[Music]
good afternoon thank you for having me
and this must be the most strangest
classroom I ever worked in but it will
do first I’m going to tell you a story
about my son’s best friend her name is
shima she she stopped attending school
at the age of 19 and in Holland as we
all know that’s quite young after
getting a degree at 16 she went to a few
different kind of schools but school was
just such a struggle for her that after
a long period of thinking and feeling
what was best for her she just stopped
we didn’t talk about it very much but I
think I’m the only one who said to her
it was the best decision she made in her
life it was a hard but powerful decision
in fact she gave the school system a big
you after a few years of trying and
that’s what I want to do sometimes so
today I will take this moment to say out
loud what has broken my heart and has
wrecked my brains for years now and I’m
sure some of you share my pain so I
stand here on your behalf today we’re
talking about how teachers can use the
darts DNA that sits in front of us in
our classrooms to the best well that’s
right about time in my opinion school is
the place where we are wasting our Dutch
DNA the most we are wasting it by not
seeing the potential in front of us and
by not recognizing the variety of
talents our youngsters bring to school I
like to talk about that we can use all
those talents instead of ignoring them
and how we can make sure that our
youngsters can become the best version
of themselves the most important reason
for Shaima to quit school was that she
just didn’t fit in she couldn’t be the
best version of herself and she didn’t
get what she needed to be able to
learn and a vibe at school didn’t give
her any inspiration at all to explore
have you been to school lately do you
know what kind of five you can mostly
find there well my students here they
surely all know our youngsters just sit
in lines of two with the books in front
of them and they’re very useful mobile
devices of the stuck away they look
grumpy because they’re bored
there they are putting boxes that don’t
fit aren’t invited to think themselves
can’t share their talents and can choose
the way they want to learn our
youngsters just sit there like in a
museum and as you know the things we put
in a museum are always treasures right
and that’s precisely what fuck’s my
brain the most their countless treasures
sitting in our classrooms and we aren’t
using them we just let them be unloved
and that’s why it looks a different
little different in my classroom I
simply ignore the system as much as I
can and I was here with you my three
most important secrets I am blessed with
a great talents the talent to connect
with youngsters and because of that I’m
a teacher I simply choose to use the
greatest gift I’ve got inside me or
infect my own dutch DNA every single day
because it makes me happy and besides of
that I just need a lot of space I just
need a lot of space to be the best
version of myself I need space to move
to reflect to think to be creative to be
funny to be serious to share my feelings
to make my own choices and to grow and
so to stay happy while working I provide
the most of the three things I just
mentioned are the secrets of my teaching
but a secret behind connecting armored
sneakers I walk around the classroom a
lot I walk around I walk around to
observe my students to feel what they
need and to ask questions to let them
know I’m interested in them for instance
I ask questions about their weekend job
or the new Nikes about her mum who’s
having another baby or their grandpa who
died just because he was old enough
about sacrificed or Diwali or the fact
that they look sleepy or happy or sad
there’s only one thing that makes me
even happier learning from my students
makes me even happier in the last 20
years I’ve learned all kind of things
I’ve learned all kind of things about
traditions family traditions and
traditions related to a religion I’ve
learned all kind of things about hobbies
like playing fortnight and FIFA and
chess and playing in church I’ve learned
to make an interesting video on
Instagram and I even learned how to
purchase very hard to get tickets for
Korean boyband
I love the conversations I have with
young athletes and artists they train
and practice every day to be the best
and I try to be the best in school as
well but you can imagine what sitting
still in a classroom does to them I’m so
blessed now at my school I can teach
some amazing athletes and every Monday I
get to teach it I ox it warms my heart
to see how hard those boys and girls
have to work to follow their talent for
sometimes they get distracted
and you must know the seismic classroom
there’s a training field where iyx aim
does their practice so every Monday in
the morning when I have my little boys
or 14 or 13 years old they always get
distracted
they just stands beside the window and
then what I explain do their practice
instead of doing their work I don’t call
them back to their seats I just stand
next to them and ask who’s that who’s
that because as you might know I’m from
Rotterdam unless Monday was a very long
day at ayats in my classroom I’ve
learned about all kind of different
situations at home about youngsters who
have to take care of the brothers and
sisters how they manage to get groceries
for the mum how they have to attend
classes besides high school to learn
Arabic or Chinese and do you know how
many youngsters have to work before
after school to have a little money to
spend in my classroom I’ve learned how
it feels to be different as a youngster
to be more silent or active smaller
taller more boys or garnish to be
insecure to be depressed or to have a
