Mopping, cleaning the windows, cleaning the rabbit hutch; a heath for a job. In Schoonoord and the surrounding area, primary school children rolled up their sleeves to raise money. This is how they want to finance their own lessons.
The vacuum cleaners are making themselves heard in the already Christmassy houses in Schoonoord. “I really enjoy it. When it comes to money, I like cleaning,” says student Brent, laughing during a vacuuming break. “I’m doing it for the first time, it’s going well,” Stijn adds.
Heitje voor choreje only started this morning, but there was a lot of preparation beforehand. The children at school have already cleaned and scrubbed a lot of windows.
But why? The children will soon receive lessons about catering. This requires a lot of stirring in pans and also shopping. The money raised from the jobs may be used for this purpose.
Owner Frieda is only too happy with the boys doing handy work: “I am very happy with it, they also learn from it, I am critical.”
Student Kaylee has been working all morning raking leaves and that’s quite tough: “It’s quite tough sometimes, but I do this for the money,” she says resolutely. When she is done, she receives fifteen euros.
Teacher Jordy Tent tours Schoonoord and the surrounding area all day long to keep an eye on things. When he gets out of the van in front of one of the ‘job houses’, people are already waving at him exuberantly. “It’s really great that they learn a lot outside the classroom,” he says proudly.
Since 2021, Fiers’ practical class has been in place for children from groups 6 to 8 who have a development perspective for one or more learning paths, with a development delay of at least one year.
Children can work with lesson blocks such as healthcare, catering, self-reliance and technology. Two groups participate in the practical class: one on Wednesday at the Willem Alexanderschool in Dalerpeel, the other at the Slagkrooie in Schoonoord.