School principal Jan Willem Heemstra
Jan Willem is the director of the Jan Arentsz secondary school in Alkmaar. During the lockdown, he ensured as quickly as possible that students could attend classes from home, including by lending them 150 Chromebooks. Teachers provided online lessons and tried to maintain as much of the existing curriculum as possible. This was not always easy for certain subjects, such as physical education and arts and crafts. Ultimately, it was decided which lessons students really needed to attend in person and when there was time for questions. Mentors checked in with the students for a few hours each week to see how they were doing.
The school community kept this up for several weeks, but also saw that a particular group of students found it difficult to follow this type of education. They were therefore allowed to regularly attend lessons in person, provided by teaching assistants. This also applied to students whose parents had essential jobs. Although Jan Willem sees that some students benefited from online education, he continues to believe that it is important for students to receive education in person. “Education is something you do together above all. I cannot imagine this becoming a system in which it takes place remotely.”
Student Toby
Toby, a student at Montessori College in Nijmegen, had to attend classes from home six months ago and did not enjoy it. He had just started his first year at school and was disappointed that he could not attend lessons in person. “At first I thought: three weeks without school, that should be fine.” But as it lasted longer, it began to get boring and he also started to worry.
Toby missed his friends at school, and the explanations provided through home schooling were more difficult to follow than in the classroom. Toby is not afraid of the virus itself, but he is afraid of a lockdown lasting several months. “We are all pretty fed up with corona.”
Toby’s school performance has not changed very much, but he prefers being at school to attending classes from home. “I am much happier because I have contact with more people than during the lockdown. If it happens again, I hope it will be over soon.”
Paediatrician Brita de Jong-van Kempen
Brita de Jong-van Kempen is a paediatrician and youth doctor at the Medical Centre in Leeuwarden. Brita believes it is very important for teachers to continue taking good care of themselves and to keep following the measures so that they do not become infected. This reduces the risk of teachers being absent and therefore also reduces the number of cancelled lessons. Brita argues that school is about more than education alone and also influences other areas, such as children’s health, social development and safety. “Children have to cycle to school and walk through the school building. This provides exercise, which is lost with online education.”
Children need friends and teachers to develop their identities, and during the lockdown you saw children becoming isolated and sometimes even disappearing from view. School also provides children with a safe place where they are supported and seen. When the schools were closed, this safe place disappeared. According to Brita, it is important for teachers to keep talking to the children. “Ask them what the first lockdown was like, how things are going at home and what you can do for them. Follow the measures and be aware of the important role you play!”
Earlier in this series there was a podcast with Hester van Toledo, a teacher of grades 3, 4 and 5 at a Montessori school. Listen to the podcast with Hester here.