By Bram Baptist

Well, what was it like for a school year? I could perhaps describe it as the Swiss Alps. A school year with strong peaks and valleys, with sometimes icy moments. Unlike a mountain range, we had to move with developments, be flexible, as it is called.

I am a history teacher at a secondary school in the Netherlands. We started hopeful after the summer vacation. With about thirty students in a classroom, it was very cozy. Little seemed to be going on. As usual, I tried to learn all the names as quickly as possible, was on top of the school rules and passionately explained history. The grades were not bad and everyone was happy.

Everything is closing

After the fall break, the number of infections increased and occasionally a class was sent home with a positive test result. No problem, I flipped open my laptop and went digital. A single student turned on his camera; the rest remained dark. After a brief explanation, I set them to work. I had no idea if they were making the assignments, but you try something.

In mid-December, everything suddenly shut down. The number of infections ran rampant and problems arose in the ICUs. All classes went online and even after the Christmas break things continued to struggle. A number of tests were taken via ZOOM by PE teachers and I came up with all kinds of ways to activate the students with ICT tools. For weeks I spoke to a screen, but was I reaching them? Were they doing well?

TV screens in the gymnasium

Fortunately, the exam students were allowed to attend school. They were taught in the gymnasium 1.5 meters away. Large Tv screens on wheels projected my PowerPoints. It made me feel good that my havo 5 classes were in school. You could "really" talk to them and the jokes I made were sometimes met with laughter. I also had serious conversations with students who were very worried about final exams. Or very sad conversations about a grandpa or grandma who had not survived Corona. Quite a few of my students' grandfathers and grandmothers died.

The other classes got all the lessons online. I usually ran from the gymnasium to a classroom with my laptop in hand in order to start the online class as soon as possible. It didn't help much, because I already had several messages saying, "sir, can you admit me?"

Corona turns me off

So for several weeks I flew around the school with a laptop. I quickly learned to switch between a normal lesson in the gym and an online lesson. Then came havo 5 test week and shortly thereafter I got Corona. I knew that moment would come one day. Many colleagues had gone before me. I had taken hundreds of test papers with students' answers the week before. Could the virus have reached me this way? No idea. Nor does it matter. I got quite sick and my classes all dropped out. I could barely open my laptop.

After a week, I was back in the gym, trembling on my legs with fatigue. My sense of smell had disappeared and I was incredibly tired. Resting was not an option, my classes were heading toward the exam. Just keep going and ram that fatigue out, I thought.

Sadness and loneliness

Things were not going well with my online students. They became totally demotivated and felt lonely and unhappy. We brought the most vulnerable into school. At one point we had half classes at school with students who couldn't cope. We had "real" contact with each other and often talked not about the lessons, but about how they were doing. These students were incredibly eager to go to school. Sometimes they would come in cheering, others would burst into tears because they couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't trained for this and I said the things that came to mind to help them. Maybe it helped. It was a tough time for all of us.

Points of Light

Fortunately, schools reopened in June and the classrooms filled up again. I enjoyed the atmosphere, the contact with the students and the friendliness in my classroom. Usually my students didn't do homework or have books with them. What were they actually doing at school? I didn't mind very much and was already happy they were there.

In my mentor class, everyone graduated. A huge accomplishment! Now it is summer vacation. We are stumbling toward the finish line. Glad we made it!