Few young people want to become teachers. And if they are honest, Fontys students Lieke Rouws and Jente de Langen understand that. After so many years, when you finally finish school, you go back to work. And it doesn’t pay that great either. But it is National Education Week and they are both passionate ambassadors of their dream profession: “Most young people want to earn as much money as possible with as little effort as possible, we don’t.”
Lieke (18) is a teacher at Fontys in Tilburg: “I’ve always enjoyed working with children. In my profession I want to feel like I’m adding something. As a teacher you see children grow in your class. You can help them in their development. Mathematics and language, but also on a personal level.”
While Lieke tells this, Jente de Langen (21) is nodding. She is being trained as a biology teacher at Fontys. Being a teacher is in her blood: “My mother is in education and so is my grandmother. It’s just ingrained.”
“I knew: I will be happy if I do this.”
Nevertheless, after her pre-university education, Jente first went to study psychology. To switch to the biology teacher training after a year: “In my first year I immediately went on an internship. A fire was lit, it gave me so much energy. This is it, I was sure: I will be happy if I do this.”
Their training, together with Avans, the other major teacher educator in Brabant, and the trade union CNV do a lot to get young people enthusiastic and to keep them enthusiastic about education. As early as secondary school, students can do a project: ‘Teacher Wanted’.
It was this project that set Lieke on the right track. But she actually did it to find out if college was right for her. “It was not my intention to become a teacher. But then I learned what qualities and qualities I have. And they fit very well with a teacher. When I was allowed to join a primary school for a few days, I realized that this is what I want.”
Even though Lieke and Jente are the ideal ambassadors for their profession, the candidate teachers are certainly not lined up in front of the door: “It is still decreasing”, says Jente. “Last year in my old high school I tried to persuade people. But they all want to get the most out of themselves. Many young people think they can earn more money elsewhere.”
“Nine out of ten teachers are not nice.”
The teacher clearly has an image problem, Lieke knows: “Nine times out of ten, if you’re at school, the teachers are not nice. ‘I don’t want to be like that’, you think.”
However, there are some bright spots: “Part-time training is becoming more popular”, says Jente. “It will be the age difference. When you’re more mature, you find it more important to be meaningful. You don’t have that when you’re 17 or 18.”
Of the thousand students who start teacher training, half drop out in the first year. And of the graduated teachers, half also die in the first years. Lieke: “I used to hear people say at school: if you can’t do anything, you can always become a teacher. But that’s bullshit. It’s really not for everyone.” Jente: “Teaching is not a profession, it is a way of life.”