another lockdown looming

[luckyoldme]

It was the uncalled for name calling that has offended me. Your insult was accepted in the manner it was intended. It is so easy to sling mud online as you don’t need the courage to say it to someone’s face.

I have logged on as I have had many PMs from users on here about this thread. Thank you to all who have PM’d me about this vile individual. I will indeed carry on being kind to others and this individual won’t change that.

Just remember before you name call, we are all trying to survive and remember that whilst an image may be portrayed of a calm person paddling on the surface, the legs are frantically paddling just to stay afloat.

Name calling is simply childish and has no place in this world.

Isn't calling someone a vile individual name calling too?

 

[Bernster]

I’ve seen confusing info whether someone can visit a yard to teach 1 to 1. Def ok if the trainer is on site/their yard.

The roads were still fairly busy last night I’d say. The lock down isn’t as strict as the first one but closing schools does reduce road traffic a lot around me.

 

[ycbm]

You can travel to work if you can't work from home and the teaching is work, so it should be OK.
.

 

[Roxylola]

I’ve seen confusing info whether someone can visit a yard to teach 1 to 1. Def ok if the trainer is on site/their yard.

The roads were still fairly busy last night I’d say. The lock down isn’t as strict as the first one but closing schools does reduce road traffic a lot around me.

Shouldn't but technically can is the interpretation I read, and pretty much the same regarding travelling your horse to a trainer to use their facilities. It's not explicitly stated not to but ethically/morally do you really need to is a personal thing i suppose

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Isn't calling someone a vile individual name calling too?

I probably would've left the "vile" out but eh.

"Thank you to all who have PM’d me about this vile individual."

Idk, "thank you to all who have PM'd me" would suffice, but people can say as they please, and obviously I am guilty of lacking a filter.

But this sort of furthers my feelings on the "you need help" thing earlier. I don't agree with either side, tbh. But if you really feel that someone needs help, and is struggling, I wouldn't come back in and say something like "so many people PM'd me about this vile individual" (or something along those lines) because how does that person feel? Like crap I would imagine. Some insults are blatant, some a but more passive aggressive. IMO both parties are slinging mud. If that's what you want to do, then fine, but I don't know what the endgame is there. But it was nice of people to reach out via PM with the intention of offering support.

I say this with the disclaimer that my 2 cents is worth exactly what you paid for it, and that I don't know either posters history.

Oy, it's tricky at the moment. Many of us are deprived of face to face social interactions we would normally have. Or outlets we would normally have - the gym has been closed since 1 November ? so we come here. There are bound to be spats, unfortunately.

It looks like many still have access to their horses though, which is nice to see and hopefully offers some happiness during this difficult time.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Shouldn't but technically can is the interpretation I read, and pretty much the same regarding travelling your horse to a trainer to use their facilities. It's not explicitly stated not to but ethically/morally do you really need to is a personal thing i suppose

The ethically/morally thing applies here as well. From what I can see, the majority personally choose to travel. Whether it is to a trainer or arena hire.

I live near a fairly main road and traffic hasn't decreased at all since we went from light lockdown to full lockdown. I'm not sure where people are going or why, but I find it interesting. I would've thought it would quiet down a bit. Fuel prices have definitely gone up, idk if that's some passive attempt to discourage travel or coincidence. I haven't looked into it, tbh.

People are also sort of bringing their whole household to the grocery store and just meandering around. Drives me a bit mad as I am a very "I know what I need" in and out type. People are even bringing friends to hang about the yard with them. ?‍ I suppose as a mostly antisocial person, I don't have these urges.

 

[ester]

It's been ages since we last had a 'lots of people have PMd me'

I don't think it's nice to call people snarky either fwiw

 

[cauda equina]

Well, I'm glad that they did
It was obvious that ownedby4horses meant to be helpful in their initial comments
We can't all get things right all the time, but it would be a sad day if people stop trying to help for fear of getting it wrong

 

[ester]

Hopefully they have taken on board the explanations why it didn't come across that way.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

First official day of lockdown and although it was early when I went to do my two this morning I only saw 1 car on the way there and 2 plus a grittier lorry on the way back. That is fewer than usual but last lockdown I didn’t see any at all. It had an almost eerie deserted silence which I didn’t feel today. I did however see the resident heron in my headlights and a few deer bounced across the road in front of me.

