How Dutch schools reopened with no pupil distancing (Linda van Druijten)
Linda van Druijten leads De Boomhut and OBS De Klaproos, a primary school and special educational needs school in Arnhem, Netherlands. This article appeared May 22, 2020 in TES, a British digital education company serving teachers and schools
On the first day, we had bubbles. Delicate, transparent bubbles floating across the playground.
Before we had opened, our 432 primary school pupils, our 152 pupils with special educational needs, our parents and all our staff had fears. But we spoke openly about these fears. We spoke as a community about how we would tackle these fears. And as a staff, we came up with creative ideas. Like bubbles.
School would be a very different place when the children returned – for a start, all pupils had to be dropped at the school gate. So, on day one, we brought out a bubble machine. Rather than being upset, or concentrating on the unusual nature of the school, the children looked up, were captivated, and wandered into school without an issue.
If I have one tip from the opening of Dutch schools for my English colleagues, it is: get yourself a bubble machine!
Dutch school reopening
Schools have been “open” here in the Netherlands since 11 May. We are allowed half groups – our classes have between 28 and 32 pupils, so on a given day we can have groups of 15 children in each class.
Unlike in the UK, the Dutch government told us that the children do not have to CONTINUE READING: How Dutch schools reopened with no pupil distancing (Linda van Druijten) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
