Sixty high schools, mostly from Amsterdam and Rotterdam, sent a fiery letter to the Cabinet about the forced school closure. “We are very concerned if the school continues to be closed after the holiday,” Yolande de Beer, director of the LMC Rotterdam school group, told the newspaper. Radio NOS 1 News.
The schools wrote in the letter that the ongoing change was “disastrous for youth development and education”. They lack structure in their lives and schools are the safe place where school is for many young people. “We are now seeing more and more students who have lost their way in one way or another.”
sad and indifferent
According to de Beer, schools face the consequences of closure on a daily basis. “If you’re now in middle school, you’ve actually only been to school occasionally for the last couple of years. You can see that by that they’re not actually very social. They don’t know very well how to act in a group, they’re not all familiar with school and there More accidents.”
High school students often struggle with depression and apathy, she says, and she wonders if they’ll be able to catch up. “The confidence has been lost and it makes them desperate,” says de Beer. “You can see that a lot.”
Few days a week
According to de Beer, teachers also became desperate. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to motivate students to continue working.”
She invites all children to go to school at least a few days a week. “Even if they’re only at school for a few days. Then stay a meter and a half apart. We can all arrange that. The schools are very creative.”
On Monday, the Cabinet will announce whether schools can open again after the longer Christmas holiday on January 10 or whether they will have to remain closed for a longer period.