 

[Steerpike]

The roads were pretty busy here this morning compared to the first lock down ?

 

[Ownedby4horses]

Isn't calling someone a vile individual name calling too?

Ok the vile bit was a mistake to add, it was actually stuck in my mind from FF’s post on here how this person had launched a vile attack on her on another thread.

This person has form and FF is not the only one to have fallen foul of her attitude over some time.

Perhaps all can move on. Thank you.

 

[ester]

I'm not really surprised the roads are busy, I think most workplaces are more set up for it than they were last time so more of those that can't work from home are going in.
Having said that round here the roads have been significantly quieter last week and this.

 

[Smitty]

It's been ages since we last had a 'lots of people have PMd me'

Yes well, I'm taking that with a pinch of salt.. I think it is a fair assumption that it could make the subject of the supposed PMs feel uncomfortable. There was no need to have mentioned it IMO.

 

[scruffyponies]

Re schooling, I can report that our local schools are providing lessons online, with one or two teachers a bit useless on the tech, but getting the hang of it slowly. We always expected our kids to manage their own homework etc, so they haven't needed or wanted any help from us, other than a bit of laptop shuffling (one of their older sisters bought a new one, so they could have theirs), and a desk shortage which has required some changes.
I have a recent graduate who is incredibly frustrated that there are no grad schemes or decent opportunities. She has nevertheless embraced the available care jobs (yes - 3 at the last count!) as a 'year out'.
The one I really feel for started a music production and performing degree last year. There is NOTHING that can substitute for face to face time performing and working together in a studio. Still, we do our best. My garage is now a band room / studio, but the poor kid can only play one instrument at a time, and it is sub-zero in there. We have set up a recording desk with internet (not easy as on a separate circuit) sealed the door and drafty window, and are trying to insulate it as best we can - mostly with cardboard boxes.
So pleased we have the kind of kids who find solutions, work together and don't complain!

 

[Frumpoon]

Sorry but I think this is a really unfair comment. Young people experiencing their first taste of adult life will get over this. Would you at 18 have been willing to sacrifice your Grandmother's life to go to a freshers party and have a fun year at uni? Plus many much younger people die of Covid - how many are to be sacrificed so that the rest of us can enjoy life as normal? And do we let them just die at home, because once the hospitals are full something has to give, either not treating Covid patients or cancelling other treatments. There is no choice but to have restrictions, and of course they will be harder for some than for others, but saying that these are only for the benefit of the elderly or infirm is ludicrous.

It is also unfair to make young people think there is a straight line consequence between one thing and the other - granny can catch a virus just as easily from picking up a tin in the supermarket

Young people (all people in fact) have the right to go about their lives and do the things that will progress those lives and careers, the infringements of civil liberties right now is beyond the pale.

Lockdowns are only happening because public opinion supports them, be under no illusion as soon as the vast majority of the public is fed up then the lockdowns will stop.

If you are against the current approach then I would urge you to get onto YouGov or similar opinion poll forum and make your views known as the currently poll demographic seems to be exclusively rich older people with secure pensions and big houses.

The government has only ever been following 'part of' the science...certainly not all of it

The Great Barrington declaration has never been referred to and is a legitimate alternative.

The words of support I have seen have warmed the cockles of my crumbly useless heart

I've never been very good at doing what I am told - whether that is 'shutting up', 'going away', 'stepping away from social media' or 'getting help' (whatever that means)???

I am good at blocking people who irk me though so this thread has been remarkably peaceful

 

[GreyMane]

The Great Barrington declaration has never been referred to and is a legitimate alternative.

Had to look that one up. This is a petition from the start of October suggesting the "herd immunity" approach, ie let young people mix freely and keep vulnerable people in isolation.

Positive tests on 7 October stood at 47.3 cases per 100,000 people
Positive tests on 31 December stood at 505.6 cases per 100,000 people
ETA link to figures
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/det...card-recent_7-day_case_rates_by_specimen_date

Do you really believe the hospitals would cope if we took the brakes off now?

 

[Winters100]

It is also unfair to make young people think there is a straight line consequence between one thing and the other - granny can catch a virus just as easily from picking up a tin in the supermarket

Young people (all people in fact) have the right to go about their lives and do the things that will progress those lives and careers, /QUOTE]

There absolutely is a direct line between spreading the virus so that it is rampant and older people catching it. Granny has to go out to buy food, but there are other parts of life which are not essential and which can be given up for now for the greater good.

