It is not a matter of choosing one or the other. Research actually shows that learning goes better when a student feels safe. The moments of contact with your students should not be underestimated. Even when they are not about the subject matter, they are valuable.
“… there is also a greater need for attention to matters that go beyond the overloaded educational curriculum. This includes the social-emotional aspect, which is currently increasingly needed. The current era is hectic and uncertain, and the pandemic continues to disrupt and weigh, to a greater or lesser extent, heavily on everyone's lives. There is no time to pause; everything continues, which means that the proverbial bucket is (almost) full for many students.”
Source: Parool Pascal Cuijpers 22 November 2021
Opinion: ‘Especially now, it is important to really listen to students’
I support Pascal Cuijpers's argument. He recommends making a point of regularly engaging in conversation and picking up on signals from colleagues and parents, especially now. In this way, you can help prevent the bucket from overflowing. Being able to make time to see your student and hear their personal story is, especially now, the basis of a healthy learning process. According to Cuijpers, it makes no difference to the curriculum whether you do this during a lesson, at break time, after school, or during a rainy autumn walk on the way to a workshop.
Do you have a clear picture of your student?
Our annual education conference Met Alle Respect! has been designed around the importance of having a clear picture of your student, with a broad programme. The online conference is free of charge and will take place on 30 March 2022. Iliass El Hadioui's keynote will take you into the lived worlds of a student and the switching behaviour this requires of students, thereby revealing the child behind the student in your class. Would you like to explore the subject further? Then choose one of the ten workshops on the theme of social safety. Whether it is about what you can do when a child fades from view, or how you can ensure that you still ‘see’ every student in a full classroom.