Double interview

A teacher can make a world of difference to students, for better and for worse. Mustapha Esadik and Sabine Oudt, both alumni and teachers, talk about their experiences in the classroom.

It’s great when you get through to them

I was a good student and never got in any trouble, Mustapha tells us when we meet at the Oude Hortus, even though I wasn’t that interested in school. I’m a classic multitasker and always used to do multiple things at the same time. If you can’t choose, you just do both studies and that fun project, right? he laughs. So, that kept me busy for a long time. But I finished everything and really enjoyed it.

The careers councillor at the MAVO (lower general secondary education) advised me not to do journalism. It’s a long slog and involved a weighted selection by lot; he didn’t think I had much of a hope. Luckily, I didn’t let his well-meaning advice put me off. I’m now active in a diversity working group at UU; it’s my job to help multitaskers.

When I was doing pre-university education (VWO), I felt like a water molecule in the sea,” Sabine responds. “I didn’t always have the feeling that teachers noticed me. Later, someone told me that some teachers still remembered me. That meant a lot to me: the inclusion had been there.

Mustapha: I learnt a lot from Jaap, a teacher of mine. He was one of my teachers at secondary school and at the teacher training college too. He taught me how important it is to show that you’re interested in students, that you really connect.

Sabine: That’s why I try to approach every student with kindness, friendliness and personal attention. My colleague Rob always knows how to find a positive angle. He’s an inspiring example, for me and the students too. We have a yearbook in which they say which teacher motivated them most, and Rob is at number 1.

Initially, I focused more on myself. Later, my focus shifted more to the class

Interest in the other person is paramount; no matter how different you are to each other, Mustapha responds. A sense of humour helps and makes it fun to talk to everyone. I’m a teacher who likes order and rules, but that only works if you have a good connection with students. If I ever have to have a word with students, they know: this is rule-related, it’s not personal. Then you can occasionally cut a student a little slack if he/she has issues at some point. The class sees that and accepts it. You have to gain their trust.

Sabine: Yes, that’s hard work sometimes. I once had a HAVO (senior general secondary education) 4 class that just wouldn’t listen. When things had got really bad, they all starting throwing paper planes at my head. I told myself it wasn’t personal because they didn’t know me. But I really didn’t know what to do. The most negative student in the group was clearly very intelligent. Another student called her stupid in class. I don’t like comments like that so immediately said that she was undoubtedly one of the school’s smartest students. This proved to be the turning point. My relationship with her improved and the rest of the class followed her lead. The atmosphere was so much better. And that girl had a 10 for maths on her final report card!

I had the same thing with a HAVO 4 group, Mustapha says. I was teaching Dutch to a very high-energy group; I just couldn’t get them to cooperate. After asking around, I learnt that they were disappointed with the school. Promises hadn’t been kept and the school trip had been cancelled. We started organising extra things together, like football and a hip-hop clinic. The atmosphere soon changed. Sometimes, there are issues in a group that are bigger than you. Focus on finding out what your students enjoy and need.” 

They may then surprise you. I had shared a tip to help them memorise 100 decimals of Pi, Sabine says. After two months, a quiet girl told me that she had already been able to memorise 50 of them. We agreed that I would reward her if she got to 100. You’ve guessed it, she did it and wrote Pi out on the board in front of the rest of the class. We were both so proud. “You showed me the beauty of maths,” she wrote in a letter later. It feels like I’m showing off, sharing this with you.

What on earth makes a teacher tell students they’ll never amount to anything?

Mustapha: No, not at all! It’s great when you manage to motivate students; we should definitely share the gratitude we get for interactions like that. The same applies for parents. I started calling them when their children were well, not just when there were problems. This shows that you’re taking the relationship seriously. You work with students and their parents.

Sabine: My mother wanted to discuss my decision to study maths with my teacher. “Are you sure?” the teacher asked. “You could do it, but it’s very boring”. It was clear that being a teacher wasn’t his passion, so I didn’t place too much weight on his opinion. I didn’t find it boring for a moment, but difficult? Yes.

← Previous article | Contents | Next article →