Founder Zaanse Summer School stops: ‘Would have liked to continue’

1. Why did you start the Zaanse Summer School?

“They came from Zaan Primary with the question: ‘A summer school has to be set up. It still has to be completely designed. It has to be academic, but also creative. We thought you would be the right person for it.’ I immediately thought that was a great job and I grabbed it with both hands.”

Why are you so eager to teach the children in the summer?
“My motivation is to give the children a good time during the summer holidays and to let them experience and experience something. I came from a very ordinary family, but we always went on holiday and always experienced something. Building a campfire with my father, going on a scavenger hunt through the woods with my mother at night.You experienced something that you look back on fondly.The longer it has been, the more fun it was.

The idea that there are children who hang around the house all holiday and experience nothing, I find very sad. That is why I strive to let children gain experiences.”

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What did that look like in the beginning?
“We started with groups of fourteen children. Immediately with two teachers. A teacher and a teaching assistant, the system we have now. I believe it was four weeks, but then teachers still had six weeks off and still stayed I was able to find more than enough people for that at the time, which was no problem at all.

We learned a lot in those four weeks. For example, that having children around you for four weeks makes you very tired, especially if you organize it our way. Reading, language and maths in the morning and workshops in the afternoon. You get tired of that yourself, but so do the children.”

2. What were your expectations in 2012?

“I expected that children would sign up en masse. That was not the case at all. I had teachers, but no students. I am a member of the Rotary Club, there you can discuss things about your work confidentially, and I have all kinds of tips about that. I took a few out of that, such as more announcements in the newspaper, a flyer and the classes along.

Originally I thought: an email to the teacher is sufficient. In the beginning, especially teachers had a certain resistance to the summer school. They thought it was pathetic that children had to go to school during the holidays. That was also somewhat common among parents, although they were immediately happy that there was something for their child during the holiday. Of course, that was not always the right idea, because it is not intended as a childcare facility. It was mainly fighting against the unknown.”

Now the summer school is very well known in the area. In recent years there have been more than 500 registrations. Due to the teacher shortage, not all children can get a place. How do you see that in the future?
“The signals are not yet favorable. Of course you don’t know what the future will bring, but I think we are now dealing with the teacher shortage and that it is the year after corona. Everyone had such a huge need to go on holiday I think those two things are at play now, but I fear that next year it will be very difficult to find teachers.”

“Since corona we have had 500 students, before that 250. For 250 students you need ten groups and 20 people. Last two years I had 40 people. Now I also needed 40 people, but I did not get further than 24. there was a considerable shortage and the registrations went very well.

So I stopped registering during the May holidays, when we were at 400 students. I thought, ‘Maybe I should disappoint 100 students and cancel’. Then my driver came up with the idea to Weekend Academy to hire. He wanted to try that.”

In 2020, teachers Jurriën and Gaby talked about the Zaanse Summer School. Text continues below the report.

3. What story of a student is most memorable to you?

“For years I had someone who had all her daughters at summer school. One of those girls knew that she was not that smart and that there was not much in it. But in the end she opted for pre-vocational secondary education. That mother was so delighted and said, “I think it’s because of the summer school, because that’s how she saw that learning can be fun too.”

It is hard to imagine that a child in primary school hates learning. In my view, you go through such a primary school naturally. But it’s not like that. If you have such a happy parent, then I’m happy. Or if you receive a message from a parent: ‘For the first time that my children go to school, they do not go to school crying.’ Then you think ‘how sad, because that means that they have not been going to school for years’.”

4. The groups are a bit bigger and the week is shorter, but what has been the biggest change in the past ten years?

“That we know how to reach the target group better and better. We like mixed groups, that works fine. Then they help each other. You don’t want a group that is like-minded.

We used to have children who hardly needed any help. We have paid a lot of attention to this in recent years. Of course we want the children who have really fallen behind. Unfortunately, a child’s social background often plays a role.”

5. Are you completely satisfied with the current form of summer school?

“Yes, I think I have gradually found the ideal shape. And I am convinced that improvements can still be made in various places. I also always try to be open to changes from outside. I that judo and boxing lessons became available for free and then I go straight for that.

Overall, the summer school is still the way we intended it to be, but every year you ask yourself: ‘Was this the best version or could it be better?’ In fact, you automatically get the thoughts or the insight ‘that part could be even better’. That’s what I focus on.”

6. Where do you hope Summer School will be in ten years, even if it is without you?

“I would have loved to see for myself whether I could have continued per year. In any case, I have the sense and energy for that. But I am not the summer school. The summer school is for the children. children can experience a fun, educational summer school. And if that can be guaranteed, then I am very happy. I am purely concerned with the children.”

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“I will miss it, but I must honestly say that looking for and finding teachers was quite a job. And I would just do that job again, but that is not always nice. If that is going to be the most important thing, what seemed a bit this year, then you have less and less time for the really important things. But this just has to be done, because without teachers you have no summer school.”

Has a successor been announced yet?
“No, the board is going to see how things will go next year. And who will be asked for that, that might be the Weekend Academy. That is still open.”

7. What if the summer school disappeared?

“I would consider that a great loss for the children. For most students it is just a good time, three weeks of summer school. I think it is a necessary facility. They have structure and very nice things happen to them.

In the beginning we still had the idea: then we would train them and catch up. But if a child is a weak student, he is still a weak student after summer school. But sometimes a different explanation, teacher or master ensures that a ball will fall. That makes me happy. We have a lot of time to explain it.”