In the International Transition Class (ISK) in Hoogeveen, children from outside the Netherlands are prepared for regular education. But these children regularly miss classes.
“I’m sorry I’m not here often, but I hope you understand.” For Harma Graveland, teacher and location leader of the ISK, it is a sentence from the many conversations she has with her student. The boy who takes Graveland as an example has been dragged from azc to azc.
“In the first year he saw five asylum seekers centers. He is a smart boy, but the first year was lost because he barely went to school,” says Graveland. “He suffers from stress and he hardly sleeps.”
And he’s not the only one. Graveland sees that many students are tired, do not show up or oversleep. “Some students have a fear of commitment; they have to learn to trust a new teacher again and again. Even though they find it very difficult anyway due to traumatic experiences.”