The dream - VVOB

or a long time, there had been a desire to do something about collecting ideas about pupiloriented
and child-friendly education in Suriname. The different players in the world of
education, the Ministry of Education and Community Development (MINOV), various NGOs,
UNICEF, VVOB, the Dutch Embassy and the IDB have all stressed the importance of a clear
orientation of education consistently taking the pupil and the learning process as the main
starting points. The search for concretization of the plans for innovations in education has led
to the educational project ‘I believe in you!’
In July 2007, MINOV, VVOB and UNICEF started a unique collaborative project. ‘The dream’
soon crystallized: to start a process by means of a broad dialogue in society; to give all those
involved the opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas about quality education. This book
is its result and it aims at making a positive contribution towards achieving pupil-oriented and
child-friendly education in Suriname. The DVD that accompanies it shows in great detail in the
documentary I believe in you! how, bit by bit, the book came into being.
The book is varied. It is colourful thanks to the contribution of talented young artists. It is
inspiring because of fifteen interviews with well-known Surinamese men and women. It invites
discussion because of the motivating stories told by people from all over the country about
their positive learning experiences and what they wish for education. It is instructive by offering
enriching knowledge and information about innovations in education.
The various chapters describe the entire world of education by means of a flower as the symbol
of growth and innovation. The heart of the flower, the pupil and his learning power, is the
starting point. From the centre we move outward to the teacher and the class, the school, the
parents and the community, the forces at play influencing the educational sector and ideas about
innovation. The book gives information about what is meant by pupil-oriented and child-friendly
education and why it is so important for the development of our human capital. Education is
something that concerns everybody and that is why it is vital to work together to continue to
shape high-quality education in Suriname.
The book is meant to be an incentive for individual teachers, head teachers, schools, teachers’
training colleges, advanced teachers’ training colleges, for the structured professionalization
of teachers, for policy-making officials and MINOV departments. It is hoped that the ideas
contained in this book will contribute towards combining the numerous positive initiatives taken
in education in Suriname. This framework may point the way in the future. The publication
constitutes the final result of this project, but the process of growth and innovation will no
doubt continue. It will expand and deepen. That is our dream.
I believe in you! is dreaming and daring, thinking, acting and especially persevering. It is not
only about beautiful words but also about vigorous action. If this intention continues to be the
basis for joint action and everyone shoulders his full responsibility, pupils may develop optimally.
Whether we are pupils, teachers, head teachers, parents or ministers, the genesis of this book
has shown that EVERYTHING is possible with the help of positive commitment.

I believe in you!
Pupil-oriented and child-friendly education
dreaming and daring, thinking, acting
Ministry of Education and
Community Development

This book is the result of a project carried out jointly by MINOV, VVOB and UNICEF in the period 2007-2009.
This product has been made possible financially by DGOS Belgium and UNICEF Suriname.
Ministry of Education and Community Development (MINOV)
Kafiluddistraat 117-123
Paramaribo, Suriname
The Flemish Organization for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance (VVOB)
PROGRamme for Effective Schools in Suriname (PROGRESS)
Handelsstraat 17 Commewijnestraat 41
B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Paramaribo, Suriname
The Children’s Fund of the United Nations (UNICEF)
Heerenstraat 17
Paramaribo, Suriname
Coordination and final editing
Contributors
Graphic design and layout
Printer
English translation
Text advisers (Dutch edition)
Text adviser (English edition)
Film (DVD)
Photography
Illustrations
Henry Ori, Liesbeth Roolvink, Loek Schoenmakers
This book came into being thanks to the strong commitment of a great many Surinamese
people
See Acknowledgements, which mentions all contributors.
Graphoset
Drukkerij Sintjoris, Ghent, Belgium
Nel Bakker
Jan Bongers, Effendi N. Ketwaru, Els Moor,
Ismene Krishnadath, Rappa, Marylin Simons (writers)
Sebastian Meaney
Norman Deekman (Sranan Video), Henna Draaibaar (The Backlot, In-depth Learning)
Loes Trustfull (MINOV Educational Radio Division, interviews and documentary)
Lucien H. Chin A Foeng
Steve Ammersingh, Pierre Bong A Jan, Daniel Djojoatmo, Sri Irodikromo, Kurt Nahar,
Monique Nouh-Chaia (Readytex adviser), Marcel Pinas, Sunil Puljhun, George Struikelblok,
Jhunry Udenhout, Michael Wong Loi Sing
ISBN 9789078083580
Original Dutch title
Ik geloof in jou!
Leerlinggericht en kindvriendelijk onderwijs: dromen en durven, denken, doen
First printed by Quick O Print, Paramaribo, Suriname 2009
©
2010 MINOV/VVOB/UNICEF
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of MINOV. In case
permission is granted for the use of the whole or part of the publication for commercial use, the source should be properly
acknowledged

CHAPTER
Foreword
Introduction
I BELIEVE IN YOU!
What matters is learning power
Learning … there is another way
Follow learning or follow pupils?
Learning … what is it about?
5
7
11
18
22
25
26
CHAPTER
IN THE CLASSROOM: THAT IS WHERE IT HAPPENS
The teacher and his learning power
Sensitivity to pupils
The powerful learning environment
Organize the classroom
The right approach
Balance of head, heart and hands
31
38
40
42
45
47
50
CHAPTER
A SCHOOL LEARNS TOO
The head teacher makes the difference
Equal opportunities for everybody
Continuous improvement is something you work at together
Quality, everybody’s responsibility
55
64
66
70
72
CHAPTER
TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG
Your home makes you learn
Parents being active in the school
Involve the neighbourhood
77
84
86
88
CHAPTER
THE FORCES AT PLAY: GROWING IS OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES
The forces at play: shaping education
91
98
CHAPTER
INNOVATION IS DREAMING AND DARING, THINKING, ACTING AND…PERSEVERING
Dreaming and daring
Thinking
Acting
Persevering: you are important
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
105
110
112
113
115
117
118
122

4
Mission
The Surinamese educational system contributes to preparing for and strengthening of the optimal
functioning of all citizens in society.
By doing so it makes a contribution towards:
• Personal development (social and emotional development, among other things) while paying
attention to elementary basic life skills;
• The future execution of one’s profession and one’s own economic independence;
• Optimal social responsibility, active involvement and participation in society;
in order to bring about a realistic, credible and positive future for each Surinamese citizen.
Philosophy
The Surinamese educational system is aimed at:
• Improving the quality of learning by always focusing attention on the learning process and
the pupil. This can best be done with a pupil-oriented and child-friendly approach. The
starting point is to keep stimulating the learning of each child, young person or adolescent,
on the basis of their own unique talents and possibilities;
• Forming creative, self-confident and critical citizens, who can think and act independently.
They are adequately prepared for an active and positive, critical participation in social life
and are able to acquire social independence;
• Achieving an optimal harmonious development of its pupils and students by improving
basic skills, learning achievements and strengthening social competencies. Attention is paid
equally to the various professional and educational areas in the curriculum;
• Taking into account the differences among pupils and students, with special attention to
children and young people with specific learning and development needs;
• Developing character focusing on important values like honesty, sincerity, justice, loyalty,
helpfulness, patience, friendliness, openness, respect;
• Building respect for and awareness of one’s own and other cultures (diversity);
• Lifelong learning;
• Imparting knowledge of the country’s objective history, political science, civics and love of
one’s country;
• Training teachers on the basis of a positive, pedagogical optimism;
• Building a sense of responsibility and commitment to the community, which helps the
development of Suriname;
• Fitting in with modern national and international requirements, arrangements and trends.
(Based on Suriname Educational Plan. MINOV 2004c)