None of us have the right to live our lives in a way which negatively impacts society. In encouraging people to complain about lockdowns you are forgetting that the NHS is not able to handle the load if there is not a lockdown. What would your proposal be for that? Let people die at home untreated?

 

[Winters100]

Had to look that one up. This is a petition from the start of October suggesting the "herd immunity" approach, ie let young people mix freely and keep vulnerable people in isolation.

Positive tests on 7 October stood at 47.3 cases per 100,000 people
Positive tests on 31 December stood at 505.6 cases per 100,000 people
ETA link to figures
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases?areaType=ltla&areaName=Cambridge#card-recent_7-day_case_rates_by_specimen_date

Do you really believe the hospitals would cope if we took the brakes off now?

Agree. And it is also not practical to do this as 1) immunity appears to be short term, and 2) keeping old people in isolation is not possible, sooner or later all of them will require a doctor / dentist / some help. If the virus is uncontrolled in the rest of the population this is very dangerous for them. Just because people are old does not mean that their lives are worthless.

 

[GreyMane]

Agree. And it is also not practical to do this as 1) immunity appears to be short term, and 2) keeping old people in isolation is not possible, sooner or later all of them will require a doctor / dentist / some help. If the virus is uncontrolled in the rest of the population this is very dangerous for them. Just because people are old does not mean that their lives are worthless.

Also it really isn't just about "old people". There seems to be a link between covid and hormones. Menopausal women have a greater risk of long covid, for reasons not well understood. Letting infection increase, creating more cases of long covid, why would you do this.
Boris and his party are libertarians. If there was a way of handling this pandemic without interfering with our lives, I reckon they'd be doing it.

 

[milliepops]

and let's remember it's not just the oldies that are dying from this. younger people are also succumbing to it including those at normal "student" age. if they don't die they might walk away with vision or hearing impairment, loss of digits etc or generic "long covid"

 

[mariew]

But neither can current situation go on forever. I'm definitely at the end of able to tolerate these lockdowns. What if the vaccine doesn't give immunity for very long, or catching it does not cause long term immunity. I haven't seen my family for almost 2 years now because of this bloody virus and my parents are not getting any younger

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

If you have children of different ages trying to use the Internet on one device, line speed at 3 in the afternoon is relevant.

My friends reports were from last lockdown and isolation episodes, I see no reason why this one will be any different. It was backed up by an award winning headmistress at the time of the first school closures.

I think most reasonable people accept that some teachers are doing the home learning thing better than others. It is the same in any profession, why would teachers be any different?

And some homes are certainly going to be better, for multiple reasons, than others.

Do you stand by what you wrote "they are all receiving the same teaching now " and that no child will be falling behind? Because if so, I'm sorry, but I think that is simply not credible.

I think my information is rather more up-to-date than yours, notwithstanding your acquaintance with 'an award-winning Headteacher'. There are now much more accessible websites to support the NC, most schools have based much of their online teaching around those, most schools are expecting teachers to do some f2f teaching in each lesson, which they just weren't set up for last time. The first time around it was a accepted that everyone was doing their best under extremely difficult circumstances but the situation wasn't perfect, especially for those children with limited, or no access to devices. However, huge efforts have been made to supply pupils with suitable devices and lack of access is one of the criteria which qualifies children as being 'vulnerable' as far as taking up one of the limited school places is concerned. More is being expected of both schools nd their pupils in terms of attainment during this current lockdown, 'do what you can' is not sufficient now.

For families who are struggling with education at home but really do not want to risk sending their children to school, for one of the many reasons that have been discussed previously:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-lap...not-attend-school-due-to-coronavirus-covid-19


This website could also be helpful:
https://workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/coronavirus-furlough. Parents can ask to be furloughed in order to look after children who can't go to school.

 

[southerncomfort]

Wonder what YouGov would make of the accusation that they only send surveys to rich older people with secure pensions. ? Since survey results are anonymous and the identity of those taking part is data protected I wonder where Frumpoon is getting this incorrect info from. On the contrary, all pollsters strive to include people from all walks of life and all political persuasions.

Just for reassurance I complete YouGov surveys when they send them to me and im neither rich nor old!

