heavy enough to rest them on top of mask, so I've tried all the recommended tricks - washing them with soap/washing up liquid, putting a tissue over the bridge of the nose, using a mask with wire on the nose part etc., but none have worked so far. Has anyone found a 'de-misting' spray that helps with this?

[LeMarchand]

Another general sort of enquiry: What's the SP on visiting distant aged parents? Haven't been to see my father since lockdown and feel I ought to (phone him daily) though, TBH, it's a 4 hour drive either way and he often just stays in bed so it feels like a wasted couple of days.

[elsiegee40]

Has anyone got any suggestions for ensuring glasses don't steam up with a mask? My glasses aren't big or heavy enough to rest them on top of mask, so I've tried all the recommended tricks - washing them with soap/washing up liquid, putting a tissue over the bridge of the nose, using a mask with wire on the nose part etc., but none have worked so far. Has anyone found a 'de-misting' spray that helps with this?

 

I have been wearing masks regularly since I started as a volunteer at the local wildlife rescue.

 

My tips:

 

1. Wash your glasses under the tap with soap. Pat dry with kitchen paper. A little soap residue will remain and your glasses will be less prone to misting

 

2. Have some sort of wire nose piece over the bridge of your nose on the mask so it can be moulded to be a close fit. If your mask doesn’t have one, sew in something like a few bag ties twisted together or a piece of garden wire.

 

3. Wear your glasses slightly further down your nose than you would usually. If there’s a bigger gap between the lens and your face misting is less of a problem

[elsiegee40]

Another general sort of enquiry: What's the SP on visiting distant aged parents? Haven't been to see my father since lockdown and feel I ought to (phone him daily) though, TBH, it's a 4 hour drive either way and he often just stays in bed so it feels like a wasted couple of days.

 

I think you can and can form a bubble with your household and him. My sister is doing this with my Mum. The bubble means you could stay over.

 

It’s 4.5 hours for me to get to Mum. She doesn’t want me to go up there yet.

[LeMarchand]

I think you can and can form a bubble with your household and him. My sister is doing this with my Mum. The bubble means you could stay over.

 

It’s 4.5 hours for me to get to Mum. She doesn’t want me to go up there yet.

 

 

Sorry, should've mentioned that we already have a bubble with the Holy Grandchild. Whose Mum is unlikely to be overly strict about such things - though heaven help us if she decides something in our house doesn't meet her strict safety standards. She is visiting MiL this week, and is being joined by her sister (who lives with us) next week.

[6Foot2]

Link: Headington's Posh Fish owner puts a face mask on shopfront shark [Oxford Mail]

 

A large shark is reminding people to put on their face masks before entering the Posh Fish cafe in Headington.

 

Owner of the takeaway on London Road Tina Malta put a face cover on the shark that sits above the building to put a smile on customers' faces but to also remind them of the new rules.

 

Intrigued passers by were spotted taking photos of the new addition.

 

The 55-year-old cafe owner said: "We have all had a miserable time over the last several months, so I am pleased that people have enjoyed our little joke.

 

"We also want to show that we are taking the restrictions seriously."

 

Ms Malta said that most people remember to wear coverings before they enter the cafe but some simply forget.

 

The owner added: "We have not had any trouble with customers refusing to wear masks.

 

" Me and the staff just remind them of the new rules and most have one in their pocket, bag or have just left it in their car.

 

"We do not turn people away, we just remind them for next time."

 

Posh Fish was forced to close in the first few months of the Covid-19 crisis, however, it later reopened as takeaway only.

 

While Ms Malta admitted she considered welcoming customers again in the restaurant area, she said that it would be difficult to enforce social distancing rules.

 

During lockdown Ms Malta took the opportunity to redecorate and refurbish the popular cafe, which was name 'one of UK's best chippies' in 2018.

 

While Posh Fish does not offer deliveries, it is opened seven days a week from 12pm until 9.30pm.

 

 

The 'other' Headington shark:

 

 

(head first in an attic)

 

[LeMarchand]

Southampton Council had a similar idea with the Bargate Lions.

 

[StevieM]

My favourite online t-shirt emporium, Red Molotov, has now launched a range of face masks.

 

This has to be my favourite:

[6Foot2]

NOTE: Flashing colours at the start of the video

 

Edited July 29, 2020 by 6Foot2
Add 'Flashing Colours' note.

[stevejp]

My favourite online t-shirt emporium, Red Molotov, has now launched a range of face masks.

 

This has to be my favourite:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]58728[/ATTACH]

 

If they sell many of those at £14.99, any noses will be dwarfed by the laughter as they make their way to the bank - what a rip-off!

[6Foot2]

Brian Blessed (always good value) says coronavirus can b*g*er off!

 

NOTE: NSFW: Expletive in audio

 

[elsiegee40]

I hope it’s a photoshop [emoji57]

Edited August 1, 2020 by elsiegee40