Everyone at Eindhoven’s Frits Philips Lyceum is looking forward to the school’s students’ return.
Rob Schuurmans, Frits Philips Lyceum’s principle, is delighted. “We know very little as yet, but we know we can open next week.” But, a mere week before this is to happen, it’s yet clear how this will be done.
“Under what conditions and with what rules, we’ll only hear later this week.” The school governing boards association will elaborate on this today. “Only then will we really know where we stand.”
Dutch teacher Loes Verberne is also relieved. She jokes that she can still remember what her students look like. “I could at least catch a glimpse of them through my computer screen. But now that I am going to see and them again.”
‘You can’t replace in-person education’
“And be able to talk to my students face-to-face. I’m really looking forward to it. You can’t replace in-person education. You can teach a lot online. But it’s not the same as having a group of students in front of you. That’s what I’m eagerly anticipating.”
According to Schuurmans, his school has the additional benefit of having a modern building. “The airconditioning is top-notch. We have seven larger classrooms and rooms. So, we can accommodate entire classes, even taking the 1.5m distance rule into account. That helps.”
The importance of in-person education and social interaction has been a topic of discussion for some time, also at Frits Philips, as it’s known locally. “It’s precisely for this reason that we want to be as open as possible.” However, schools still aren’t free of cursed online education.
That still concerns Loes. “The kids at home can follow classes. But they miss all the classroom interaction. That’s where all kinds of disengagement happens. It’ll be quite a task to keep everyone up to date with online lessons.”
Source: Studio040
Translator: Bob
Editor: Melinda Walraven