The truth is that full lockdown with closure of educational establishments is the only thing that has worked in driving infections and hospital admissions down and thats why the majority still support it.

I know its difficult for people living alone (like my eldest daughter) and for elderly people (my mum texted me last night to say how depressed she feels at the thought of being incarcerated for several more weeks) but both my daughter and my mum both fully support lockdown despite how miserable it makes them.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

It's naive to think kids all get the same schooling. For a start that means at least one adult has to not work, a younger student is no way going to sit down at a table and do stuff on their own, I suspect many an older school kid would still need help and support.

It's a very strange environment to learn in. Mine hates any kind of video teaching so that is not happening.

Also we have already done months of home schooling starting march last year, so we will know how schools do things differently.

I have a close relative studying to be a vet. Not sure that works amazingly well with online learning...

I am quite sure that you already know that medical courses and others which *need* practical input are not just learning online. That is made perfectly clear in the gvt guidance.

 

[Abi90]

I

The roads were pretty busy here this morning compared to the first lock down ?

It could be that whereas people were furloughed before if they couldn’t work from home, employers have put in measures to make places COVID safe so they now can go to work... maybe

 

[scruffyponies]

I am quite sure that you already know that medical courses and others which *need* practical input are not just learning online. That is made perfectly clear in the gvt guidance.

Medical, dental etc, are exempted but not all courses which need practical and group work are allowed to continue. See my post above. Performing arts, sciences etc. all badly affected.

 

[GreyMane]

This is how online work was handled at a relative's daughter's new senior school during the last lockdown.

All class comments were shared with everybody. On her very first project (she is dyslexic, and could not read the the question unaided as it had really long words) the confident pupils were quickly posting "this was so easy, I've done it already!" and the less confident ones, if they needed to ask the teacher for some help, had no choice but to post their question knowing everybody else would see it.

You might expect this on Twitter, alas, but it shouldn't be like this at school. Pupils should be able to ask the teacher a question without it being public. It's so easy to ruin a child's confidence.

I really hope this is not the norm.

 

[daydreamer]

This is how online work was handled at a relative's daughter's new senior school during the last lockdown.

All class comments were shared with everybody. On her very first project (she is dyslexic, and could not read the the question unaided as it had really long words) the confident pupils were quickly posting "this was so easy, I've done it already!" and the less confident ones, if they needed to ask the teacher for some help, had no choice but to post their question knowing everybody else would see it.

"Teaching" online or via remote is vastly different to teaching in person.

I have been teaching the same subject, at the same college, for 15 years (yikes, time flies!). A large part of my job is reading subtle cues in the class room when students are working. When I am explaining something I look at their facial expressions to try and see if they are understanding, when I set work I listen in on their discussions and watch them- which questions are they asking each other about, where have the fast ones got to, where have the slow ones got to, how can I go and prompt the slower ones to help them out a bit, what can I ask the fast ones to challenge them a bit more. I walk around and peer over shoulders - have they used exactly the correct terminology, have they drawn their diagrams completely correctly, how can I prevent them from going off in completely the wrong direction.

I can't do any of this online. The majority of students have their cameras turned off, it is suggested we shouldn't ask them to turn them on in case they feel self conscious, or they may not have band width. Even if they do have cameras on the quality of the picture might not be great, they're all working alone, I can't see their work.

I could use the online sessions to teach them new work - but the only feedback I get at the time about understanding is if they ask questions - which because of the systems used has to be to the whole class. So usually it is like i am sat talking to myself. I have to guess how fast or slow to go, I don't know what, and how accurately, they are writing down.

I have been trying to use the sessions to go over exam questions. This is working better - but again lacking cues about progress and exactly what they are writing is really hard. I like to ask questions to specific people who I think will get it right (helps with confidence) this is really hard without actually being in front of them!

I could go on and on but essentially what I am saying is that remote "teaching" is a really blunt tool.

I, and I'm sure the vast majority of other teachers, am trying really hard but it sure ain't easy!

 

[GSD Woman]

I read something last night, I'm sorry but I don't remember the source, basically a woman in Australia wrote a letter to the editor about growing up in Bosnia and being unable to go to school. Then the family emigrated to Australia where they didn't speak the language. The writer ended up going to university. Her point was that children worldwide are in the same position and they'll get past the setbacks.