Anthony Dowling: We want to return but there are still problems to be solved
As the much-anticipated return of schools occurs, it is with great anxiety I write this. As a post-primary teacher, I have been away from the classroom for close to six months at this stage.
I am very eager to return. I want to be back doing the job I love. Teaching from home and via Teams, Edmodo, and Zoom are not the same. Every colleague I talk to agrees with this. We ALL want to be back.
There is just one problem, Covid-19. For months we have been told we would return in September and that a comprehensive plan would be put in place by the Government to ensure we go back in the safest possible fashion. I heard our Taoiseach say several times that teachers, principals, and management have been working hard and are ready to go back. A much-highlighted visit to a school in his home county appears to have set his mind at ease. The schools are all ready and they will be going back, by hook or by crook. When you scratch at the surface with even a blunt pencil, it is clear that there are flaws to the plan.
Confusion. The bible for schools returning is “the Roadmap for full return to schools” published by the Department of Education and Skills on July 26 and updated on August 5. In the updated version it says regarding face masks: “Older students should not be requested to wear a facial covering but those who may wish to wear a facial covering where physical distancing is difficult to maintain should not be discouraged.”
This contravenes the advice of the HSE and World Health Organisation. This was acknowledged in a press release on August 7 when the advice is: “It is now recommended that teachers and secondary school students wear face coverings, similar to those worn in shops or on public transport, when a physical distance of 2m cannot be maintained."
Yet the roadmap remained unchanged and this conflicting information remained on the department's website. In my own ETB as part of the return to school induction, twice the presentation said there is no evidence face masks stop the spread and that they are not necessary. This is a perfect example of the poor communication that exists from the department and confusion reigns as a result.
We all know that large gatherings should be avoided. Does a group of 30 students in a poorly ventilated room not count as a large gathering? We cannot change decades of underfunding in the education system in the next few weeks, but surely six months out of the schools would have led to a plan being put into place to even attempt to gain 2m distancing in classrooms.
Unfortunately, jockeying for ministerial jobs, sniping between our governmental parties, and scandal after scandal has led to the most important people in our society being neglected.
There are too many different aspects of the return to school that cause concern to mention. The availability of teachers has been dramatically hindered by eight years of pay inequality in our profession. Two weeks ago thousands of young teachers returned to the Middle East when we face a massive supply issue in our own country.
For 10 years successive governments have been told, equal pay for equal work will solve this issue. That was ignored; the result being that in the time of most need for reduced class sizes and teacher numbers we cannot call for backup.
The 2,000 extra teachers mentioned by our Education Minister to help cover the gap is a fairytale, a grim fairytale, one Wilhelm Grimm would be proud of. Minister Foley, the week before school returned how many of the 2,000 teachers had come back to the profession?
The Tánaiste said a few weeks ago that there will inevitably be outbreaks in schools. Unfortunately, he did not continue to say what should happen in the event of an outbreak? If a student tests positive will all the students in that class be tested? Will the up to nine teachers that taught that student that day be tested? Will they be told that a student has tested positive? Will the parents of the students in close proximity to that student be told? Will they then be able to take the precaution of isolating at home and protecting their vulnerable family? Will all the up to 270 students that come into contact with a teacher throughout the day be told that they have been in contact with a person positive for Covid-19? Will they have to isolate? Will they be tested?
A lot of the answers to the above questions could be dismissed by saying they will not if social distancing is done properly. The problem is, in most cases, there will not be 2m between students or between students and their teacher. In a large number of cases, there will not be 1m between students and students and their teacher.
Parents, students, and teachers have been waiting six months to go back to school. We really want to go back. The social and educational needs of our students are at stake. Everyone wants to go back. For six months we have waited, the plan is not fair, it is not clear, and it is not safe. We do not want any wholehearted or fulsome apology in six months. Mark twice, cut once — solve the problems before we go back.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
