In total I was…
”35 years in front of the class. I started in a regular primary school with groups 3 and 4. After ten years I became a mother and stopped to take care of my children. When I helped at their school and saw the toddlers pass by, my heart opened and I asked if I could come and do an internship. That was the beginning of 25 years of being a kindergarten teacher.”
Last year I went…
“Retired. As soon as the summer was over and it got quiet, it started to itch again. I signed up as a substitute and within half an hour I was called. Due to corona and the staff shortage, I have worked a lot in the past year.”
Being a teacher is like this…
“Much easier. When the children leave at 1 o’clock, I clean up and go home whistling. Because I don’t have to meet, I don’t have parent meetings, I don’t have to do student administration. Since the start of my career, I have seen more and more work being created by the government. Every detail about every child has to be kept up to date: how does it play, how does it talk… You sometimes feel more like an administrative assistant than a teacher.”
That classes are so big…
“Means that children have less space. To make it clear to the management that 28 children per class is really the limit, I once measured all the cupboards and tables in my classroom and deducted that space from the total surface. It turned out that there was not even a square meter of play space per child…”
Because parents are working more and more…
“Children go to after-school care and do not come home at noon. Less contact and a less clear upbringing has repercussions: children become busier, more assertive and uninhibited. They are given fewer boundaries, but they are necessary to make every child in the class feel safe. So as a teacher you have to tighten the reins. Then such a child does not like school and I have done it with the parents.”
I have special situations…
“Definitely experienced. From parents who went to the board behind my back and suddenly picked up their child from school, to children who are not yet toilet trained. In a class with 28 children, the teacher really doesn’t have time for that. Once upon a time there was a toddler with Down who wanted the parents to go to a regular school. It was harrowing; I saw a lonely child who didn’t come along. What I miss most since my retirement are the children themselves. Toddlers are open and uninhibited, the wonder in their eyes is heartwarming. That is the best thing about this profession.”
More WOMAN
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