The teacher in court
Vmbo framework is the school advice for Sanne. Her parents are furious. The teacher should have taken into account in her advice that their daughter has dyslexia. Something that they believe the school has found out too late anyway and has not invested enough in. They file a complaint with the National Education Complaints Committee.
Picture: Type tank
School advice is at the top of the top 5 causes of conflict between parents and school. And those conflicts seem to be occurring more and more. In 2011, 153 parents filed a complaint with the complaints committee, last year the counter was 230. The number of educational cases with legal assistance insurance has been increasing for years. Achmea Legal Aid responded last summer Trouw of 'legalization' of education and sees an increase of 30 percent to 784 cases compared to four years ago. After a judge awarded a mother in damages of 500 euros because her children could not have the class photo because of the Sacrifice Feast, outrage erupted in the media. "Because of the ruling, the end is lost," responded a school leader in the flash poll conducted by the CNV education union among 134 directors. Two thirds of them appear to have been threatened by a parent with a juridical procedure*A year-old master during a ten-minute conversation with parents, a calendar by Pamela Anderson. Two conversations later, other parents saw that calendar hanging, said nothing, but filed a complaint with the board. 
“The board referred them to the complaints committee and before you know it you will be in the dock”, says Frans Lathouwers, lawyer for AObmembers. He emphasizes that the calendar did not contain any shocking photos. “He was a very enthusiastic teacher, nothing wrong with that, but the complaint has been upheld and he left for the business world disillusioned. The complainers' child has been bullied by classmates who didn't want to get rid of their favorite teacher, so what the hell did it get you as parents? ”.
Exception
Parents are more articulate and know better how to find the legal way. "But there is no legalization," says AOblawyer Frans Lathouwers. "There is no longer a significant growth in the number of cases that appear before the complaints committee and going to court remains an exception."
Going to court remains an exception
The figures require a differentiation: submitting a complaint does not say anything about the process afterwards. Only 35 percent of the 230 complaints that parents from primary, secondary and secondary vocational education submitted to the National Complaints Committee in 2016 were substantively dealt with. And a mediation interview is sufficient for most educational cases involving legal expenses insurance. “We propose a procedure in only one in ten cases,” says lawyer Maarten Schipper of Arag Legal Aid, who sees the rise in education cases leveling off. “And if legal proceedings actually have to be conducted, our experience is that the judge always manages to resolve these cases with a settlement. However, the parents have often been at odds with a school for a long time. If they come to us earlier, we can break open communication sooner and avoid further conflict. Hence, engaging a lawyer is not a legalization of our society. "
Cordless drill
If you also compare the number of legal cases in the Netherlands against the total of more than three million pupils in primary, secondary and secondary vocational education, then you can certainly not speak of American situations. However, society has become more transparent and as a result the expectations of parents have changed, says Peter de Vries, specialist in parental involvement at CPS consultancy. “If I can follow everything about my new cordless drill via bol.com, why should that not apply to my child? Parents are more articulate because they themselves know more. They can check everything that the teacher says on the internet, if necessary on a forum with another teacher elsewhere in the world. That requires a different professional role: the teacher has the task of interpreting the information. ”
The mandatory parent satisfaction survey also contributes to that expectation pattern, according to De Vries. “Because parents are seen as customers, they start to behave that way. They are only satisfied with certain results. Schools also have an interest in a high score on satisfaction. All this puts enormous pressure on the teacher. But don't be afraid of parents and stop satisfying them, because that's not the goal. ”
Harmful
According to AOblawyer Lathouwers, parents are increasingly taking the teacher's seat. “The subject has lost its status and now parents think they can have a say in everything, from which punishment the teacher imposes to the approach in the classroom. And if parents don't get their way, filing a complaint is a simple and inexpensive way to be right. ”
But it is a time-consuming, expensive and harmful way, the lawyer knows. “Having to justify yourself is experienced as very threatening. Even if the complaint is declared unfounded, teachers feel damaged. The person loses his open-mindedness, just like all his colleagues. You always keep in mind: can I do this or will I get the mother after me? Education is deteriorating and chilling. If you have an arm around a shoulder already a complaint*Does a legal conflict prove insurmountable? Then get it AOb-members assistance, from the defense to the oral hearing of the case. AOblawyer Frans Lathouwers advises members to actually seek this assistance, “because such a process requires certain skills”. “Parents often don't hold back,” says Lathouwers. “It is made of thick wood, one saws planks: coarse words, insulting texts. Then try to remain unaffected by it. As a lawyer, I have no problem with making mincemeat of them in an adequate way." you will not do that anymore if a child falls. "
Coffee creamer
Good communication can prevent a lot of suffering. Keep the lines short, advises De Vries of CPS. “The fact that parents are so well informed also has advantages. Perhaps there is knowledge that is useful to the teacher. So be open to it and put the interests of the child first. It's about looking for the best approach together. ”
According to him, there is another step for this, namely taking into account the acceptance process that parents go through when something is wrong with their child: from denial, anger, sadness to acceptance. Failure to recognize these phases is often a major cause for parents to cross boundaries in their emotion. “You don't have to be a social worker,” emphasizes De Vries. "But be aware of this process and just know how to muster a healthy dose of understanding for it."