Foreword
5
I believe in you, pupils and teachers. Without you, education would not
be possible. I am pleased to be able to introduce this book after a period
of intensive experiments and consultations.
Education is something that concerns all of us. Young and old, in school
and out of it. Our pupils and teachers alike are calling for reform. How
can we make education more challenging and more geared to the pupil?
In the last few years several initiatives have been taken by the Ministry
of Education and Community Development (MINOV) to arrive at new,
stimulating methods in school.
Rightly, new demands are made of education and the quality of learning.
After all, our pupils need a firm basis for functioning in our present and
future society. Of late, the media have paid a lot of attention to ‘New
Learning’. Unfortunately, it is not always understood what is meant by
‘New Learning’. Is it freer? May the pupil do whatever he likes? Do they
not learn any more? Is the pupil the only focal point?
Achieving this ‘New Learning’ and, consequently, more child-friendly
education is a considerable challenge. It offers opportunities for more
enjoyable, more challenging and especially more pupil-oriented education.
‘New Learning’ asks some vital questions. WHAT is learning? HOW can
we best pass on learning and knowledge to pupils, so that all pupils draw
on their development potential? How can we provide more deep-level
learning? How can we make pupils themselves more active? And what
does this mean for the teacher? What competencies are required?
I would like to call this ‘New Learning’ ‘Innovative Learning’. The pupil
and learning are always the starting point in ‘Innovative Learning’. As
far as our educational system is concerned, I argue in favour of carefully
choosing those elements that fit in with our Surinamese culture. Our
present educational system also has good things. Let us keep them and
add new things. In that way we innovate learning.
The latest developments and recent evidence-based educational research
offer many ideas that may be added to our present education. In this
way, we can make education not only more enjoyable but also more
active and effective for all children.
I look at ‘Innovative Learning’ for Surinamese education from
three perspectives:
First of all, it offers us numerous valuable ideas that help us to focus
attention to a greater extent on the pupil and learning. Secondly, I would
like to see these new views applied to our educational system. This
may be done by adapting methods for pupils, manuals and training of
teachers, background information, the didactic methods taught in the
teachers’ training colleges, MINOV policies etc. Thirdly, I see the effects
that this new approach may have on learning. By following these effects
carefully and adjusting matters wherever necessary, we may coordinate
our education even
better to make optimal
learning possible. These
three approaches may
enable us to guarantee
optimal effects.
I can recommend this
book warmly to the educational
sector. It has
been created with the
help of a large group of
people from all over the
country, people who
are concerned with education.
In addition, the
content is also based on valuable pilots, literature and evidence-based
research. This book is also a special product because of the combination
of art with the views of inspiring Surinamese men and women and the
statements from the various districts.
I would like to thank the numerous people who were involved in this
project, including the initiators from VVOB, UNICEF and MINOV. The joint
efforts have resulted in this wonderful book and the accompanying DVD,
with the many inspiring messages for me as Minister of Education, the
Government, society, those involved in education, parents and citizens.
I express the wish that those involved in teaching put this book to good
use. Let this book be a guideline and source of inspiration for the many
educational reforms that are about to start now and will start in the
future, for extra training of teachers and for the staff of MINOV, who
will have to further develop educational policies now and in the future.
Finally, I hope that this book will act as a positive incentive for individual
teachers to further professionalize their teaching for the benefit of our
children. I believe in you!
Edwin T. Wolf
Minister of Education and Community Development

6
Forces at play
Government and support
Teacher
Team
Neighbourhood + community
Head teacher
Learning
power
Powerful
learning
environment
Neighbourhood + community
Pupil
Parents
Innovation
and
change
© L.Schoenmakers
Seedbed
The flower has been chosen as a symbol to serve as a guideline through the content of this book. It stands for growth and
development. We keep translating the power to grow and develop into the child’s learning power.
From his birth, each human being has a certain amount of development potential (talent) at his disposal. It varies from person to
person and that is what makes us people unique. It is therefore important to organize education in such a way that it makes enjoyable
and meaningful learning possible for all pupils. The breakdown on page 9 illustrates what each chapter focuses on.
You will find a detailed explanation of the flower symbol on page 124.

Introduction
7
Is educational reform desirable, something to aim for? Just
imagine a society that does not change or does not innovate,
with education that has too little scope to develop. What would
it look like?
Development implies movement, adjustment and change. Reports
on education in Suriname all point in the same direction: the
quality of our education could be better. But dare we dream
about different, better education? Life is all change.
People discover new possibilities, they continually invent
things, they search for creative ways to solve problems.
The need for reform of our education is therefore not
a question but a fact.
There had been a desire for a long
time to work at collecting ideas
about pupil-oriented and childfriendly
education. The different
players in the field, the Ministry
of Education and Community
Development, the various NGOs,
UNICEF and IDB pointed out the
need for a clear orientation
of education focusing on
the learning process
and the child.
They supported the
search for concretizing
e d u c a t i o n a l
innovation. All this
led to the educational
project ‘I believe in
you!’
Educational innovation starts with the pupils
and the teacher. After all, they determine the
learning process. Each person has the power,
growing power, to develop his¹ potential. It
may be compared to a seed, which tended
lovingly may grow from a vulnerable little
plant into a strong flower, plant or tree.
Educators, so teachers too, play a very
important role in this. Through their
influence, the child may wither or
flower. So educators may really mean
something for the development of
children and, consequently, for the future
of Suriname and the world.
In this context, MINOV, VVOB and UNICEF started a unique
project in 2007. The ‘dream’ soon crystallized. It entailed
starting a process by means of a dialogue in society: to give all
those involved room to exchange experiences and ideas about
education.
The initiators based themselves on the following starting
points:
• What motivates and generates
enthusiasm in education;
• The basic documents and ideas from the
educational policy of MINOV;
• The
numerous positive experiences of
various programmes like
Kindvriendelijke
Scholen, Change for Children, LEARN,
KALBOBIS, Basic Life Skills and BEIP;
• The positive views of a number
of inspiring Surinamese men and
women;
• The views of many stakeholders
from all over the country;
• Relevant literature and
evidence-based research.
This book is the result of this extensive
process. It is hoped that it will make
a positive contribution to achieving
pupil-oriented education in
Suriname. It is colourful with the
contribution of talented, young
artists. It is inspiring through
fifteen interviews with well-known
Surinamese men and women. It
invites discussion because of the
motivating statements of people
from all over the country about their
positive learning experiences in school and
out of it. It is instructive because it presents
knowledge and background information about
innovations in education.
¹ The ‘teacher’, ‘head teacher’ and ‘school manager’ are
both male and female. Yet we use ‘he’ and ‘his’ in this text
to refer to these persons. This is not an ideological choice,
on the contrary. We only do it not to impair the readability
of the text.

8
In fact, the various chapters of the book represent the entire
educational sector: from the heart of the flower, the pupil’s
learning power, we move outward. This framework can point the
way for future educational innovations. Once we know where we
want to take our pupil-oriented and child-friendly education, we
can make better choices. All stakeholders may strengthen one
another. Obviously, this will benefit the pupils in the end.
Each chapter has a fixed structure. The introduction is followed
by a story, a description of the desired situation as if it has already
been reached. Next, a selection is presented of the numerous
inspiring statements from all over the country. Every chapter is
concluded with a selection of relevant background information
for more in-depth knowledge.
This book is the result of an intensive process of more than
one-and-a-half years and an impressive group of people have
participated in it. It is something we are proud of, for the process
of arriving at this result is, we think, as least as important as the
final result. The DVD that accompanies the book gives a detailed
impression of its lengthy genesis in the documentary I believe in
you!
Some questions may arise. Will this book change education?
Will pupils and teachers like education better? The editors do
not pretend to be complete and realize that reality is full of
challenges. The book is meant to provide a stimulus to schools,
individual teachers, teachers’ training colleges and advanced
teachers’ training institutes, to the structured professionalization
of teachers, to people and departments concerned with policymaking.
We hope that the ideas in this book will help to combine the
numerous initiatives in education in Suriname. The book marks
the end of this project but it is hoped also the beginning of new,
opening buds on the flower. The process of growth and innovation
will continue, and expand and deepen. That is our dream.
I believe in you! is really about thinking, feeling and wanting.
It is not only beautiful words, but also firm action. If all of us
continue to work on the basis of this intention and take our full
responsibility, the flowers will blossom beautifully. Whether we
are pupils, teachers, head teachers, parents or ministers, the
history of this book has shown that EVERYTHING, no ANYTHING
is possible given a positive commitment.
We can be the change we want to see ...
(Mahatma Gandhi)
Jhunry Udenhout

1
I BELIEVE IN YOU!
We start from the belief in the pupil and learning. Each child naturally has the power to
develop. We call it learning power. It is situated in the heart of the flower.
9
2
3
4
5
6
IN THE CLASSROOM: THAT IS WHERE IT HAPPENS
The pupil goes to school every day. That is where the child learns. In the classroom,
learning is stimulated by the teacher, fellow pupils and the environment. Together they
form a triangle.
A SCHOOL LEARNS TOO
The classroom is situated in a school. The head teacher leads the school team in such
a way that the pupil’s learning in the classroom is stimulated. The school itself also
learns, from the good things that are done, but certainly also from the things that do not
go quite as they should. Learning means being allowed to make mistakes and to learn
from them so that things go better afterwards.
TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG
Good education is made in school by the pupils and the teachers. If the school closely
cooperates with the parents and the community, things will go even better. Together we
are strong and we can provide quality education.
FORCES AT PLAY: GROWING IS OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES
Pupils have a right to sound education. This means that each child should get optimal
opportunities to develop. For that reason, a stimulating, nurturing environment is
important. There is a set of forces that influences the school. The government plays
an important part in it. Its policy is best if it offers scope and opportunities to grow for
everybody and is in line with national and international developments and agreements.
INNOVATION IS: DREAMING AND DARING, THINKING, ACTING
AND … PERSEVERING
Growing is offering room for innovation. Growing is the opening of new buds. Growing
is dreaming and daring, thinking, acting and especially persevering. It is important to
believe in one’s own ability; it is a driving force behind success.

