23. 1. creative thinking is thinking in a curve, away from our patterns. I’ll take you through some patterns witch are school
related and it’s up to you if they are efficient or not.
2. But people are pattern thinkers. Just a test about patterns. I used to be a gate keeper, and I allowed people to enter after
they said the right answer: I said 12 then they answered with 6; by 8 the answer is 4, and 6 … 3. Following this “pattern”
10 results in a 4 and that’s the correct password. After the presentations you can tell me the pattern or I’ll give it away.
3. School don’t have a visual hallmark on the outside. My most precious possessions are at a school, just by trust. I’ll have to
read the inspection to know anything about the quality. But when I take my car to the garage there’s a hallmark sign,
‘BOVAG’ that stands for a certain quality, even a restaurant has a star or at least a menu on the outside witch shows what
they serve.
4. The Dutch education is not in top 5 PISA ranking anymore, and the plans of minister MarjaBijsterveldt tells us to focus
more on Dutch, English and Maths. Notable is that Math is build on axioms witch are just made up by somebody, and up
till now it seems to work well.
5. We are all born creative, but a soon as we start school, we eliminate it somehow. And a the end of our school career
when we start working, creativity is an increasingly wanted competence.
6. Al the changes and innovations through the years didn’t change much in the classrooms. The outside of schools changed
more. For the next ‘cange’ I would say: BOHICA, bend over here it comes again. Just ask teachers what they want, they
are the professionals.
7. At school we are focused on mistakes: a red pencil highlights our mistakes, and the reaction by showing your school
report to your parents could be: a nice list, but what are going to about the “5”? Focussing on possibilities and desires
witch are in majority would be a nice new pattern.
8. Before somebody can start with his work, there are a lot of decision makers who all have to give a GO. Here is only 1 man
working, the men around are just overflowing. This overflow can also been seen by children who have an original
behaviour, their cases has to pass several desks before he or she is at the right spot.
9. To get more insight into the why of behaviour it could be an idea the get an old pattern back and start house visits again.
Like on National Geographic we watch the behaviour in natural environment. This effort will pay itself back and safe a lot
of 10 minutes talks, and then we know why she not there, because she is cutting the ribbons.
10. young adults need 9 hours of sleep and a lot of food, it seems that they have shortages of both. So they sit tired in school
and around 11 o’clock the internal hunger hunt starts. So around that time they are mental absence and their mind is
emigrated to the candy bar machine in the canteen.
24. 11. We’ll ask them to make a planning for tomorrow and that seems fine. But for the long term planning they need a
developed prefrontal cortex. So, knowing this, we still ask them to make choices for their future.
12. Like Perkamentus from the Harry Potter movies used to say: It’s not the talent you have, but the choices you make, that
makes you what you are. A student at vmbo has to choose 3 times in 4 years time for his future.
13. it’s a small step from Perkamentus to grandparents: A new pattern and trend will be grandparents. Mom and dad work all
day and grandparents take over some parenting tasks. They have plenty time, they are educated and skilled , so they can
completely focus their mind on school issues, and special when it concerns their grandchild.
14. On the primary schools we see a lot of parents participate. The give a helping hand a handy crafts, they take care of
transportation by field trips or they are supervising during playtime. For some unknown reason they disappear on
secondary school! Maybe it’s because their children feel ashamed. But it would be very useful if they supervise during
test, so the expensive teachers can do what they are good at: teaching!
15. Besides learning, a lot of other activities take place in the classroom and of course you have to draw the line. But ‘passing
on notes’ can be an integral part if you asked the kids to write smart questions on it and pass it on to their fellow student,
concerning the subject that is been taught.
16. Outside the classroom and school, the students are completely into the new media. They have 10 conversations with 100
friends, communicate on platforms, the learn by gaming and are used to feedback: “Game over, You’re dead,” and their
cellular phone tells them they missed 5 calls ( a pity isn’t it). Schools are linear organized: you have vmbo-havo-vwo: 50
minute lessons and the classroom are mostly rectangular.
17. I think we all have the same goal for kids: preparing them for the future. But all schools have a different mission and they
are all doing the same things, they all invent the same round wheel. Working more together could be an option.
Especially when the number of pupils falls Zuid-Limburg.
18. At schools we see the ‘Article 5’ pattern: teachers know how to correct a student, but outside the classroom they find it
difficult to approach a colleague and confront him with his undesirable behaviour.
19. Al these patterns are there and its fruit that is easy to reach. There is one pattern that is very reliable and you can feel it.
That is you heart.
20. Only Jezus was able to walk on water, but if you follow your heart and add some courage to it you will succeed. Like
Mohamed Ali said: Impossible I am Possible. Thank you for your attention.