Talking in peacetime creates so much less hassle for the rest of the year
Teacher training courses could play a better role in this. “Some teacher training colleges are still too much alone at the level of dealing with difficult parents. Research shows that students feel that they are being pre-sorted incorrectly: they are already a little scared of parents. Then you miss the point. Parental involvement does not have to be a separate subject, but must be repeated wherever it is relevant. It is the coffee creamer that colors the entire coffee. ”
De Vries is conducting doctoral research into the hypothesis that work pressure decreases if you invest well in parental involvement. No general information evening and ten minute meetings, but tailor-made contact with each parent. And that starts with a starting meeting with children and parents, without an agenda. “You cannot start working with a child until you have spoken to the parents,” emphasizes De Vries. “In the past you didn't have to, because you knew each other in the neighborhood or the village, but now not everyone lives near the school anymore. Talking in peace time is so much less hassle for the rest of the year, because you know each other and know where to find each other when there is something wrong. ”
We feeling
Primary school De Sluis in Zeist is now working with the initial interviews. Director Jelmer de Wal started there more than twenty years ago as a teacher and has seen the way of dealing with parents change. “There used to be more conflicts. No parent just pops out of their own skin, there are several disappointing experiences underlying this. By engaging in a timely discussion, clarifying expectations and increasing the influence of parents, manners have improved enormously. ”
No parent just jumps out of his skin
The parent population at De Sluis is a cross-section of the Netherlands, from highly to low-educated people, with and without a migration background. “But the need is the same for all parents,” says De Wal. “Every parent wants the best for their child and that requires clarity about what is expected. The starting interview is now decisive in this. ”
Depth investment
He had thought that teachers might struggle with this change, but the opposite is true. “Speaking to all parents within four weeks is quite busy, but teachers see it as an in-depth investment. If you ensure that the contact is right the first time, you will gain time that you would otherwise spend on resolving misunderstandings over and over again. ”
According to the director, the strength lies in the simplicity: the initial conversation is about what is important to the parent and that is reflected in a report of ten lines. “The conversations can be about anything from vacation to divorce. The only appointment that is made is the next contact moment and that can also be done by telephone, whichever is necessary. Parents are very positive, because a we-feeling is created. Of course there are still shakes and jitters here, but the basis is that we keep in touch with each other. ”
The National Complaints Committee for Education is currently encouraging the complaint to be resolved at school if possible. Last year, 60 cases were successfully referred back to the school. This is also the case with Sanne. According to agreement with the school, her parents had an intelligence test taken at their own expense, from which the advice followed VMBO-T, provided with support for arithmetic / mathematics. The school has adjusted the school advice, so that Sanne can go to the school of her preference and the parents have withdrawn the complaint.
Avoid legal conflict
Just call a parent if you feel like something is going on. This simple tip can sometimes prevent a conflict from running too far. So never let a complaint simmer and rather not think: that will come after the holiday.
De AObbrochure Rights and obligations of parents, pupils and teachers in the school is intended for teachers in primary and secondary education. The publication explains what the legal frameworks are and discusses practical situations. Almost XNUMX questions are answered, such as: can I have an eleven-year-old make tea, am I obliged to inform both divorced parents or can I expel a student myself if he refuses to leave?This article was published in the Education Magazine of February 2018.
