Greengrocer and firefighter on standby when there is a shortage of teachers
School group Samen Katholieke Scholen (SaKS) in Alkmaar has greengrocers, bakers and firefighters 'stand-by' for a lesson about their profession when there are too few teachers, for example due to a flu wave. “We came up with it out of necessity, but in this way we make a virtue of it,” says Helma van der Hoorn, chairman of the board of SaKS.
Picture: Type tank
The Talent Circle, that is the name of the project of the school group with a total of fourteen schools in Alkmaar and Bergen. “We asked everyone around us if they wanted to share their passion for their profession with the students,” says Van der Hoorn. Now the school has a list of people from different professional groups who are 'ready' when the need arises.
Profession
These 'occasional teachers' will not teach from the books, but will mainly tell about their profession, so that students learn about it. “The greengrocer, for example, about how you select vegetables at the auction and how you can see whether it is a good cauliflower,” says the chairman of the board. "A nurse gives a first aid workshop and firefighters explain how it works with a fire." People from the local library and the art and culture center are also part of the network. However, the responsibility for the group remains with a colleague from another class. The school group thinks that the substitutes who talk about their profession can offer a solution before a class is divided.
Deficiency
SaKS initially devised the plan out of need for the teacher shortage. “It really does something when a class has to go home,” says Van der Hoorn. Still, things are not too bad for the school group for the time being. “We only run into problems at a high peak in the flu wave. We have hired many people, such as side entrants and have our own flex pool. These people are permanently employed, but can be deployed flexibly. "
Next week, the school group will try out the project at one of the schools. "We then look at what we encounter and how it turns out."