124
Pierre Bong A Jan

1
I believe in you!
Do you know what you are?
You are a diamond.
You are unique.
In all those years, I have never met a child like you.
Your legs, arms and clever fingers.
Your eyes, nose, mouth and hair.
The way in which you move.
The way in which you look and laugh.
You have the power to do anything.
Yes, you are a diamond.
I believe in you!
11
There is nothing more beautiful in life than hearing someone say
that to you.
Hearing something like that makes you grow. It makes you
blossom. Each human being has that power to grow. It is wonderful
to have the feeling to be someone and to be able to grow into
a beautiful flower. Education should be fully aware of it. As the
introduction explains, the flower defines this natural power to
grow as power to develop or learning power. As a precious seed,
it is situated in the heart of the flower. By tending it carefully and
focusing positive attention on it, we may make the seed grow
into a strong plant or tree in a stimulating environment.
Each human being naturally has this power to grow or learning
power: curiosity, the wish to grow up, wanting to do things on his
own, wanting to know and discover. Each child has burgeoning
talents and hidden dreams.
Education should constantly focus at all levels on this learning
power. All thinking and acting on the part of the pupil, the teacher,
the parent, the person giving support and even the Minister of
Education serve the purpose of making this learning power –
learning – blossom fully. It also means that all these players each
have their own responsibility.
It is the pupil himself who is primarily responsible for his own
learning through his inner motivation. In the classroom, this pupil
is supported by his fellow pupils and teacher to optimize his own
learning in accordance with his own abilities. At home, too, the
pupil is supported by his educators. The school principal supports
the school team to make high-opportunity learning possible
for pupils. The authorities, in turn, support schools to achieve
quality education. Pupil-oriented education takes the pupil and
his learning power into consideration and always takes learning
as the starting point in the firm belief that I believe in you!
The chapter is organized in the following way:
1. We start with the story about the desired, ideal
situation.
2. We then present statements made by people from all
over the country.
3. We conclude with background information:
• What matters is learning power
• Learning … there is another way
• Follow learning or follow pupils?
• Learning … what is it about?

12
Learning is fun
The dream
‘Mummy, when are we going?’ says Indira. ‘I can’t wait any
more’.
‘Please be patient, my dear. It is nowhere near time yet. Go and
play for a while,’ says mummy.
At last it is time to go. The school bus pulls up and Indira happily
runs towards it. Today is an important day. Indira will give a
presentation in class. She has chosen a subject she fancies:
stories about the sly Anansi and the wise Birbal. It is a subject she
knows a lot about. She has prepared the presentation together
with mummy. Indira is looking forward to it. ‘You can do it,’
Mummy has repeatedly said. It still echoes around her head. On
the bus, Indira sees her friend Sandro.
‘Hi, Indira!’ calls Sandro. ‘Will you come and join me?’ They
talk nineteen to the dozen. Sandro tells her that he has been to
Colakreek for a friend’s birthday party. He splashed about in the
water and they played football. He does not like learning very
much. He finds it difficult but, fortunately, he gets a lot of help
from the teacher and from Indira. What he likes best is playing
with other children outside in the street.
When they arrive at school, it is a quarter to eight. The sun is
already shining brightly. It is going to be a hot day. As usual,
the schoolyard buzzes with activity. Some children are playing
dyompo futu and they are having a lot of fun. Girls are gathered
underneath the almond tree chatting and laughing. Some children
are chasing one another and others are playing with a ball. The
schoolyard really looks quite nice. It is kept clean by children in
turns and there is a separate area with playground equipment for
the little ones.
Ting-ting. The school bell sounds. School is starting. All the
children go to their classrooms. They do not have to line up any
more, as they used to until recently. When the teacher arrives,
they quietly enter the classroom without fighting. The classroom
seems bustling. But when you look closely, you will see that
everybody is busy doing something. The children know exactly
what they are allowed. They may do as they please the first fifteen
minutes. Some children take a book and sit reading quietly. Others
play a letter game together. The computer corner is very popular.
Steve Ammersingh

But you can only go there if you have put your name down on
the signing-up list. Today it is Michel’s, Jenny’s and Steven’s turn
to go to the computer corner. In this way everybody gets a turn.
The classroom looks like a real workshop where you can learn.
The children are challenged to learn. Indira feels at home in the
classroom. Miss Naomi always thinks of something exciting or
enjoyable to do. At home, she talks a lot about school. About
the arithmetic lesson that she sometimes finds difficult. Or about
her favourite subjects: the creative classes which offer drawing,
handicraft and dancing. Meanwhile, Miss Naomi has entered the
classroom. Indira cannot wait and runs up to her in high spirits.
‘Hello, Miss Naomi,’ she says. ’You have remembered, haven’t
you?’ Miss Naomi gives her a questioning look. Indira notices
something mischievous. She has known Miss Naomi for some
months and she knows that she often makes jokes.
‘Eh,’ says Miss Naomi, ‘what was it again?’ For a while, Indira
feels alarmed. She can’t have forgotten, can she? She knows that
today is the great day, doesn’t she? The day of her presentation.
Miss Naomi’s eyes twinkle. She loves her pupils. It gives her a lot
of satisfaction to mean something to them every day.
‘Of course, my dear.’ And at the same time she takes a book
from her bag. The cover shows four laughing spiders, father
Anansi with his children, with all their legs moving. Indira heaves
a sigh of relief. Nothing can go wrong now. ’You can do it.’ She
hears her mother’s voice at the back of her mind. I can do it, she
thinks to herself. Pleased and satisfied, she walks back to her
table clutching the book under her arm. She is going to have a
look at it straight away.
Warm applause
At half past eleven the time has come. It is now very hot in the
classroom. Some children are resting their head on their arms on
the table. They are tired after the exacting arithmetic lesson.
‘Stand in a circle quickly, please,’ calls Miss Naomi. Anansi kon
dansi. They sing the song and dance to it.
‘You’re spiders’, calls out Miss Naomi, ‘keep moving your arms
and legs’. After a couple of minutes, all weariness has disappeared
and they are all ready for Indira’s presentation.
‘Today I’m going to tell you about Anansi the spider,’ opens
Indira. ‘I’m sure you’ve heard about him. But there are other smart
creatures. Do you know Birbal from India, who keeps fooling the
king’s advisers?’ All children are curious to hear what follows.
Miss Naomi gives Indira a nod of approval. Indira begins to tell
her story, and she shows pictures of Anansi and Birbal. When
she has finished, the class spontaneously bursts into applause.
Indira feels proud. She gets a warm feeling inside. She is curious
to hear what Miss Naomi has got to say about it.
‘Children,’ says Miss Naomi, ‘who can tell us what you liked about
Indira’s presentation?’ Hands are raised right away. Everybody
has seen something they liked. Naturally, Sandro is among them.
‘I liked the drawings very much. They made it easy for me to
understand your story.’ A number of children quickly tell Indira
what they liked: how Anansi rode on Tigri’s back and that Birbal
even fooled the king.
‘I would now like to hear what Indira could do better next time?’
Oh, the children think, that ‘s something we aren’t used to.
‘It was clear and interesting,’ Miss Naomi says quickly, ‘… but
what can help Indira to do it even better next time?’
The children now see what she means. They are going to help
Indira to do it even better. It is Jenny’s turn to speak. ‘The stories
were nice, but you read them too fast. If you could read them a
little more slowly next time, we can enjoy them even better.’ The
class agrees. Finally, Miss Naomi makes some comments. She
does so competently. The class listens intently. ‘You have prepared
your presentation very well, Indira. You showed us some beautiful
pictures and you knew how to capture the children’s attention.
I have also learnt something from you, that Anansi the spider is
not the only joker, but that Birbal is another one. I agree with the
13

