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Back on this again... But really, lock down again, including schools, was an inevitability. The NHS has a finite capacity that, thanks to the Tories, is strained even by seasonal flu. Neither Labour or the Tories engaged with this fact.
Instead we got endless "get the kids back/keep them in schools", despite research showing they were very capable of transmitting Covid. And with all the talk of keeping schools going we never made room to ask "how do we prepare for them closing".
The upshot of this is that we've asked teachers to pull everything together for remote learners on their own. Help with training techniques? Nah. Just crack on while simultaneously having to look after key worker kids in person.
And then there's parents who, if my infant school kids are any guide, have to take on the role of teacher because there are no teacher led video lessons.
Being an educator isn't something you just pick up and, combined with the stress of having to do out days jobs... Well it's not great for mental health. This of course assumes you are even fortunate enough to have the kind of job that lets you work from home.
My partner for example, has to be physically present for most of her work. Which btw, is not key, so we're stupidly still allowing people to mix in workplaces when we shouldn't, but I digress.
The result of defaulting to "kids in school", is we've not planned for what happens when that isn't possible. This has amplified the negative impact on less well off children (and all we can do is cry crocodile tears over that while shouting get them back to school).
Rather than plan we've asked parents to shoulder the stress of not planning because the economy demands we do two jobs to keep feeding it.
Rather than plan we've repeatedly asked teachers to expose themselves to elevated risk, take on the impossible task of limiting transmission at work and transfer lessons for remote learning.
Rather than plan we've cost thousands of lives and likely left many of our NHS workers traumatized (which I doubt they'll receive proper care for).
All this because we've a government that prioritises the economy over people (even though the connection between the two ought to be obvious now).
All this because, far from a forensic opposition, we have a statist opposition that has more interest in looking supine than holding the government to account. No, asking for "a plan" from a government that resolutely refuses to come up with one is not opposing.
So yeah fuck the whole thing, the worst of all worlds created, aided and abetted by all the worst people.
Apologies for that being a long one if you read this far, just documenting my irritation for use later on...
