AOb: 'Extra hands needed for good education in corona time'
Extra teachers are quickly needed to maintain the quality of education. This is the only way for colleagues in secondary education to have sufficient time to teach properly online, whether or not in addition to their work in the classroom. That says AObdirector Henrik de Moel.
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It is becoming increasingly difficult to teach well in secondary education, according to responses from the AOb receives from its members. Due to quarantine or illness, more and more students are dropping out, leaving teachers with three-quarters full - or only half full - groups.
“The other half of the group could then be taught online, but then teachers are basically running double lessons,” says AObdriver De Moel. “You don't last long like that. In no other industry is the number burnout complaints as high as in education. And that's a measurement from before corona. If we allow the staff in the schools to work upside down during this crisis, we will be much further away from home. ”
Unfortunately, we hear too often that colleagues have to teach live in class and online at the same time
If the number of absentees continues like this, then, according to De Moel, teachers will be concerned whether they can still prepare their students properly for the exam.
In any case, the latter will not work if the teachers work double shifts for a long time. “Unfortunately, too often we hear that colleagues are expected to teach live in the classroom and at the same time teach the absent children online via Teams, for example,” says De Moel. “In that situation, we don't think you can speak of high-quality education. In the protocol for secondary education it has also been agreed that this is not possible in principle. ”
Shortage courses
According to De Moel, extra people are quickly needed to support the current teachers, such as extra teachers (although that will become difficult in shortage subjects) or teaching assistants. Furthermore, the teachers need more time to properly prepare their online lessons, especially if they also have to do their work in the classroom.
It is better to invest now than to have to make up all those arrears later
“I can also imagine that school boards will work together locally to free up and exchange teachers for online teaching,” says De Moel. "That is always sensitive due to competition between schools, but these are different times - necessity breaks the law."
De Moel calls on the ministry to ensure that extra hands are quickly added to the classroom. "It is better to invest now than to have to make up for all those backlogs later on."
Infections
Reports in the press also show that the corona problems are starting to accumulate in education. For example, according to the Telegraaf ten days ago at the Spinoza Lyceum in Amsterdam infected 30 students, but that number has now risen to 46 corona cases. Similar developments can be seen at the Christian College Nassau-Veluwe in Harderwijk (24 infections) and the Jacob van Liesveldt College in Hellevoetsluis (20 infections).
GGD
The local GGD comes into action when it comes to a corona infection in a school. The GGD can choose to send a single class home, but sometimes an entire school is immediately locked. That happened, for example, at the Linie College in Den Helder. There, 72 students and 32 employees have to stay at home for ten days due to a corona infection.
According to NRC Director Clemy Oomens of Het Rhedens, a school for havo, atheneum and gymnasium in Rozendaal, receives dozens of phone calls every day from parents who report their children sick. Not because they have corona, but because they have a cold, have a headache, are sniffling. Or because one of their parents has complaints and is awaiting a corona test. 'The situation in many secondary schools is therefore chaotic, or threatens to become chaotic', the newspaper writes.
A large majority of our members want to keep schools open, but if half of the students are not there, it will be very difficult to provide good education
In the Bollenstreek, about 900 secondary school students are at home with 'mild complaints', reports Broadcasting West. At the Teylingen College Leeuwenhorst in Noordwijkerhout, for example, 220 of the 1300 students are at home preventively. Northgo College in Noordwijk is missing more than 100 students, says rector Johan van der Plas. His school is also working hard to shape the lessons for home sitters as well as possible. This puts even more pressure on teachers. 'Teachers deserve a big compliment,' emphasizes Van der Plas.
Problems are also piling up in primary education, partly due to the brats decision from two weeks ago. Since then, children with a snot nose have been allowed to come back to school, but if they light the teacher there, he has to stay home and a whole class has no lesson.
Shoulders
“The vast majority of our members want to keep schools open,” says De Moel. “But if half of the students are not there, or some of the teachers are not, it becomes very difficult to provide good education. All my colleagues have been working hard since the beginning of this epidemic. I think it is only natural that the government does everything it can to help them with this. ”