14
class. If you tell the story a little more slowly next time, it will all
be even better. Congratulations! You have done very well!’ Indira
feels all warm inside, on the one hand because all at once there is
a load off her shoulders, on the other hand because of what the
children and Miss Naomi have said. Next time I’m going to speak
more slowly, she thinks with confidence.
The unpleasantness
The other day something happened at school. Indira was teased
by some girls in her class. At first, she did not mind. ‘Teasing is
just part of life,’ mummy had said. But it got worse and worse.
Two girls in her class said nasty things about her. Indira could
just feel it when she was close to them. She usually saw these
two under the mango tree in the schoolyard and they scowled
at her from afar. Their eyes burnt into her back. Later she could
not stand it anymore. She hesitated to tell it at home. She did not
want to be a baby. Mummy had noticed that for some time Indira
had been less happy when she came home from school. Strange,
she thought. I don’t know Indira like this. Her schoolwork also
suffered. It was clear: Indira could not concentrate on her work.
One evening, when mummy put her to bed, Indira finally plucked
up the courage to tell her. She burst out crying. ‘Mummy, I’ve
been scared at school lately. I’m being teased and it just doesn’t
stop.’ She blurted out the whole story. Mummy put her arms
around Indira. She was glad that Indira told her herself what was
the matter. Together they could find a solution. Oh, how good
she felt in mummy’s arms. Indira felt safe and secure. The next
day they would go to Miss Naomi together to talk about it.
The next morning Indira and her mother entered the schoolyard.
Miss Naomi was already waiting and called them into the school.
‘Just tell me Indira, what is the matter?’ Indira began to talk
haltingly. She soon noticed that Miss Naomi was really listening
to her. It gave her the courage to go on talking. How nice to
have a teacher like this, she thought. Together they looked for a
solution. They were going to have a talk with the other two girls
later. They learnt how they could solve the quarrel satisfactorily,
later, when everybody would be doing their work.
Together we can do better
Sandro is doing his language exercises. Oh dear, it is not easy.
Language is not his strongest subject. Sandro has been sitting
in his chair since eight o’clock. And it is now nine. Hey, I want
to move, his body tells him. He cannot sit still any more. Sandro
looks around him. He cannot think properly. Fortunately, the
teacher knows that. She calls Sandro and asks him whether he
would like to clean the blackboard. In that way he can move and
once again work well later on. Sandro is happy. He likes doing
things for Miss Naomi. When he has finished, together with her
he looks at his language exercises. Miss Naomi explains a few
things and he can set to work again. Since he needs more time
to do his work, he does not have to do all the assignments. As
a result he feels less stressed. Sure of himself he thinks, now I
can do it too.
No more waiting
Miss Naomi has thought of something clever. She has the children
work for themselves for an hour every day. The children know
exactly how it works. For an hour, they carry out the special
assignments that Miss Naomi has thought up for them, arithmetic
and language assignments or reading. They sometimes work at
a presentation or project. Indira and Sandro often tell each other
that they enjoy this part of the day. They may decide themselves
in what order they do the assignments. And when they have
finished one, they check the work themselves and they can then
choose another nice assignment. Miss Naomi has thought up a
lot of different assignments. They may not disturb Miss Naomi
during this hour, for she spends it helping other children.
‘Steven can you help me for a moment?’ Sandro asks softly. They
study the language book together. Steven helps Sandro with his
work. Now he can get on with his work and need not wait for
Miss Naomi. In the meantime, Miss Naomi helps some children
that have not quite understood the geography lesson. Saskia may
also go up to Miss Naomi. She gets an extra reading test. When
she has finished, Miss Naomi compliments her warmly.
‘Great Saskia, your reading has improved a lot!’
Home again
When Indira comes home in the afternoon, her mother is waiting
for her, for she, too, is anxious to know how it went. Indira’s
broad grin tells her a lot.
‘Well?’ she asks, still curious.
‘The children and Miss Naomi thought it was very good,’ says
Indira excitedly, ‘and I also know how I can do it even better next
time.’
‘I believe in you,’ mummy says feeling proud.

Interview with Lilian Ferrier
15
Life itself offers many opportunities for development
in daily life of people having developed by quite different means
than through school.
It’s not the responsibility of one person or institute, but it’s a joint
responsibility to bring up children and let them be and become
who in fact they already are, but it is a shared task. We are all
responsible for creating a positive environment for ‘our’ children.
In education, it’s important to take the place where children live
into consideration. The demands made on children in the interior
or in rural areas are quite different from those made on children
in poor or rich neighbourhoods in the city. It’s easier for a child
if the school takes the home situation into account, both when
it comes to giving explanations and examples that the child can
identify with and to the language.
Lilian Ferrier, clinical and developmental psychologist
People love saying in this country, ‘I must be something
in society’. That is nonsense. As soon as you have been born,
you are something or somebody, for you have rights, a name and
a nationality. You are somebody from the moment you are born.
So, do you have to become something? No, for you are already
something. Since you already are who you are, it is important that
educators develop precisely what you are. Children can discover
who they are and what they are capable of if the educator gives
them room to do so and creates a situation offering sufficient
challenges and opportunities.
By observing children closely, educators and teachers find
out what the child needs to keep developing. When the child
discovers something interesting, the adult can stimulate this by
being enthusiastic, responding to it and offering something to
stimulate the development even more.
You’re somebody from the moment
you’re born
The pupils in this country have widely different backgrounds as
far as language is concerned. The children that speak Dutch at
home have an advantage. They could use it to help other children
by learning together. The point is that we must and can solve all
these things together. If the teacher can be more
like an equal, like someone who gives support
and incentives to the children, rather than like
someone in authority, he can deal effectively
See DVD to get a better
view of the interview
with certain arrears.
No doubt, education and upbringing may benefit
greatly from improvements in this respect.
From the moment they are born, babies develop very quickly.
They start looking at other people quite early and also at intricate
things. Bringing up children gets a lot easier if, as educators,
parents or teachers, you’re really interested in the child, if you
make an effort to make the well of learning that lies hidden in
every child flow.
Learning doesn’t exclusively take place in school. Life itself offers
a lot of opportunities for development. There is plenty of evidence

16
Statements from all over the country
Here is a collection of statements made on experiences in
education at workshops all over the country. They are wonderful,
heartfelt statements from people who are giving their all to education.
I became aware of what I wanted to be because of
my teacher’s patience and open-mindedness. I saw
her as my mother and she was always open with
me.
(Renate Schalkwijk, Brokopondo)
There were some pupils who had
trampled on flowers. During the
raising of the flag ceremony, two
pupils took the initiative to appeal
to pupils to treat the environment in
a different way. I felt very proud. It
gave me a warm feeling that they had
the courage to take the initiative.
(Soertinem Lioe-Anjie, Paramaribo)
Feeling at home in the classroom
gives confidence in learning.
(Singoastro, Nickerie)
I suffered from fear of failure. The
creative arts teacher showed her
appreciation and gave me the feeling
that I was capable of doing something.
That’s how I got more and more selfconfidence.
(Astrid Victoriashoop, Marowijne)
As a student, I was good at
Dutch and bad at English. I
helped other pupils with Dutch
and they then helped me with
English. It created a strong
sense of solidarity.
(Eduard Claver, Commewijne)
The pupils should get all the
attention. They should be
listened to more. Give them
room to come up with ideas.
The teacher should be open,
creative and helpful.
(Rieke, Saramacca)
My aunt taught me to ride a bike
on a Solex moped without a motor.
I felt safe because it could not
break down. Being able to ride a
bike made me feel on top of the
world. I have learnt not to give up if
you want to achieve something.
(A.C. Linger, Para)
Self-motivation and selfconfidence
stimulate pupils to
perform better.
(Carmelita Ferreira, Nickerie)
I have learnt that you can
actually do everything
yourself. A woman has
a free will to work at her
own development.
(Saskia Bonte, Brokopondo)
As a pupil, I felt strong and
happy when I learnt to read and
write myself in the first year.
(Jo-Ann Soeroredjo-
Djojodikromo, Paramaribo)
As a child I was shy. The teacher asked, ‘who
would like to write a w on the blackboard.’ I
put up my hand hesitantly and was asked
to do it. The teacher applauded me when she
saw the small w on the blackboard. From
then on I thought her the sweetest teacher.
Afterwards, during my training I wrote a
story entitled The small ‘w’.
(Annemarie Alvares-Linger, Paramaribo)
Learning is exciting and challenging by setting
targets you want to achieve.
(Frank van Cooten, Brokopondo)
Good education is a two-way
thing involving teacher and
pupil. Otherwise it won’t work!
(Merjam Dompig, Wanica)
By taking good care of weak
pupils, repeating classes won’t
be necessary any more.
(Melitha Overman, Para)

I taught a boy to read in the
breaks in my first year at
primary school. It gave me a
feeling of pride.
(Augusta Kasiman, Commewijne)
Self-motivation of the pupil.
The teachers should be inspired
to do their very best to get the
most out of the pupils.
(Albert Grant, Wanica)
If pupils have fun and are motivated,
they can really learn.
(S. Luckson, Coronie)
I had a teacher who paid pupils
compliments. You worked even
harder to stay on top.
(Nelleke Soudain-Rensch,
Marowijne)
It’s the teachers of the primary school and
the secondary school that gave me lessons
for life and wise advice.
(Bruce Sariredjo, Paramaribo)
I have learnt a lot from my
grandparents’ stories about the
plantations. Working your way
up from nothing to something.
You can reach your goal by
working hard and remaining
positive. The secret of success
is perseverance.
(Usha Adhin, Paramaribo)
I had to weld two plates not more than 2 mm apart.
I didn’t know how to do it, but someone helped me
out in the right way. From that day I have done it
correctly.
(Freddy Emanuels, Sipaliwini)
17
When I was in the second
year, I got a ten out of ten for
arithmetic. The teacher gave
me a stamp representing a frog
in my exercise book. I thought
it was great. From then on I
constantly wanted to get that
frog and I did my best to get
high marks.
(C. Eduards, Sipaliwini)
My best learning experience was,
when I cut down my first tree
on my own to make a dug-out
canoe.
(A. Naana, Sipaliwini)
Give the pupils the freedom to study
what they want to be.
(Albert Alleyne, Commewijne)
The achievements of
other pupils were a
source of inspiration. If
she can do it, I can do
it too! I experienced the
interest in learning on
the part of friends and
parents as pleasant.
(Maritha Jefferey,
Nickerie)
Focus on the children. You see,
I think they are very important.
I love them. (Geeta, Saramacca)
The teacher’s lending an ear
gave me the feeling that she
saw me. (Denise, Coronie)
Take care of the children.
Cherish the environment, and
we are well on our way.
(Gerda Beckles-Kajuffa,
Commewijne)
My own perseverance when I
was a child was important.
(Corrie, Coronie)
A teacher in secondary school brought sweets, biscuits or guava
every Friday. She thought that, in spite of everything, all pupils
had done their best. In this way she stimulated us to memorize
vocabulary. (Evangeline Blackman-Dulder, Paramaribo)

