Ireland has a terrible legacy of accepting oppression with a doff of the cap, avoidance of self-implications, putting it all down to useless leaders but never, ever allowing ourselves to examine the fact that our near universal compliance is an inbuilt shadow of self-blame
No wonder Croatians identify themselves with Irish people so much.
I bet the lecturers are having melt downs behind the scenes. Despite the insistence of the managers and admin, I wouldn't be surprised to see tools down and strikes impending. You simply cannot teach large numbers effectively online! However Big Tech says you will, you must! Something's going to give...
We had gone 'online' when lockdown was in place here, just after the start of the Summer semester last academic year (which starts on March 1st), so called corona semester. Elementary schools and high-schools were thought via TV
and we were given some time to adjust but pushed extensively to start online lectures as time passed by. It was total chaos, but at the end 'nobody' complained. What's worse, IMO, the academic year wasn't prolonged for even 1 day; students who virtually couldn't work on their bachelor and master theses because e.g. they couldn't enter the labs to do the needed work and experiments for more than 2 months and due to that didn't finish in time before the end of the year, had to pay for the enrollment into next academic year!
During last Council Meeting (which are now all online; much easier to control the 'adversaries' in that way) some of us objected strongly to this 'pure exploitation' but were completely outnumbered by the vast majority of silent and complacent authoritarian followers (our Department management being one of the same). The reply was 'simple': our employer, the Ministry (and the Office of the Rector) stated that everything was in order WRT delivered teaching, and although extraordinary conditions were in place (for almost whole semester), no extensions were to be allowed whatsoever!
Today I had my first lectures in this new academic year, we're going live and hopefully will stay that way, although the 'measures/restrictions' like mandatory masks, sanitizers, social distancing are in place, of course.
Trying to 'minimize' social interaction among the students, management made a complete mess out of our schedule, e.g. I had lectures from 2pm til 8pm with only 1h break, but it's even worse for the students who have 2-3h breaks between two lecture blocks, and have to stay attentive until 8 o'clock in the evening!
On a brighter note, I had situation similar to this FB post:
"UK lawyer."
I'm not wearing the mask, at any time, people around me know that and so far nobody said anything. Students on the other hand do, since that's the rule. At the start of my first lecture today, after letting students into the classroom, I noticed some suspicious looks and even in a low voice "where's the mask?" from one of them. In calm and steady voice I explained that I'm not wearing the mask and, since new sitting arrangement in the classrooms ensured the implementation of minimal social distancing rule, neither do they have to, but who wants of course can. Every one of them took the muzzle off, several released sounds of relief, and the one who at the beginning said "where's the mask?", at first with very confusing face expression, looking at others take their masks off took his off too.
So, not only social compliance can be broken like stated in above FB image/post, but by example even programming/indoctrination can be jolted.
Of course, he put his muzzle back on as soon as the lecture was over and his colleagues were out of the classroom (he stayed to ask some additional question about the assignment and came closer to me), but... all in due time.
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