A quick summary (at least so I hope)
May. 30th, 2020 11:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oloriel- So school's back in session - one day per week per class, with most classes split up so there are no more than 15 people in a classroom at any one time. At my son's school, the day varies because they've attempted to let every group of children attend the same number of lessons, which is not easy in May and June, two months traditionally fraught with holidays in our region (Labour Day was during full lockdown, but Ascension Day was after schools reopened, Whitsun is this Monday, and Corpus Christi the Thursday after next. Each of these holidays is followed by another free day - either a "bridge day" or a one-day vacation day - so that's three weeks that have only three workdays anyway. It is very German that none of these pre-planned holidays are shifted or lifted under this year's circumstances. GRANTED IS GRANTED!). So Felix was in school on Monday last week, Tuesday this week, Wednesday next week, Tuesday the week after that, Wednesday the week after that, Monday the week after that, and then it's the Summer vacations.
In the meantime, I have been in school on Tuesdays and Fridays (unless it's some holiday or other, see above) and seminary on Wednesday. But my schedule may change now that the tenth-graders have written their last finals. So far, they were the only ones who had five days of school a week (unless it was some sort of holiday, see above) in order to help them prepare for the finals, but now that the finals are over, they'll be integrated into the one-day system, which probably means the schedule's going to be changed around again. Not sure whether that'll affect me. We will see. It's all slightly confusing.
- The more I talk to teachers at other secondary schools (both online and at seminary), the more I am shown how very lucky I am. My school has made no unrealistic demands wrt video lessons, has defended us against aggressive parents and kept the "minor subjects" on the (virtual) schedule. Now that we get to interact with the students in person, there is one teacher per (small) class at any time, and we are only used to substitute or supervise on days when we are present, anyway. The other trainee teachers? Are talking about big classes of 30 students that have been split into three groups of ten, in three adjacent rooms... but only one teacher for all of them. So this one teacher basically has to give one group an assignment, run to the next room to give the same assignment to the next group, and then do the same with the third group. Then back to the first room to answer questions, check replies and give next assignment, then on to the second room... which completely defeats the purpose of Präsenzunterricht and could as well be done via e-mail and Teams. At another school, the teachers for the "main subjects" (Maths, German, English and whatever Selective the students chose earlier in the year) assign worksheets, and then various teachers (for whatever subject) get to supervise the present students while they work through the worksheets. This makes sense to some extent - some students may not have a good working environment at home, or maybe they can't motivate themselves at home and there's nobody to do the motivating for them - but it still seems a sad waste of "presence" time, and the supervising teachers can't even always help with questions. At yet another school, someone whose subjects are not being taught currently (art and technology) is used exclusively for recess supervision - on various days throughout the week, of course. In conclusion, although my school is not exactly the closest to home, the other teachers and especially the executives are a treasure.
- Jörg's brother has been to visit us twice. He's had to work normally for most of this time except the weeks before Easter (which feels like half a world away). Jörg has taught two courses of six people each in the past weeks, all the way from Bavaria. (No Bavarian bashing, it just means that to get to Essen, they either had to travel by train or by plane!) Wearing masks and keeping distances, of course, but still. I go to school and seminary, Felix goes to school once a week, Julian goes to kindergarten on my two school days. All of that potential exposure has made the mother-in-law bold and she has been shopping several times, visited a friend (same age, had a heart attack last year) to pick elderflowers, joined a nordic walking group (at least they were outside...) and is dead-set (no pun intended) go to gym on two days next week to get rid of "quarantine fat" that only she sees. Just... whatever. I'm tired of playing Cassandra. (But Jörg doesn't want to let Felix spend the weekend at my parents' because "they're a risk factor". Honestly, I'm so tired.) Am I hoping that nothing will happen and that the second wave will, in fact, never come? I sure am. But looking at how stupidly people behave already, growing bolder and bolder because "nothing happened"... I'm not sure.
In the meantime, I have been in school on Tuesdays and Fridays (unless it's some holiday or other, see above) and seminary on Wednesday. But my schedule may change now that the tenth-graders have written their last finals. So far, they were the only ones who had five days of school a week (unless it was some sort of holiday, see above) in order to help them prepare for the finals, but now that the finals are over, they'll be integrated into the one-day system, which probably means the schedule's going to be changed around again. Not sure whether that'll affect me. We will see. It's all slightly confusing.
