We got used to working from home, doing groceries once a week and having daily ZOOM meetings. But what about the youngsters? The “one-and-a-half-meter society” will define the adulthood of today’s teens.
Besides the sightseeing and food, there is one more thing that makes me love the Netherlands even more: you are encouraged to think about your future and share your ideas by participating in a national brainstorming activity.
“The coronavirus is turning our country upside-down, and your life as well. It is very important that you also participate and think about what our country should look like in the near future. It’s about your future,” said Mark Rutte earlier this week.
“So I challenge you: Are you between 12 and 18 years old and have you found a way to deal with the one and a half meter society? For example, about how to keep our distance from each other and still learn, play sports and party with each other?”
Here are some thoughts that I would reflect upon if I were in the age group Rutte mentioned:
Learning
How can teens still collaborate in a classroom? Adaptive learning software? Smart apps? A blended approach? How much technology should be involved? How can the ‘human’ art of teaching can be preserved?
We can investigate not only differentiated content but also just-in-time, just-enough and just-for-me learning resources. What about assessments? Homework practices and assessments can be designed by the students themselves, with proper academic criteria guidance from the teachers.
It’s a very good period of seriously analyzing what should be kept, what not and what can be improved in terms of teaching and learning. Nobody can know for sure what the best approach can look like. By creating experiments and exploring out-of-the-box solutions (by the way, there is no box!) we could reinvent the learning process for each one of the three educational paths a student can choose for secondary school (VMBO, HAVO or VWO).
Sports
The Dutch people are born with a love for sports. Football, tennis, golf, gymnastics, swimming, volleyball and ice-skating are some of the most popular sports in the Netherlands. You can’t take that away from the youngsters, but you need to handle them with care.
How can training schedules be worked out best for different age groups? Coaches can split teens into groups of 10 max and provide a bigger space for and between them. Some can play outside, some inside and they can rotate.
Inline skating has become more appealing to many teenagers since Corona, but the Friday Night Skate event is still banned. Should individual sports be made more attractive? What sports can be made up? What about group dancing? How will new choreography look? Young people are often more creative than adults.
Party
Most party locations will probably have several areas with a limited number of teens. Birthday parties with only 10 friends can still be fun: think about dividing an immense trampoline into personal spaces or party-bikes with fewer seats. The difficulty arises when thinking about dancing and eating, but activities like ping-pong and Wii can still be taken into consideration.
Create your own future
Ask your sisters, brothers, nieces and nephews how they like their future to look like. Anyone between 12 and 18 years old can send their message until Wednesday, May 27 at noon on the Instagram post above, and the selected initiatives will be responded to by end of May.
What ideas would you suggest for the future of the Netherlands? Tell us in the comments below!
Feature Image: Vadim Fomenok/Unsplash