disorder like being deaf or having a leg
can you imagine what what Thresh’s all
those very special very different but
also normal youngsters have inside them
ready for use they feel in their gut
that they can use their darts DNA to
achieve goals live their dreams
explore their talents and learn to be
the best version of themselves
all they need to do so is space and by
that I mean all different kind of space
physical space to move around a little
the space how you want to learn the
space to be comfortable in classroom the
space to be part of your own learning
and that space or rather even freedom I
gave my students it gives them the time
to become the best version of themselves
and that to my humble opinion is the
most important thing at school even more
important than history geography French
or even the Dutch language so I think
it’s quite clear now that today is the
day that we have to stop wasting the
unlimited arts DNA that our youngsters
possess and we if we have to break down
the system to do that that’s fine by me
I think teachers could start by
connecting learning from their students
and providing them some space can you
imagine what the classrooms will look
like happy youngsters instead of boring
ones youngsters who are a part of their
own learning
youngsters who have an influence in the
way they can use her talents just happy
youngsters while learning I’ve worked in
education for 20 years now and I really
want to work in education for another 20
years
so hereby I ask you all to help me to
make it happen help me to change the way
we use the darts DNA that sits in front
of us that I can hit a treasurer help me
to change the environment at school that
gives us all space to be the best
version of ourselves teachers and
students I try to make it happen every
single day for 20 years now just by
doing it I choose not to be afraid and I
choose what’s best for me and for my
students and I dream that one day
somebody will give me the opportunity to
build such a school
when we make that happen I’m sure shame
I will beg goes to school tomorrow
because she loves to learn and she has a
lot of talent I would tell you now but
she does instead of going to school she
is a 20 year old shop manager of a
Levi’s store she is the manager of seven
employees all the talent she had inside
her as a treasurer was never found at
school but she managed to get it out
herself and showed it to the people at
Levi’s she followed her heart worked her
ass off and learned about doing her job
and became very good at it very quick
because otherwise she wouldn’t be shop
manager you can say now this is a happy
ending but this is precisely the story
that breaks my heart the most and I
think we all together can do this
differently just by just by not talking
about it anymore but just act upon it thank you thank you shame
good afternoon thank you for having me
and this must be the most strangest
classroom I ever worked in but it will
do first I’m going to tell you a story
about my son’s best friend her name is
shima she she stopped attending school
at the age of 19 and in Holland as we
all know that’s quite young after
getting a degree at 16 she went to a few
different kind of schools but school was
just such a struggle for her that after
a long period of thinking and feeling
what was best for her she just stopped
we didn’t talk about it very much but I
think I’m the only one who said to her
it was the best decision she made in her
life it was a hard but powerful decision
in fact she gave the school system a big
you after a few years of trying and
that’s what I want to do sometimes so
today I will take this moment to say out
loud what has broken my heart and has
wrecked my brains for years now and I’m
sure some of you share my pain so I
stand here on your behalf today we’re
talking about how teachers can use the
darts DNA that sits in front of us in
our classrooms to the best well that’s
right about time in my opinion school is
the place where we are wasting our Dutch
DNA the most we are wasting it by not
seeing the potential in front of us and
by not recognizing the variety of
talents our youngsters bring to school I
like to talk about that we can use all
those talents instead of ignoring them
and how we can make sure that our
youngsters can become the best version
of themselves the most important reason
for Shaima to quit school was that she
just didn’t fit in she couldn’t be the
best version of herself and she didn’t
get what she needed to be able to
learn and a vibe at school didn’t give
her any inspiration at all to explore
have you been to school lately do you
know what kind of five you can mostly
find there well my students here they
surely all know our youngsters just sit
in lines of two with the books in front
of them and they’re very useful mobile
devices of the stuck away they look
grumpy because they’re bored
there they are putting boxes that don’t
fit aren’t invited to think themselves
can’t share their talents and can choose
the way they want to learn our
youngsters just sit there like in a
museum and as you know the things we put
in a museum are always treasures right
and that’s precisely what fuck’s my
brain the most their countless treasures
sitting in our classrooms and we aren’t
using them we just let them be unloved
and that’s why it looks a different
little different in my classroom I
simply ignore the system as much as I
can and I was here with you my three
most important secrets I am blessed with
a great talents the talent to connect
with youngsters and because of that I’m
a teacher I simply choose to use the
greatest gift I’ve got inside me or
infect my own dutch DNA every single day
because it makes me happy and besides of