- The more I talk to teachers at other secondary schools (both online and at seminary), the more I am shown how very lucky I am. My school has made no unrealistic demands wrt video lessons, has defended us against aggressive parents and kept the "minor subjects" on the (virtual) schedule. Now that we get to interact with the students in person, there is one teacher per (small) class at any time, and we are only used to substitute or supervise on days when we are present, anyway. The other trainee teachers? Are talking about big classes of 30 students that have been split into three groups of ten, in three adjacent rooms... but only one teacher for all of them. So this one teacher basically has to give one group an assignment, run to the next room to give the same assignment to the next group, and then do the same with the third group. Then back to the first room to answer questions, check replies and give next assignment, then on to the second room... which completely defeats the purpose of Präsenzunterricht and could as well be done via e-mail and Teams. At another school, the teachers for the "main subjects" (Maths, German, English and whatever Selective the students chose earlier in the year) assign worksheets, and then various teachers (for whatever subject) get to supervise the present students while they work through the worksheets. This makes sense to some extent - some students may not have a good working environment at home, or maybe they can't motivate themselves at home and there's nobody to do the motivating for them - but it still seems a sad waste of "presence" time, and the supervising teachers can't even always help with questions. At yet another school, someone whose subjects are not being taught currently (art and technology) is used exclusively for recess supervision - on various days throughout the week, of course. In conclusion, although my school is not exactly the closest to home, the other teachers and especially the executives are a treasure.
- Jörg's brother has been to visit us twice. He's had to work normally for most of this time except the weeks before Easter (which feels like half a world away). Jörg has taught two courses of six people each in the past weeks, all the way from Bavaria. (No Bavarian bashing, it just means that to get to Essen, they either had to travel by train or by plane!) Wearing masks and keeping distances, of course, but still. I go to school and seminary, Felix goes to school once a week, Julian goes to kindergarten on my two school days. All of that potential exposure has made the mother-in-law bold and she has been shopping several times, visited a friend (same age, had a heart attack last year) to pick elderflowers, joined a nordic walking group (at least they were outside...) and is dead-set (no pun intended) go to gym on two days next week to get rid of "quarantine fat" that only she sees. Just... whatever. I'm tired of playing Cassandra. (But Jörg doesn't want to let Felix spend the weekend at my parents' because "they're a risk factor". Honestly, I'm so tired.) Am I hoping that nothing will happen and that the second wave will, in fact, never come? I sure am. But looking at how stupidly people behave already, growing bolder and bolder because "nothing happened"... I'm not sure.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-30 02:20 pm (UTC)The second wave is definitely happening in the US - although for some parts of the country it's more like one long continuous wave, given that they never got it under control in the first place. :(
Fingers crossed you and your family stay safe and healthy!
no subject
Date: 2020-05-30 11:30 pm (UTC)I too am worried about a second wave. Well, a first wave really, here - we have had very few cases yet, but everyone is getting bolder and bolder...
no subject
Date: 2020-05-31 09:03 am (UTC)The numbers are still going down here (in spite of the re-openings), so cautious optimism is turning into blatant "It was never that dangerous in the first place" rhetoric and demands to open everything. Personally, I think that the second wave will hit by the summer holidays (and that our government is actually banking on that, because that means at least they won't have to worry about schools and offering supervision for children for six weeks). Jörg and my parents think it won't be before autumn. Admittedly, people are more likely to crowd in narrow spaces in autumn, but I'm not sure that cinemas or outdoor swimming pools (opening tomorrow!) are ideal places for avoiding a virus, either?
Thank you. The same to you!
no subject
Date: 2020-05-31 08:08 pm (UTC)That's a rotten reason. My dad wasn't crazy about my mom's mother, but he didn't try to keep us away from her, just sat back and let us form our own opinions. (And avoided going over to her house to greatest extent possible once my grandfather passed, unless my uncles were going to be there also.)
Swimming pools may not be terrible, at least not if the water is treated. Pool chemicals at normal levels kill the virus. It's more all the people you'll run into on the way in and out of the pool... (Lifelong swimmer. Ask me how hard it's going to be to decide whether or not it's safe to return to regular workouts whenever things re-open here. :( )
no subject
Date: 2020-05-31 08:25 pm (UTC)Yes, it's not the water, but the people. It's hard to keep a safe distance while having fun, diving, playing waterball, or just getting an ice cream at the stall! Especially with everybody getting tired of watching their distance and wearing a mask, and feeling like "nothing happened so far, so nothing will happen from now on"...
no subject
Date: 2020-05-31 08:28 pm (UTC)Exactly. People-in-general seem to have difficulties grasping that we haven't been affected so badly because of all the precautions - not that the relatively low death toll shows that the precautions were unnecessary!