For a few years now, I have had the honor of interning at an international transition class (ISK).
An ISK is a special educational program designed to help young newcomers, usually between the ages of 12 and 18, integrate into the Dutch education system and society. These students have often recently arrived in the Netherlands and do not yet have enough knowledge of the Dutch language to keep up in regular education. The primary goal of the ISK is to offer intensive language instruction, so that students learn to speak, read, and write Dutch as quickly as possible.
Lesson about the city of Zoetermeer
This year, during my internship, I developed and taught a lesson for the first time on “Zoetermeer the City.” To say I found this exciting would be an understatement.
It was an interactive lesson, supported by a PowerPoint presentation with Mentimeter integration. We spoke extensively about the themes of housing, education, nature, local politics, and the future. After each theme, I asked the students an interactive question. To my great joy, the students participated enthusiastically for the full hour and a half. They shared valuable insights and opinions about the city in which they live.
It was special to see how passionate the students were about a city that is often labeled as boring by young people. The lesson was so well received that my study supervisor and mentor let me know there was room to turn this into a lesson series. No sooner said than done.
Guest Lesson about local democracy
A few weeks before the lesson, I spoke with a council member and asked if it would be possible for the International Transition Class to visit the city council. She thought it was a great idea and gave me the contact details of the council communications advisor. To my delight, it turned out not only to be possible to visit the council room, but the council member also offered to give a guest lesson herself!
The guest lesson was provided by Zoetermeer council member and former Member of Parliament Margot Kraneveldt. The lesson was about the workings of local democracy and the role of the mayor in Dutch municipalities. The students were also presented with interesting and fun dilemmas to discuss. This concerned dilemmas such as the need for preventive searches and reducing parking spaces to make room for housing. The class did not hesitate to express their opinions and even entered into debate with one another. It was amazing to see!
This process was very new and special to me. I learned an incredible amount about teaching, communication, planning, and organizing. Below are some links regarding the guest lesson:
My LinkedIn Post (Dutch)
Article in the Zoetermeers Dagblad (Dutch)
Nieuws van de Raad Gastles Internationale Schakelklas ONC (Dutch)