Reset class holds troublemakers at school
Expensive homework assistance outside of school? Not for the Penta College Hoogvliet in Rotterdam. Potential dropouts are placed in a special 'reset class'. That works. The number of early school leavers fell from nine to zero.
Image: Rob Niemantsverdriet
Krishan (12), a first-year student at secondary school, is questioned by a student intern. In a whisper, so that it doesn't disturb the rest.
"Jewellery?" - 'Jewellery.'
"Window?" - 'Window.'
Behind him is Sofie (13), a second year student. She leans her head a little deeper towards her book, hoping to understand a math problem better. In the meantime, Charity (13) and her teacher go through the planning for the coming week. “Miss, two tests in one day is too much. Can we move something? ”
Welcome to the reset class in perhaps the smallest classroom of Penta College Hoogvliet: the place where six to eight students who are at risk of dropping out are taken care of every month. “It is not a punishment camp, but a big fat warning,” says Reinier Mourik, director of the Rotterdam VMBO / MAVO school. “So that the student knows: something has to change. In my grades, but also in my behavior.” So a real 'reset'.
"It is not a punishment camp, but a big fat warning," says Reinier Mourik, director of the Rotterdam VMBO / MAVO school
The school started it seven years ago, as an experiment. “We saw how the unruly children who had to leave our school disappeared from the radar,” says Mourik. “Early school-leavers actually have to go to an interim relief facility in Rotterdam-South, but then they got off at Zuidplein metro station. To hang. They never arrived at the shelter. ”
A number of house rules of the reset class. (Image: Rob Niemantsverdriet).
Disadvantaged
Sad, thought Mourik and his colleagues. The district where the school is located is struggling with high youth unemployment and a high addiction rate, at Penta Hoogvliet many children come from underprivileged families. Mourik: “They really cannot afford expensive extracurricular tutoring. If such a student does not make it at school, it is already very tired. But also ending up between shore and ship… You don't want anyone to do that. And it costs a lot of money. ”
So the team came to the table. Whether they could not do something themselves, to keep children who are in danger of derailing within the school, but to get them out of the classroom. Because: if the situation is unsustainable, the student, the class and the teacher need rest. "Think of it as a breather."
The start of the reset class was financed with a one-off municipal subsidy of three hundred thousand euros, for a structural solution. The management made an FTE available so that a person could be assigned to that class full-time and provided a suitable room and a plan.
Think of it as a breather
If there are problem pupils who are struggling with a mega-delay or behavioral problems and should actually leave school, the team discusses whether they are a reset candidate. If so, an individual trajectory will start. One mainly receives tutoring, the other homework assistance. Four weeks, and sometimes more, full-time in room 4.37, from the first to the sixth hour. All overdue work - tests, reports, homework - is made up. Iron discipline is expected. In week five, the student often goes back to their own class for 2,5 days, in week six it is the intention that the child leaves the reset class completely. However, involved teachers will continue to monitor and evaluate.
Crouchy
Miss Nicole Smeehuijzen (54) pink reading glasses, blond hair, strict yet sweet look, is the face of the reset class. She gives the students intensive guidance. "Cuddly here, isn't it," she says. There are six tables and a large table in the middle. A reindeer cuddly toy adorns the cupboard, posters hang from the notice board. In the corner are two computers with headphones, and colored bins with the names of the students hang on the wall. Do not arrive in reset class with excuses such as 'I don't have my book with me': each child keeps all their school supplies in their own bin. "That is also clear for them."
Potential dropouts end up in the special reset class at Panta Rhei College. (Image: Rob Niemantsverdriet).
Differentiation 2.0, Smeehuijzen calls the way of teaching in the reset class. Everyone is engaged in a different profession, at a different level. The rules are the same for everyone: three warnings means reporting. The rules hang on the wall. "Throw it in the trash can with the same ease." And: "Cancer, you don't wish that on anyone."
They are difficult students, Smeehuijzen admits. There are many with learning and behavioral problems. “That's why the reset isn't just about doing tests and homework. We also want them to see what behavior they display. ” This is done through conversations with a pedagogical employee and role play. Smeehuijzen, grinning with satisfaction: “I may play the pupil, the child plays the teacher. In the beginning they say: 'No, I don't find your behavior annoying', at the end they realize that they have to change. ”
Therefore, the reset is not just tests and homework. We also want to make them understand what kind of behavior they display
Freshman Krishan does have the feeling that he is “going to be a little bit different”. He has to pass twenty tests in reset class. “I didn't go to school very often,” he says. For a moment he is silent. Then: "Okay, I was hardly ever there." The reset class is nice for him. “It's quiet, sometimes boring, but you can really learn, like today for my English test. I plan it myself and then I learn in advance. And when you're out, you've finished all your homework. chill. ” Smeehuijzen: “That also takes the pressure off such a family. Parents are often at a loss as well, there is always a fight about school, homework. ” The home situations are often harrowing. "We recently had a child whose father was out of the picture and mother was arrested because of a cannabis plantation in the attic."
Clean slate
All students know: ending up in reset class is not good. “Then you did quite a job,” says Sofie, a sophomore, who in her own class “talked and laughed way too much”. “But when I heard from my mentor that I had to go to the reset, I realized that it was not a punishment. More of a blank slate. I can show better here what I can do. And once you understand what you can do, you will also do your best. ”
All students know: ending up in reset class is not good
Partly due to the reset class, the school managed to reduce the number of early school leavers to zero. This is how the school earned the designation 'excellent' at the beginning of this year. Mourik has to smile again when he hears the word. "We show that it works." There is a price tag attached. Because every year that free FTE for Smeehuijzen and all that extra guidance during and after the reset class: that costs something. So the management has to look for student interns every year (because they are cheap) and look for subsidies. “Until now I have always managed to find a pot from the municipality,” says Mourik. “It feels like a struggle, but I think it's worth it. We create calmer waters in that room. ”
Krishan notices. He has already learned two pages from his book in half an hour. Doesn't work at home. And certainly not in class. He flops back into his chair, opens his book. He will take his test two hours later. He scores a big fat sufficient.