18
Explanation
The following information will go more deeply into
the backgrounds of pupil-oriented and child-friendly
education. We constantly focus attention on the
child’s power to learn, power to develop. In this
publication, we call this the child’s learning power,
the power to learn which each human being naturally
has.
We begin with the aspect of What matters is …
learning power. It is essential in pupil-oriented
education to keep focusing attention on stimulating
the ability to learn that each child has. In fact, we
turn the traditional approach around. The subject
matter is not followed, but the development of each
pupil in respect of his own learning. Of course, the
subject matter continues to be important, but it is
even more important to follow the development of
the child’s learning.
Next, the section Learning … there is another way
will pay attention to the importance of active,
motivating approaches in the classroom. Again,
things are turned around. The pupil no longer
constantly follows and waits for the teacher, but the
teacher follows the child’s development more and
more instead, and activates learning. By following
the child and his learning questions more closely, the
education offered becomes more meaningful to the
pupil, and consequently more motivating.
Pupil-oriented and child-friendly education starting
from the pupils’ developments requires an approach
which systematically follows the development of
each child. The section Follow learning or follow
pupils?
presents views about it.
What matters is learning power
What?
What is pupil-oriented education? Put simply, pupil-oriented
education constantly focuses attention on the pupils and the
learning process. The subject material continues to be important,
but what is new is that the pupil’s learning process – which
includes the learning power – is always the starting point in all
thinking and doing. During the activities in the classroom, the
focus continues to be on HOW the pupil learns best (= processoriented)
and WHAT the pupil has learnt in the end (= resultoriented).
So, pupil-oriented education takes both the process
and the achievements into consideration. This learning process
distinguishes four major aspects that interact constantly.
Pupil
We conclude the chapter with Learning … what is
it about?
This section outlines ideas that learning
involves more these days than just gathering
knowledge. Acquiring new skills, like using sources
of information (the Internet, books), being able to
work together, being able to work on one’s own and
working on a positive attitude towards one’s own
learning are becoming more and more important.
Subject
material
Learning process
Learning environment
(powerful)
Teacher

and possibilities. The textbook is still too often the starting point.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
19
How can we transform education into education that takes the
pupils and the learning process into consideration to a greater
extent (pupil-oriented education)? And by doing so, how can
we get the pupils to believe in their own ability and to grow
optimally? How can we put the learning power of each pupil to
maximum use? And will the results improve with a pupil-oriented
approach?
What do we wish for?
What is the puzzle?
Do we only follow the textbook, page by page, or do we follow
the pupil himself, day by day? Do we only look at the result in an
exercise book or do we also take a good look at what is going on
around us? Do we only see shortcomings in pupils or do we also
see the opportunities?
Present-day education is still too result-oriented and not
enough pupil-oriented. Focusing purely on the result in teaching
often leads to a lot of stress, both for the pupil and for the
teacher. The subject material has to be finished and the pupil
is judged on his result. The subject material – the book – is still
too often the starting point. Attention is mainly focused on the
average pupil, who has to learn the same and achieve the same
as the other pupils.
Quite early on, a negative self-image may develop and the pupil
may become the victim of fear of failure. The pupil soon gets
the feeling that he cannot do certain things and that it is his
own fault. Many pupils drop out or repeat classes several times
because education is not geared to the pupil or because the
learning development of the pupils is not followed adequately
and given positive support.
Pupils also become alienated from education because they
cannot fit in or make sense of the content. Too often, the pupil’s
shortcomings are looked at instead of the great potential of talents
We want to transform present-day education into education that is
more pupil-oriented and more child-friendly. Education that looks
at and follows the pupil. All pupils have a right to challenging
education, in which they feel at ease and are challenged. Education
that motivates to learn, education that pupils can make more
meaningful themselves, education in which pupils count and are
considered, education that fully uses the learning power of each
pupil. Within pupil-oriented education, there is a proper balance
between the learning process and the results. Recent research in
Suriname (MINOV-LEARN 2008) has demonstrated that pupils’
results improve when they enjoy learning and are confident and
motivated. The pupil-oriented approach pays a lot of attention to
the following aspects: the input (the pupil’s starting level), the
approach (of the teacher in the classroom), the learning process
(of the pupil), the reflection on the learning process (how have
you learnt?) and the ultimate output (the achievements or results).
In his approach, the teacher pays attention to the pupil’s wellbeing
(enjoyment and safety) and his commitment (motivation).
To increase enjoyment in learning and motivation, the teachers
observe their own teaching and keep adjusting the content and
methods. A lengthy instruction is interrupted by, for example,
interaction with the pupils or a shared assignment. Music is used
in the arithmetic class to learn multiplication tables. Compulsory
assignments alternate with optional assignments. Different styles
of learning are used in the class. Teacher-controlled learning
alternates with pupil-controlled learning (learning on their own).
In this way the pupil’s learning power is used and stimulated
optimally. The pupil’s strong points are developed more, the weak
points are supported firmly. Pupils get the feeling of ‘I can do
it!’ This can be realized in particular starting from the pedagogic
optimism of believing in the growing power of children on the
part of parents and teachers.
If pupils enjoy learning and are motivated and if their qualities are
called on, the results will be optimal in the end, or in other words
will be in keeping with the pupils’ abilities and age (MINOV-
LEARN 2008).

20
How?
It is essential for teachers to look at the pupils and the learning
process in a different way. In what way does the pupil learn
best? Is this pupil motivated? Does the pupil enjoy learning?
What is he good at? Where is extra or different instruction
needed? The teacher develops, as it were, natural antennas that
work constantly the whole school day and sound out whether
the pupils’ enjoyment and motivation are and remain as optimal
as possible. If necessary, the teacher adjusts his pedagogic and
didactic action to fully recapture the attention. The teacher
has observation and testing instruments that enable him to
follow this process. This may be done with an objective pupil
monitoring system. This looks at the results (cognitive skills, like
arithmetic and language) but also at the process (like motivation,
socio-emotional aspects, learning skills). Positive coaching by
teachers and parents is a prerequisite for further growth. Instead
of just looking at the work in exercise books, the teacher now
looks round the class more and observes pupils’ developments.
A balanced curriculum offering a variety of cognitive, socioemotional,
physical and creative elements supports the teacher
in the educational programme. Knowledge of and use of
different learning styles (for example, visual, aural, kinetic) in the
classroom helps the teacher to make the most of the learning
power of each pupil. Working at the learning power gives pupils
more opportunities. Chapter 2 ‘In the classroom, that is where it
happens’ goes into greater detail.
Tips and information
• MINOV mentions pupil-oriented approaches and
child-friendly learning environments in its policy
document (MINOV 2004-2008).
The Surinamese educational system contributes to the
positive development of characteristics suitable for
Suriname, among other things:
• emotional security, self-confidence, initiative,
enterprise and self-respect
• awareness of diversity
• possession of varied skills
• a critical and independent mind
• respect for human life
• harmony with the environment
• From 2003 to 2007, child-friendly or pupil-oriented
approaches were introduced into the LEARN-Suriname
project, but also into other pilots (e.g. Kindvriendelijke
Scholen, Kalbobis, Change for Children, Basic Life
Skills). For more information contact VVOB or UNICEF.
• Positive appreciation, interest in the pupil and the
learning process are very important. Research has
shown that both teachers and parents have positive
effects on the children’s learning (Marzano 2007, pp.
89-92).
• If the teacher changes his own perspective on learning
and pupils, the teacher’s behaviour will also change in
due course.
• There are many approaches in education: experienceoriented
education, development-oriented education,
Feuerstein, natural learning etc.
• The website www.ontwerpatelier.nl explains the styles
of learning: the dreamers, the thinkers, the doers and
the deciders and how to deal with them in class.
• The multiple intelligence concept of Howard Gardner
and later Thomas Armstrong (www.thomas-armstrong.
com) leaves room in the curriculum for the pupils’
eight talents. See also the website of RPCZ, which has
translated a lot of material into Dutch (www.rpcz.nl).
In this way each pupil can be smart.
• Interesting websites are www.leren.nl, www.
hersenenenleren.nl, www.natuurlijkleren.net, www.
ontwerpatelier.nl.

