Home since the lockdown
Almost every team has a number: teachers who belong to the risk group for corona or who have close relatives in that category. Thousands of teachers are at home as a result, some of them since the lockdown. "I miss the direct contact terribly."
Cor van Kuijeren (63) was last at rsg Slingerbos Levant in Zeewolde in mid-March. Quickly, via the concierge, to get a large shopping bag full of things from the abandoned school building. Since then, the history teacher has been working at home. Because of asthma, he is officially one of the risk group *The risk groups include people who have a higher risk of becoming seriously ill after being infected with the corona virus. This concerns people over XNUMX years of age and / or with one of the following conditions: chronic airway, lung or heart problems (under the supervision of a doctor), diabetes or kidney disease, reduced resistance to infections, severe liver disease and very serious obesity. See rivm.nl for further information. .
It was a colleague who pointed it out to him and asked why he didn't go home. “It's crazy, but you still think: That lesson is important or that one test still has to be done,” he says. “All unrealistic ideas to keep working at school. Because if I become ill, hospitalization is the result almost immediately. ”
Deadly
Especially in people with a reduced immune system, such as the chronically ill, covid-19 can lead to serious pneumonia, which can sometimes be fatal. Van Kuijeren is not the only teacher who has therefore been at home for more than six months. There are no exact figures on the number of teachers belonging to the risk group.
However, about 20 percent of the Dutch working population suffers from a high-risk chronic condition such as asthma, cardiovascular disease or diabetes. That would roughly mean that of the more than 250 thousand teachers in the Netherlands, no fewer than 50 thousand belong to the risk group. And there are also the teachers with a housemate who falls into the risk group.
On average, three teachers were missing from each school because they or their housemates belong to the risk group
That is why more than half of the primary schools started with an incomplete team before the summer, according to research by research agency Duo. On average, three teachers were missing from each school because they or their housemates belong to the risk group. An example is Miranda Reus (44), teacher at Jan Ligthart primary school in Appingedam.
Although she is at risk herself with diabetes, she mainly stayed at home because of her handicapped son Tygo. “If my husband and I get sick, who can take care of him? Tygo has poor eyesight, does not speak and is wheelchair dependent. His care is not something you can just add, ”she explains.
Elusive
She found the time at home quite difficult, and not only because of the combination of working from home and caring for her son. “I was also excited, because the disease seems so elusive. When someone rang the bell, I actually did not dare to answer. I also continuously followed the news, which drives me crazy. ”
When her son could go back to the daytime activities, she was able to 'make some progress'. “It was hard when my colleagues went to work and I didn't. But I am lucky that I had a good junior intern who occasionally involved me via the IWB. I also supervised students who also stayed at home. My three other colleagues who were at home because of corona did that too. ”
Always alert
In consultation with the company doctor, she started the new year at school again. “Wonderful, I missed teaching so much,” she says. “The situation is different from before the summer. The number of infections did not increase when colleagues returned to work. That reassured me. Moreover, the agreement is that we will not stay at school too long and I still have remote meetings. With the toddlers it is not always possible to keep a distance and when a child cries, I just comfort him. But I always remain alert to it. ”
From one AObsurvey among three thousand secondary school teachers shows that everyone has returned to work en masse this school year, risk group or not. This does not apply to Hilde Zwerver (45), teacher of people and society at the Morgencollege in Harderwijk. She has the autoimmune disease dermatomyositis, which causes inflammation of the muscles and skin and is therefore dependent on an electric wheelchair. She has been teaching with great pleasure for twenty years. “I enjoy teaching young people something. Moreover, in this way they automatically learn that people in wheelchairs are also ordinary people. ”
My world is now extremely limited and it sometimes feels very alone
It is the bond with the students that she misses the most, now that she has been working from home since the lockdown. The students follow her lesson through Teams in the classroom, while an assistant supervises. Every day the team starts with a scrummoment, where Zwerver is also present online. “Furthermore, there is a lot of contact via e-mail or via Teams, so that goes well,” she says.
“The fact that I am dependent on colleagues and have an exceptional position again is quite difficult for me,” continues Zwerver. “Moreover, I miss real contact terribly. For many students, I am a listening ear, which is not so good via the computer. I cannot imagine that this situation could continue for a whole year. My world is now very limited and it feels very alone at times. ”
Freedom
Lecturer Cor van Kuijeren also lacks personal contact. “The conversations with colleagues, having a cup of coffee together. I am attending meetings via the laptop, but such a connection is not optimal. I just keep them up, I sometimes think. I also find it very strenuous to teach and meet continuously via the computer. "
What helps is contact with a group of colleagues who are in the same situation as him. “It is very nice that we can exchange experiences and ideas,” he says. “For example, about how they design their online lessons, what they encounter or where do you draw the line in the number of hours per day at the computer? I actually hope that there will be some kind of national platform for fellow sufferers so that we don't all have to invent the same wheel. ”
The fact that I don't know how long this will last causes my motivation to drop
He finds the uncertainty about how the virus will develop in particular difficult. Even though the team leader is very understanding and the school takes measures such as an assistant in the classroom, the situation remains far from ideal. Van Kuijeren: “Real interaction with the students, such as giving a compliment or having a chat, is not possible. I am perfectly healthy and yet at home as if I am sick. The fact that I don't know how long this will take, causes my motivation to drop. I hope there will be a vaccine soon! ”
A vaccine is where all hope is placed. “That makes me dare to go out and interact with people,” says Hilde Zwerver. "A vaccine means freedom," adds Miranda Reus. “Then I can hug my family or finally visit friends I haven't seen for months. I'm really looking forward to that. ”
Read here more about the rights and duties of the teacher in corona time.
This article appeared in October's Education Magazine. The Education Magazine in your mail every month? Become member of the AOb!
