Lower goals bring peace in times of crisis
Teachers are stressed from clearing backlogs that result from corona. Can the bar be lowered? "We all do what we think is right. Also trust that the teacher knows what is right for the children."
Picture: Armand Kertzman
Sanne van den Bergh, group 4 teacher at an SBO school in Nijmegen, is sometimes very unsure whether she is doing well. “On the first day of the school closure, I went to my students by bike to get them work on paper and later I went to collect that work. I also made instructional videos for students at different levels, as they are used to in my lesson, I called one on one with them and with the parents. Yet I also sometimes got the idea that everything is not good enough and that I should have taught digitally all day long. ”
What affects the special primary school teacher is that it is suggested that if the teacher is sufficiently proficient in online teaching and has mastered the digital curriculum well enough, the same educational results can be achieved as in previous years. But she says, “We are in a crisis. Can education be viewed more flexibly? We all do what we think is right. Also trust that the teacher knows what is good for the children. ”
Van den Bergh wrote an open letter in January de Volkskrant which was shared hundreds of times on Facebook and generated a lot of comments. “The reactions were almost all: as you put it, that's how I feel it too. Or also: You do it well like this. ”
She noticed the messages from retired teachers. “People also got lost in education because everything had to be digital and digitally accounted for. They now say: It is all right. ”
Powerless
More teachers feel insecure or powerless about the way of teaching or about achieving learning benefits in this pandemic. The distance to the pupil or student is great, teaching is different and the learning outcome is often uncertain. In a candid column, MBO teacher Laurensz Rötgers wrote in January that he would not be able to provide quality teaching. The frustration about that consumes energy. On Facebook that also resulted in recognition and sometimes tips. 'Link your own sub-goals to a lesson, such as three smiling students,' suggested one teacher. Another: "Accept that your moments of happiness are smaller." Also: 'A crying fit from time to time helps' and 'Teaching is 50 percent commitment of the teachers, but also 50 percent commitment of the student.' In other words, be a little lenient with yourself during this time.
In this day and age it takes more energy to make good assignments
Mbo English teacher Marian Rovers, from Summa College in Eindhoven, recognizes the tension. "In this day and age it takes more energy to complete good assignments." But she gets new energy when a student e-mails: "Miss, this was really fun to do." She even sees that the quality of the assignments that are submitted is sometimes higher than before the lockdown. "So some students can work independently very well and have a better concentration at home."
Fabiany Lugtigheid, group 8 teacher at a primary school in Barendrecht, gets his energy from the fact that his students have learned new things during the lockdowns. “They may have had worse results in the core subjects, but they have made a lot of progress in working independently and working online. I think digital literacy is just as important. ”
At the start of the second lockdown, Sanne van den Bergh decided to focus on the core subjects, with a priority for reading, because her students struggle with language deficits. In addition, she made sure that students had time for a game or making a recipe. “I've tried to see what's right for my kids. I didn't want to put them in a stressful situation or their parents. I know enough parents who cannot see the wood for the trees when they are both at work themselves and have to keep the children at school all day long. You don't get anywhere with frustrated parents or frustrated children. Making a recipe together or playing a game is also learning. ”
Very exciting
When primary school reopened, Fabiany Lugtigheid had a good idea of where his 8th grade was. “Because they submitted the work digitally, I was able to estimate them reasonably. I have always done extended instruction with video calling. ” With digital teaching, he does depend on the quality of the internet in children's homes and the guidance of parents. He was helpless when a student did not know how to log in and her mother called to be unable to help because she was at work.
It was also very exciting for Sanne van den Bergh to have all the children together in class again. “The need to see how they are doing and work on group dynamics was great,” she says. But she is also happy to be able to investigate which goals they have achieved and which have not. "It is a lot of work for me to make sure that they are still going to take up certain things now."
It's going to be a lot of effort for me to make sure they pick up on certain things now
She does wonder whether we should now be administering 'like crazy' tests. "Or can we skip that for a moment?" It depends on the purpose of tests, she believes. “Seeing backlogs as gruesome, that does not seem to me to be the intention now. Backlogs are logical and are appropriate for the times. ”
Roc English teacher Marian Rovers thinks the time is right to think about a different way of testing. Should a progress test necessarily be done digitally or on paper? Can it also be done with an assignment, a video, a report or a moodboard? It is precisely in this way that you give the students freedom of choice, autonomy and as a teacher you have the opportunity to give feedback on the work process, she explains. “Because what does an 8 say for a test: that they have the present perfect be able to fill in well, or actually apply it? "
Final test
The Education Inspectorate has already announced that it considers it important that the final test at primary school takes place this school year. In some primary schools they are already teaching on Saturday afternoons to brush up on the students. According to spokesperson Daan Jansen of the Education Inspectorate, it is not the intention of the final test to increase the tension. It may be that the average score this school year is less high than in previous years. “Then schools know that they can offer students until summer time to make progress. Secondary education, especially the first year teachers, therefore know better what to respond to. ”
According to him, it makes even more concrete what task education stands for. Jansen wants to reassure schools. The test is intended to provide insight into where students stand. Schools or school boards do not have to fear being held accountable for any lower results. The education inspectorate listens to the story behind the figures. "We will look at it differently, because corona makes the world look different."
This article appeared in the March issue of the Onderwijsblad. AObmembers automatically receive the magazine eleven times a year. Read more here about all the benefits of it AOb-membership.