Interview with Allan Li Fo Sjoe
21
Working at educational reforms
The philosophy of educational reform used to be that you had
to start at the basis and, consequently, could offer the young
child better scope for development with a new approach. The
question that was important in all this was, ‘How shall I, as a
grown-up citizen, acquire my place in society later on with what
I’ve learnt?’
The old system was based on passive participation in
the educational process, in which you were more like a consumer.
A teacher offered ready-made material and presented it in a sort
of monologue. You only had to memorize things. The new system
tries to fit in with the pupils’ environment and experiences and
tries to start a process which actively involves the pupils.
We then wanted to move towards a different type of society,
a society with citizens that are more alert, more inventive and
more initiative-oriented, with citizens that deal with problems
Allan Li Fo Sjoe, acting chairman of the Board of Governors of the Anton
de Kom University
in society in a grown-up way and help to develop their
own neighbourhood. We started from the idea that, if we
wanted to bring up and educate harmonious citizens, we
Child-friendly education means
working with situations in education
that children are familiar with
should not only pay attention to the intellectual aspects
but also to the social, creative and physical development.
Nowadays, you can’t just sell knowledge to people,
because the world is changing as a result of that very
knowledge. People should therefore acquire other skills
and new ideas, if they wish to survive in this new world.
The question then arises: should you cram pupils these
days with all sorts of knowledge from the past, especially
factual knowledge. It has always been like that in Suriname.
But we should now reduce it to a minimum. Otherwise,
pupils only learn how to memorize. They do need other
skills which will enable them to analyse new situations
themselves and to think of adequate solutions. We’re
talking here about skills to solve problems
individually or in a team. The task of
education is to create learning situations
that encourage these types of skills.
See DVD to get a better
view of the interview

22
Learning…there is another way
What?
Learning? That is what the teacher does in the classroom, doesn’t
he? Or … does he? Should it be done in another way?
The last few years, much research has been done on the ‘secret’
of learning. More and more knowledge of and insight into what
learning actually is have become available. A major source of
inspiration is the concept of social constructivism (Vygotsky).
Vygotsky was an educational innovator who showed that the
development and learning of children are largely determined by
the cultural environment and that interaction and social contact
are essential for the successful development of children. Social
constructivism examines how learning can be done differently
and better. Imparting knowledge is still of great importance but,
in addition, we also look at the way in which this knowledge is
imparted to the pupils. The central idea of social constructivism
is that each person keeps constructing knowledge all his life.
Learning is not an individual and solitary activity, pupils learn
a lot from one another. If they work together intensively, both
the individual cognitive skills (thinking together and reflecting)
and the social cognitive skills (discussion) are stimulated. So,
knowledge is present in each pupil and is constantly built up,
broken down, adjusted, expanded and built up again. It is a
process that continues forever. The pupils actively acquire their
own knowledge and skills and are stimulated to do so by the
teachers. The pupil and the learning process are always the starting
point of the teacher’s actions. Social constructivism regards
learning as an active, constructive, goal-oriented, self-regulating,
cumulative and collaborative activity in authentic situations. The
teacher may apply this new or different perspective on learning
and pupils in the classroom. Learning takes place in the pupil,
together with other pupils. Learning … there is another way.
What is the puzzle?
Is it about copying the teacher or about learning? Is the teacher
really concerned with real learning? Is the pupil himself concerned
with learning? Does the pupil have to wait or may the pupil
participate actively?
The ideas about learning have changed drastically in the last few
decades. The world is changing so rapidly at the moment that
we hardly know what it will be like tomorrow. A huge quantity
of information is available not only through the teacher, but also
and especially from other sources like television and the Internet.
All this has an effect on the pupils and the learning of today
and of tomorrow. The pupils enter the school increasingly with
different baggage and different needs. In the field of computers
(ICT), young pupils are miles ahead of their teachers. The present
school system is still mainly based on old models which focus on
the transfer of knowledge by the teacher. The old model is not
always a matter of learning but rather of copying and learning
things by heart unquestioningly. Thinking critically by oneself is
not stimulated enough. A head teacher put it as follows, ‘Our
pupils no longer care for education in its present form’.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How can we go about learning in a different way? How can
education better respond to the changing needs? How do we
deal with the new sources of information? And what skills or
competencies do pupils need to cope with the world’s challenges,
which are getting more and more complex?
What do we wish for?
Better and different learning. This still includes acquiring basic
knowledge and skills but it should be done in an active way.
Together we know more and we can learn a lot from one another.
The education we want considers to a greater extent the baggage
and needs brought along by the pupils. The ideas of, among
other things, social constructivism constantly focus attention on
the pupil and the learning process. The following starting points
are important:
Learning is an
active process
Learning
builds on
existing
knowledge
Social
constructivism
Learning is a
social process
Learning is
done best in
authentic
situations
Learning is
experimenting
Learning is
the learner’s
concern
1. Learning is an active process¹
Learning is an active process in the sense that it keeps demanding
a thinking activity (cognition) on the part of the learner. The pupil
is constantly engaged in taking in information, internalizing this
information, looking for connections, practising subject matter.
Depending on the style of learning, each learner will deal with
this in his own way. What is important is that the learner himself
builds up or constructs his own knowledge actively. This may
be done by, for example, putting the pupil to work actively to
gather knowledge by means of research, consulting sources of
information or working together with other pupils.
¹ From Bouwen aan leren – J. Lebeer 2003

Example: We are discussing the threats to our tropical
rain forest in class. Who can do something in preparation
of a session during which we will try to get an answer to
the question what these threats exactly are, what can de
done to counteract them and who should do that? Some
pupils know their way on the Internet. Perhaps with the
help of some relative, they may look up the threats and
some pictures to go with them. What organizations are
actively associated with the rain forest? Some pupils,
accompanied by the teacher, go there and ask the staff
questions and other pupils cut out everything that has
been published about the topic. Another group of pupils
creates an attractive display with the help of the material
on the day of the session. The pupils’ own research
yields a lot of information.
23
2. Learning builds on existing knowledge
Learning builds on existing knowledge. The pupil constructs
new knowledge on the basis of what he already knows
and can do. Prior knowledge is an important starting point. These
days, the pupils bring a lot of prior knowledge into the classroom,
gathered from the age of four. The teacher can make use of it by,
for example, asking two simple questions at the beginning of a
topic or project, ‘What do we know? What do we want to know?’
Example: Pupils interview their grandparents about the past,
perhaps about life on the plantations. They bring this information
along to the classroom.
3. Learning is done best in authentic situations
Learning is done in authentic situations. By ‘authentic’ we mean
recognizable situations. Learning does not only take place in the
head but also in a continued interaction of the social and cultural
contexts. Learning is effective if it is done in the actual, real
world that the pupil knows. The subject material offered – in
books too – is clearly related to this reality. This applies to, for
example, the situations, illustrations and examples that are used.
It goes without saying that the Surinamese context serves as a
point of departure.
Example: The Surinamese Museum always has interesting
exhibitions on topics related to the past, e.g. slavery, the white
overseer, Indian immigration etc. They organize guided tours
for different age groups and there are always hand-outs with
assignments available. Again, this is a different way of learning.
4. Learning is a social process
Learning is also a social process. Learning is stimulated by mutual
collaboration and interaction within the group. The pupil is
confronted with different ideas, views, knowledge, opinions and
solutions presented by his fellow pupils. Knowledge is expanded,
adjusted, transformed, partly broken down and reconstructed.
By means of all these different ways of looking, the pupil will
view what he has learnt in a more fundamental, in-depth way.
Teaching methods like collaborative learning help. Research has
shown that collaborative learning deepens knowledge and skills.
Example: If the pupils have had a test, the pupils who have done
well may form groups with the weaker pupils and work at a
better understanding of the subject matter. The good pupils can
even set another test for the other pupils to get more practice.
5. Learning is the learner’s concern
Learning is the learner’s concern, so the pupil’s. This means that
the learner should experience an interest or something useful in
terms of what he has learnt. Meaningful learning is stimulated if
a pupil has his own goal in mind, especially if the pupil himself
may help to determine his goals. Even so, it is important that
the teacher should put forward a number of goals and motivate
them. A functional link should be established between on the one
hand the educational goals and on the other hand the learner’s
personal learning goals. In certain areas, the pupil chooses his
own subjects, individually or together with others. He then plans
his own route and reflects on what he has learnt.
Example: Some pupils may be closer to a subject than others.
If you are Saramaka, you are likely to be very much interested
in stories about the Maroons. You may make a contribution to
the lesson, but similarly there are others who have different
preferences, for example, in the field of plants and trees.
6. Learning is experimenting
Experimenting is used here in the sense of trying and finding
out. It is precisely by having learning also take place outside the
established contexts that room is given to the acquisition of new