that I just need a lot of space I just
need a lot of space to be the best
version of myself I need space to move
to reflect to think to be creative to be
funny to be serious to share my feelings
to make my own choices and to grow and
so to stay happy while working I provide
the most of the three things I just
mentioned are the secrets of my teaching
but a secret behind connecting armored
sneakers I walk around the classroom a
lot I walk around I walk around to
observe my students to feel what they
need and to ask questions to let them
know I’m interested in them for instance
I ask questions about their weekend job
or the new Nikes about her mum who’s
having another baby or their grandpa who
died just because he was old enough
about sacrificed or Diwali or the fact
that they look sleepy or happy or sad
there’s only one thing that makes me
even happier learning from my students
makes me even happier in the last 20
years I’ve learned all kind of things
I’ve learned all kind of things about
traditions family traditions and
traditions related to a religion I’ve
learned all kind of things about hobbies
like playing fortnight and FIFA and
chess and playing in church I’ve learned
to make an interesting video on
Instagram and I even learned how to
purchase very hard to get tickets for
Korean boyband
I love the conversations I have with
young athletes and artists they train
and practice every day to be the best
and I try to be the best in school as
well but you can imagine what sitting
still in a classroom does to them I’m so
blessed now at my school I can teach
some amazing athletes and every Monday I
get to teach it I ox it warms my heart
to see how hard those boys and girls
have to work to follow their talent for
sometimes they get distracted
and you must know the seismic classroom
there’s a training field where iyx aim
does their practice so every Monday in
the morning when I have my little boys
or 14 or 13 years old they always get
distracted
they just stands beside the window and
then what I explain do their practice
instead of doing their work I don’t call
them back to their seats I just stand
next to them and ask who’s that who’s
that because as you might know I’m from
Rotterdam unless Monday was a very long
day at ayats in my classroom I’ve
learned about all kind of different
situations at home about youngsters who
have to take care of the brothers and
sisters how they manage to get groceries
for the mum how they have to attend
classes besides high school to learn
Arabic or Chinese and do you know how
many youngsters have to work before
after school to have a little money to
spend in my classroom I’ve learned how
it feels to be different as a youngster
to be more silent or active smaller
taller more boys or garnish to be
insecure to be depressed or to have a
disorder like being deaf or having a leg
can you imagine what what Thresh’s all
those very special very different but
also normal youngsters have inside them
ready for use they feel in their gut
that they can use their darts DNA to
achieve goals live their dreams
explore their talents and learn to be
the best version of themselves
all they need to do so is space and by
that I mean all different kind of space
physical space to move around a little
the space how you want to learn the
space to be comfortable in classroom the
space to be part of your own learning
and that space or rather even freedom I
gave my students it gives them the time
to become the best version of themselves
and that to my humble opinion is the
most important thing at school even more
important than history geography French
or even the Dutch language so I think
it’s quite clear now that today is the
day that we have to stop wasting the
unlimited arts DNA that our youngsters
possess and we if we have to break down
the system to do that that’s fine by me
I think teachers could start by
connecting learning from their students
and providing them some space can you
imagine what the classrooms will look
like happy youngsters instead of boring
ones youngsters who are a part of their
own learning
youngsters who have an influence in the
way they can use her talents just happy
youngsters while learning I’ve worked in
education for 20 years now and I really
want to work in education for another 20
years
so hereby I ask you all to help me to
make it happen help me to change the way
we use the darts DNA that sits in front
of us that I can hit a treasurer help me
to change the environment at school that
gives us all space to be the best
version of ourselves teachers and
students I try to make it happen every
single day for 20 years now just by
doing it I choose not to be afraid and I
choose what’s best for me and for my
students and I dream that one day
somebody will give me the opportunity to
build such a school
when we make that happen I’m sure shame
I will beg goes to school tomorrow
because she loves to learn and she has a
lot of talent I would tell you now but
she does instead of going to school she
is a 20 year old shop manager of a
Levi’s store she is the manager of seven
employees all the talent she had inside
her as a treasurer was never found at
school but she managed to get it out
herself and showed it to the people at
Levi’s she followed her heart worked her
ass off and learned about doing her job
and became very good at it very quick
because otherwise she wouldn’t be shop
manager you can say now this is a happy
ending but this is precisely the story
that breaks my heart the most and I
think we all together can do this
differently just by just by not talking
about it anymore but just act upon it thank you thank you shame
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