School reopening

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

So, what's the word fellow teachers? Will we be back in the classroom? The word here around central Issan is the end of this month.

 

Further out east I heard they've got it worse. Strict lockdowns, curfews. Schools closed indefinitely, not even online teaching.

 

Harvest time here in Issan. Teaching from my phone. The farm is my classroom. Wife is behind me cutting the sugar cane. Walking around doing a livestream makes for a more interesting lesson. The kids tell me they'd like a field trip someday. Though unfortunately, I'm only getting about 20% participation.

[brewsterbudgen]

4 minutes ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

So, what's the word fellow teachers? Will we be back in the classroom? The word here around central Issan is the end of this month.

 

Further out east I heard they've got it worse. Strict lockdowns, curfews. Schools closed indefinitely, not even online teaching.

 

Harvest time here in Issan. Teaching from my phone. The farm is my classroom. Wife is behind me cutting the sugar cane. Walking around doing a livestream makes for a more interesting lesson. The kids tell me they'd like a field trip someday. Though unfortunately, I'm only getting about 20% participation.

The school I teach at has been back doing face-to-face classes since November and my son's international school went back on 5 January. In Bangkok if the school has approved Covid protocols it can open.

 

[MarcelV]

33 minutes ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

So, what's the word fellow teachers? Will we be back in the classroom? The word here around central Issan is the end of this month.

 

Further out east I heard they've got it worse. Strict lockdowns, curfews. Schools closed indefinitely, not even online teaching.

I teach at a private Islamic school in the Deep South. Here all schools, both government and private, both primary and secondary, have been closed since April last year. Word is that none of them will not open anymore. Indefinitely.

All teaching is done online. With a Thai colleague who teaches English, having had only two students attending today, I don't think the students are really up for it anymore...

[248900_1469958220]

I have also not seen a student face to face since March.....I have tried to make interesting and informative videos/Zoom classes...but its now getting too much. This needs to end. My son, who is M2 has turned into a bit of a recluse. I think a lot of kids may have. This has been pretty disastrous. If I have a class of 20 (IEP) I usually get half turn up. No, thats not a reflection on the effort I put in or teaching style...its the reality of teens learning online with little to no parental supervision....oh, and its English as well so.....

 

Anyway, I have had a gutful.  I have heard nothing about when I will see students again. 

[Stocky]

My granddaughter returned to school in Hat Yai this week, her first face to face lessons this academic year; I've never seen her so excited by the prospect of school.

 

She had to take an ATK test on the Monday before school and send a photo of the result to her form teacher. This will be a requirement each week to attend class.

 

Covid numbers in the south are all the way down from the peak in October and Omicron hasn't started to spike here yet, though no doubt it's coming. I've told her to enjoy it whilst it lasts.

 

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Edited January 13, 2022 by Stocky

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

3 hours ago, 248900_1469958220 said:

style...its the reality of teens learning online with little to no parental supervision....oh, and its English as well so.....

I know what you mean. Just had 5 of my class of 30 show up this afternoon. A decent turnout I suppose. Not to mention they were 35 minutes late. Better than not showing up at all I guess. Heh.

 

This left us with 15 minutes to review for the midterm exam, after which they were quick to tell me, "Teacher, we have a lab activity." They certainly don't want to be late for that.

 

Dunno how they're doing it online, but whatever it is it's more engaging than whatever I'm doing. And after all, what I do is just English. ????

[MarcelV]

2 hours ago, Stocky said:

My granddaughter returned to school in Hat Yai this week, her first face to face lessons this academic year; I've never seen her so excited by the prospect of school.

 

She had to take an ATK test on the Monday before school and send a photo of the result to her form teacher. This will be a requirement each week to attend class.

 

Covid numbers in the south are all the way down from the peak in October and Omicron hasn't started to spike here yet, though no doubt it's coming. I've told her to enjoy it whilst it lasts.

 

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Actually, the numbers in Songkhla seem to be rising quickly again, if I interpreted the daily numbers correctly.

I live in the restive Three Province Region, where Covid numbers are down to single digits. Still, the สอ.บต. (the SBPAC) has recommended all schools stay closed for the time being.

Edited January 13, 2022 by MarcelV

[Stocky]

2 minutes ago, MarcelV said:

Actually, the numbers in Songkhla seem to be rising quickly again

They've gone up, 5th of January was the lowest and Hat Yai reported just 3 cases, the figure for today was 23.

 

[brewsterbudgen]

6 minutes ago, MarcelV said:

Actually, the numbers in Songkhla seem to be rising quickly again, if I interpreted the daily numbers correctly.

I live in the restive Three Province Region, where Covid numbers are down to single digits. Still, the สอ.บต. (the SBPAC) has recommended all schools stay closed for the time being.

That's shocking.  Why is children's education and mental health considered so unimportant?

[Stocky]

4 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

That's shocking.  Why is children's education and mental health considered so unimportant?

Maybe the powers that be are perfectly happy to keep the south poorly educated. Certainly bottom of the list for most things bar military spending.

 

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Edited January 13, 2022 by Stocky

[MarcelV]

9 minutes ago, Stocky said:

They've gone up, 5th of January was the lowest and Hat Yai reported just 3 cases, the figure for today was 23.

 

Narathiwat Province  was down to 0 for a few days and we're still in the single digits now. Apparently it is the only province in Thailand without any Omicron infections yet, as of today.

[MarcelV]

6 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Maybe the powers that be are perfectly happy to keep the south poorly educated. Certainly bottom of the list for most things bar military spending.

 

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True. Pattani and Narathiwat top all the negative lists in Thailand, except for poor air quality. ????

[Stocky]

1 minute ago, MarcelV said:

Narathiwat Province  was down to 0 for a few days and we're still in the single digits now. Apparently it is the only province in Thailand without any Omicron infections yet, as of today.

The south has some of the lowest numbers but you still can't get a beer in a restaurant. 

[MarcelV]

5 minutes ago, Stocky said:

The south has some of the lowest numbers but you still can't get a beer in a restaurant. 

In Narathiwat our parks, beaches and any other public area have all been closed since April last year. It beggars belief.

Like most of the locals here, I don't drink alcohol, so that part doesn't bother me, but <deleted> let us go out and exercise. I can't even walk along the river area as there is razor wire everywhere.

[aarontendo]

We were back on site for a week after Christmas break.  Online this week and will be a couple more weeks after.  Plan is to do hybrid once back on site start of February.