Teacher shortage in VSO: 'five hours of physics in one day'
At the Piramide College in The Hague they are overjoyed: they have found a physics teacher, despite the teacher shortage. The teacher does live about an hour and a half's drive away, without traffic jams. Location director Loes Aarts: “We have scheduled it in such a way that he teaches on Mondays and Fridays. Pupils then receive physics for four or five consecutive hours. That is better than not being able to teach the profession anymore. "
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“We are very happy that we have found a physics teacher,” says Aarts. She is location director at a school for special secondary education (VSO) where there are about ninety students with a chronic illness or a physical disability. They follow a VMBO or HAVO training. “We are small, but we do offer many courses and profiles, partly because we are creative and inventive. Options are important to our students, they often have to give up so much because of their limitations. ”
Major shortage
The science subject physics is a shortcoming subject. Figures from research agency Centerdata show that it will be difficult for schools to find physics teachers in the coming years. The research bureau estimates the shortage in 2023 at 178 full-time jobs in the field of physics.
The teacher at the Piramide College started through a secondment agency. “We are lucky that he has a passion for VSO. Of course he could work anywhere, ”says Aarts. The travel time from his place of residence in the Betuwe is not short. “He usually leaves at XNUMX:XNUMX in the morning to be at our school on time. Then he is often the first, ”says the location director. The school has scheduled him in such a way that he is in The Hague for two whole days. “Pupils with a technical profile in VMBO-T and HAVO follow about four to five hours of physics lessons on those days. That is the consequence, but they are fine with it and are used to it. ”
We are lucky that he has a passion for vso. Of course he could work anywhere
Features
According to Aarts, it is important that the technical profiles remain available at the school. “It offers many opportunities to continue studying. We want to keep offering this. ”That requires some creativity. “Skype is a very good tool. He can participate via Skype for meetings during the week. Pupils can also email or Skype him on the days he is not there. ”
Schools in VSO, just like in primary education, suffer from a teacher shortage. They rang several times already the alarm clock. Aarts: “But often you don't see it in VSO because we solve everything. Where other schools might cut a subject, we come up with a solution. Colleagues who are actually ill also continue to walk. We keep the courses on offer with inventiveness. ”