24
knowledge and skills. The process of trial and error is seen as a
positive process, in which the learner may learn constructively
from his own mistakes. You were not supposed to make mistakes
in the old way of learning. In the new learning, it is allowed, for
making mistakes is quite instructive.
Example: Experimenting may be done by means of workshops,
by creative assignments, by asking questions pupils have to think
about or investigate. We coach this process of trial and error in a
positive way and keep giving constructive feedback.
7. Learning is about self-management
It is also important that the pupil manages and monitors his learning
process himself. In this way the pupil becomes autonomous. The
pupil learns to take control of his own learning. What is also
involved in self-management is that the pupil can look at his
own learning from a distance (meta-looking). The pupil learns to
reflect systematically and adjust his own learning process on the
basis of his findings. In this way, learning increasingly becomes
the pupil’s own thing.
Example: It is not all that difficult to be able to say the multiplication
tables by heart, but for a change try to think of a situation – e.g.
the market - in which you have to apply the knowledge of the
tables. It can also be done by means of short plays and arithmetic
assignments.
8. Learning is also feeling connected
We add this aspect. Connectedness within the approach is
important. We think it is of importance that in addition to paying
attention to the individual and his learning process, attention is
also focused on the other person and the environment. Respect
for yourself, feeling connected with yourself but also respect
for the other person and respect for your surroundings lead to
an attitude which enables the pupil to learn to feel responsible.
Pupils simply wish to take subjects that make sense to them, that
are meaningful to them. They want to enjoy going to school, be
appreciated by the teacher and they want to meet other pupils.
How?
In the desired situation, the educational tools and didactic
approaches in the classroom have characteristics of the starting
points mentioned above. The teacher makes sure that the pupils
can get to work actively with the subject material. Attention
is paid to increasing the pupils’ autonomy by giving the pupils
the opportunity day by day to work independently. Pupils may
regularly investigate things on their own or together with other
pupils.
The teachers pay attention to differences among pupils and use
these differences in a positive way. Differences among pupils
are appreciated and the focus remains on equal opportunities
for everybody. Many materials and methods on the international
market already work on the basis of these new starting points.
Future teachers are trained in new pedagogic and activating,
didactic approaches. They play the part of change agents who
take the innovation to the school.
These new approaches add to the professional skills of teachers.
After all, they are the bearers of educational innovations.
Tips and information
• Features of different or innovative learning are:
1. Education should lead to real insight and understanding.
2. Inquisitiveness, wanting to find out, wanting to know
are the best driving force behind learning.
3. Self-management motivates the pupil (study pace,
study progress, determining one’s own learning
strategy).
4. Collaboration stimulates more effective and deep-level
learning (project education, problem-solving education,
cooperative learning).
• Marzano (2003, pp. 101 – 106) has done a great
deal of research into effective learning. In his opinion
a positive attitude to one’s own learning is of vital
importance. His work also shows that it is essential to
apply what has been learnt in a creative manner and to
integrate it into the existing knowledge.
• What the new learning amounts to is that education
should fit in with the pupils’ environment. The more
relevant the knowledge and skills are, the greater the
motivation will be and the better it will all sink in. It
gives the pupils the opportunity to develop their own
talents. Each pupil is unique.
• The film Deep-level Learning (see DVD) gives an idea of
what the starting points mentioned above may look like
in practice.
• The website www.onderwijsmaakjesamen.nl offers a
lot of practical and inspiring tips and information.

follow the pupils’ learning development?
Only too often, the pupils are pursued by a weekly stream of
tests that usually only measure the final results (knowledge)
of the average pupil. These tests measure in the short
run whether the pupils remember the knowledge, but not
enough whether this knowledge has been really understood
(in the long run).
25
Tests are still often one-sided and usually focus on cognitive
subjects like arithmetic and language. Socio-emotional
development, physical and creative knowledge often get
too little or no attention. The pressure on achievements
increases both for the pupil and the teacher. The present
tests are not always objective enough and do not sufficiently
support the actual following of the pupil’s learning process.
Follow learning or follow pupils?
What?
All pupils are different. That will never change. If we transform
education into education with a more pupil-oriented approach,
assessment with average standards does not do justice to these
differences.
If we take the pupil and his learning as starting point, we will have
to follow the individual development carefully. The development
of pupils may be followed and registered systematically by using
a pupil monitoring system. This system follows the development
systematically and is made up of instruments for observation
and tests that are set at agreed times by the teacher in every
class. In this way, the teacher spots vulnerable pupils in time.
They may be both drop-outs and highly gifted pupils. The data
that is collected enable the teacher to adjust his own pedagogic
and didactic approach in the classroom both at group level and
at individual level.
At school level, the data can also be used to improve certain
fields. The pupil monitoring system also takes the medium-term
and final goals of the educational programme into account. A
pupil-oriented approach makes it necessary to follow learning.
What is the puzzle?
Are we going to keep pursuing the pupils with weekly tests that
only test the memorizing of subject matter? Or are we going to
Consequently, reports do not give a correct picture of the
pupils’ learning development and can hardly be used to
adjust and improve education in the classroom and in the
school. Systematic following of the learning development
from infants to adolescents does not take place enough.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How can we systematically follow the pupils’ development with
a more pupil-oriented approach? How can we then respond to the
priorities that emerge from it. At pupil level? At group level or at
school level? Will this approach contribute to the improvement of
the quality of education?
What do we wish for?
In the desired situation, we are going to follow the pupil’s
learning instead of following the pupils. We focus attention on
following the total development of pupils while respecting the
differences among pupils. Of course, the child may be compared
with his own age group, but it is even more important to keep
comparing the pupil’s own personal development with previous
measurements of the pupil’s development. How does the pupil
learn now? And what was it like, for example, three months ago.
Has any progress been made and in what area? Where is extra
support needed?
What is needed is a system that at regular intervals maps the
development of pupils in various educational or developmental
areas (so attention for physical, creative, and social and emotional
development, in addition to arithmetic, language and reading). The
pupil monitoring system maps both results and process aspects
(like motivation, task-focus, autonomy, well-being). The teacher
determines the plans of action for vulnerable pupils on the basis
of the findings. The findings are used to improve education at

26
classroom level and at school level. The pupil monitoring system
is coordinated by the school’s care coordinator (see chapter
3). Each teacher carries out the tests and observations in the
classroom under the guidance of this care coordinator. The head
teacher may use the results to keep working, together with his
team, at improving the quality of education.
How?
Each teacher is provided with an objective pupil monitoring
system that is made up of diagnostic tests, questionnaires and
observation lists that go with a particular age group. These tests
and observations are carried out at crucial moments in the school
calendar. The development of each pupil is followed in this way.
The teacher is trained in using the monitoring system.
He learns to apply the cyclical process of observing, analysing,
planning, acting and evaluating. The teacher offers the first extra
coaching that the pupil needs on the basis of the data from the
pupil monitoring system. This system follows the child during his
entire development. In addition to the cognitive development, the
socio-emotional development as well as the motor and creative
development is followed.
The care coordinator coordinates the application of the pupil
monitoring system and, together with the team, collects
information about the items to be addressed in the various
subjects and educational areas. Together with the head teacher,
the team works out a plan of action.
Tips and information
• The LEARN project 2003-2007 has contextualized
and administered a number of validated tests during
a five-year monitoring survey (MINOV in conjunction
with VVOB and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven).
• Internationally, a number of observation and testing
instruments have been developed and tested. See for
example the webpage http://leerlingvolgsysteem.2link.
be.
• There are also attractive packages in the field of
socio-emotional development.
• A new development in following the pupils’ development
is the use of the ‘portfolio’.
Learning … what is it about?
What?
Education has been provided for centuries and we may safely
say that at first it consisted of having pupils memorize. Formerly,
learning chiefly implied transfer of knowledge, piling knowledge
on knowledge on knowledge. That was important. Even today, we
are swamped with knowledge and huge amounts of information,
and so are the pupils. Knowledge continues to be important in
the pupil-oriented approach. After all, you need a sound basis of,
for example, arithmetic and language skills to be able to function
in modern society. But the new learning is about more, namely:
• knowledge
• skills or competencies
• attitudes
The transfer of knowledge is expanded by attention for new skills
like looking for knowledge, looking at knowledge critically, showing
respect for one another, working together, learning together,
learning how to learn, dealing with sources of information, and
communicating. The transfer of knowledge is also expanded
by new attitudes like dealing with knowledge critically and
confidently, self-reflection. These are called competencies.
The new learning is both concerned with the process of learning
and the results that are achieved or the achievements. After all,
you are in school to learn something. It is important to keep
following the results of the learning process. They may be
indicators of the success of the learning process or the lack of
it. Less satisfactory results may be due to, for example, unclear
instructions on the part of the teacher, insufficient or inadequate
teaching aids, limited instruction time and insufficient time for
the pupil to digest the material. The teaching-learning process is
also important with the input and approach.
So it is not only the final result that counts but also the input.
What baggage does the pupil bring along? What approach has
been used to learn knowledge and skills? The process of learning
then starts and it includes, among other things, motivation,
sufficient self-confidence and knowing how to learn. In the end,
input and process both have an effect on the final result.
What is the puzzle?
Is it about knowledge? Or is it also about skills? Does learning
mean taking everything as being true? Or is it also thinking
critically oneself? What is the basic knowledge that every pupil
should have? And where may differentiation be applied?

