Dag 7 (12 feb): Bezoek aan De Passie

After getting up early to be there on time, I reached a school called ‘De Passie’. This is an evangelic school, so the people who work and study there have chosen to believe in a positive way.

What I’ll remember most of this day was the opening of the day by the teachers. I had heard of openings at school (we don’t do this in a regular Belgian school) and I thought the pupils participated but this wasn’t the case.
What does an opening looks like at De Passie?
The teachers all come together in a room with a piano, here they sing, pray and thank God for this day, for the birth of the son of a colleague, to help the pupils, etc. It really dazzled me what kind of power the teachers got from this opening. You could really see them getting ready for school, for a day of teaching. I just convince myself I prepared all I could and if something goes otherwise, I just have to deal with it. That’s my way of collecting courage for a day of school. These teachers count on God to help them and they believe that He stands by them throughout the day and throughout their lives. I respect this way of thinking but for a catholic like me, it’s not the same. Especially for a catholic like me, because I hardly ever go to church.

The rest of the day I participated in some lessons. I observed the teachers and the pupils. I came to a few conclusions:
• In the Netherlands the pupils are the same as in Belgium, although they have more freedom. The pupils of every year (except the brugklas) are allowed to leave school property when they have a free period (e.g. when a teacher’s ill) or during breaks.
• In this school teachers most of the time use the OLG (onderwijsleergesprek) to teach the children. This is also often used in Belgium. It’s a good combination of activity of the pupils and of the teacher. For language learning it’s also ideal because the pupils can work on their speaking skills.
• Another difference with Belgium is that the periods here last 45 minutes instead of 50 minutes. The first period only takes 15 minutes and is called ‘mentorkwartier’. Because a lot of pupils have to travel far to reach the school, they have the opportunity to miss these 15 minutes, although the school doesn’t urge them to make use of this possibility.
• Just like in every country, not every teacher has a full and good control over the pupils.
• A thing that almost startled me, was that in English and French lessons, Dutch is very much used. In Belgium we always try to avoid this. The teachers here use it quite often, even in situations this isn’t really necessary.
• The classes are really big: I saw classes from 28 to 32 pupils. In my country we think a class of 24 is too crowded. Because of this number I can understand the teachers who speak Dutch in English and French lessons.
• The school rules are developed with an eye on the pupils’ safety. The neighbourhood where the school is residing at, isn’t really safe. Some pupils have already been attacked and stolen from.
These rules are:
o Every pupil (except when you’re in the first year) can leave the school during breaks or free periods.
o A mobile phone is taken from you one day.
o A MP3 player is taken from you a week.
o Chewing gum and crisps are forbidden in every part of the school.
o When you’re too late, you have to report this.
o Pupils have chosen for the Faith in a positive way.
These are the most important rules.
• The school has got a few beamers and computers (which is in most cases more than in Belgian schools), in every classroom there is a white board and the pupils all have the necessary books.

I found ‘De Passie’ and the people who work and study very friendly and helpful. Especially Letty, who has put my programme together (which she did for the first time and she did a good job at it!) disserves a lot of credits!
This was a very interesting and instructive day.