The present-day approach still focuses too much attention
on developing knowledge by means of the pupil copying this
knowledge. Acquiring knowledge actively by oneself and thinking
critically by oneself still receive too little attention. The teacher
does not always know how to include these aspects in the dayto-day
pedagogic and didactic actions. There is external pressure
to finish the year programme and cram the pupils for the final
sixth-year test.
Our present and future pupils will have to function in an unknown
future society. We know that the present and future problems are
of a complex nature (in many areas, like the environment, energy,
population growth). These problems demand new, creative
approaches and solutions. So, in addition to the basic knowledge
that the pupil requires, there is also a need for specific skills and
competencies. The pupil has to be able to deal with an enormous
quantity of information that constantly increases.
The pupil has to be able to communicate and collaborate,
think of solutions. More than anything, the pupil has to dare
to be self-confident and critical towards himself and to others.
Traditional education offers too few opportunities to learn
these skills. Approaches aimed at being self-critical and dealing
self-confidently with a number of problems could be emphasized
to a greater extent in the curriculum.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How do we make room for these new approaches? How do
we teach pupils skills like working together, using sources of
information and thinking critically? How do we work at a sound
foundation of basic knowledge? And where can we differentiate?
What do we wish for?
In the desired situation, education continues to be aimed at
achieving optimal results, but results which are better suited to
the potential of each pupil. Education also pays enough attention
to the input and process aspects. Results are seen as something
broader than just the cognitive subjects like language, arithmetic
and reading. Other aspects like creative skills, social skills,
autonomy, self-reflection, self-confidence, collaboration etc. are
also regarded as results of education. Instead of an average
standard that the pupils have to meet, it is especially the pupil’s
personal learning development that is taken into account.
In addition to the transfer of knowledge, the school’s curriculum
also pays attention to these basic life skills. The pupils learn to
work together, to find solutions together and to deal with sources
of information. It is important for the pupil to learn to have the
courage to be self-assured and critical towards himself and to
others. In this way the pupils learn all kinds of competencies that
they are going to need now and later in society.
How?
The students at teachers’ training colleges and the teachers
already working in education are trained in process-oriented
approaches and basic life skills. Pupils are followed and coached
in their learning process by means of a pupil monitoring system.
Pupils are looked at from a broader, holistic perspective. This
means that, in addition to arithmetic and language, other
educational areas like knowledge of the world, creative subjects
and socio-emotional development are given ample attention. This
does more justice to the differences among pupils.
Tips and information
• The Basic Life Skills programme offers a sound package
of competencies. They are: Learning to do, Learning to
be, Learning to live, Learning to learn. More information
is to be found on the UNESCO website www.unesco.
org/education.
• Google on the Internet: United Nations school bus
project. It provides inspiration for all age groups by
means of numerous important topics.
• Key words on Google like ‘holistic learning’, ‘holism’,
‘holistic educational programme’ show different ways in
which the educational programme may be approached
as a total package for all aspects of the pupil.
• The MINOV/UNICEF/PCOS Kindvriendelijke Scholen
project is based on this holistic approach and in this
context ten training modules have been developed for
teachers.
Emilia Ferreiro (one of the great thinkers of the Americas)
says in a speech on education, ‘Children don’t have to
learn to learn. No more than children have to learn to grow.
Children learn and grow of their own accord!’ If it is true
what this wise woman says, the task that remains is to
change the learning process for children. Children feel best
if they can be themselves in the classroom.
27

28
The teacher and ‘her’ children
The writer Marilyn Simons puts herself in the position of
the girl Mabelle.
Mabelle is six years old and because she is six she had
to go to another class, with another teacher, in another
school. The teacher had explained it all to her kindergarten
class. She had said, ‘You have all passed’.
‘Tisn’t true,’ Mabelle had protested, ‘I haven’t passed.’
‘Oh, yes you have! Everybody in this class has passed, so
have you Mabelle. You know, don’t you, what I told you
yesterday … the big school … because you are big children
now … do you remember?’
‘But nobody has passed me,’ Mabelle tried again softly …
The teacher had not heard her. And that’s why she is now
in this new class, in a new school, with another teacher.
The teacher is strict. But still she is a sweet teacher.
‘You’re beautiful, Miss,’ says Mabelle, for she does not
dare to say ‘sweet’.
Sweet, you can’t say that at the school for big children,
they would all laugh at you!
The teacher has a beautiful bag. It is an orange bag, which
looks like a sun.
‘Your bag looks like a sun’, says Mabelle.
‘The sun is yellow,’ the teacher says, ‘my bag is orange.’
‘But it looks like the sun’, Mabelle says.
‘Sit down,’ says the teacher.
‘What is in your bag?’ asks Mabelle.
‘My God, child! Don’t be so inquisitive, inquisitiveness is
bad manners!’
Mabelle sits down quickly. She crosses her arms neatly, for
she wants to be a good girl.
When grandma comes to stay, she brings her shopping bag
and she says, ‘Tell me first whether you’re curious, for only
curious children may come and look into my bag!’ Curious
children, that is what grandma says, curious children are
smart children, they want to know everything. Grandma
then asks, ‘Mabelle, come and tell me, what have you
learnt at school today?’ Grandma is the sweetest of all,
but grandma is not as clever as the teacher.
The teacher is standing in front of the class, holding her
pointer. She says, ‘A stands for Anna, she is eating an
apple, B is for the banana that mummy is frying …’
‘B also stands for bum’, Mabelle calls out.
Not a single child in the classroom can keep still. ‘Oops,
whew, bum, Mabelle is saying bum! Mabelle has said bum!’
What fun, what a laugh. Lottie falls off her chair. Dino
plays the drum with his pencil, Wayenne wants to dance.
The pointer becomes impatient. ‘Quiet, quiet, quiet! What‘s
going on here? Mabelle, you’re a dirty girl! Dino, if you
don’t stop at once, I would like to see which is the better
drummer, that pencil of yours or my pointer!’
Dino does not use imagery, he is only seven. But he knows
his teacher well. He has been in her class for almost a whole
year. If she raises her voice like that, it means: punishment!
Standing in a corner, sitting at your table and putting your
head on your arms on the table, staying behind.
You cannot laugh in the classroom, unless the teacher
wants you to laugh of course. And saying bum is rude,
dirty, filthy language! The pointer is angry. It goes bang,
bang against the edge of the table. Rigid like little soldiers,
the children sit staring at the blackboard.
Mabelle is sad. She has to put her head in her arms on
top of her table. She has not even made a mistake. And,
actually, she did not even intend to say bum. But bum has
the same ‘buh’, hasn’t it, that’s what she meant, that’s
what she wanted to say. She does not dare anymore.
Perhaps the teacher does not like her and that’s because
she is so stupid. Stupid, stupid, nitwit! Yet, she is sure that
the B of banana is the same B as that of Bum, isn’t it? Or
is it? Buh ... Buh... Bum. Mabelle, her head on her arms,
is blowing spittle bubbles on top of the table. She is not
sure any more whether it is really B. B and D are so much
alike. Another time she had better not say anything. She
will stay silent another time. Good girls remain silent. And
smart children do not say stupid things in class. Buh, buh,
banana… ball…belly…bum!
The pointer nags tap, tap, beating the rhythm of droning.
‘We may not talk, not have fun, not laugh in class.’

Interview with Cynthia Mc Leod
29
Education means
helping the pupil to do better
I think it’s very important to stimulate what is positive in pupils.
If things do not go quite as they should, if a pupil scores an
unsatisfactory mark, we can deal with it in a constructive way.
To me, it means that I go into what the pupil has understood
and what he has not. What is the reason that the pupil has
had an unsatisfactory mark? That’s much more effective than
snapping at the pupil and pulling him to pieces. A teacher who
keeps wondering, ‘How can I help the pupil to do better?’ is the
teacher we need in education.
Cynthia Mc Leod, author, teacher of Dutch
A child without education can survive. But surviving is something
quite different from living. It’s the task of education to make sure
that children can open up, can develop in terms of knowledge, skills
and attitudes to life.
Optimum participation
in the society in which
we now live requires
a great many skills.
Teaching those can be
done in a bossy voice,
in a rigid way, but also in a playful way. Experience has taught
us that children pick things up best when they learn in a more
playful way. The pupil then feels at home and knows no fear. It
doesn’t mean there need not be any discipline, for a child also
learns from discipline. Discipline is needed to create structures
and limits. This shows the child a certain direction.
I’m one of the first Surinamese teachers of Dutch. We have given
Dutch as a subject a Surinamese twist. Dutch was truly Dutch
at the time. We then managed to get Surinamese literature and
history included in
the curriculum. Not
a word had been
written down. As a
teacher you had to
go and find things
yourself. I happened
to be very much interested in Surinamese history. What was it
like in the past? I have studied Suriname’s history my entire adult
life. I was a teacher who went to look for what had been written
and how to get this across to the pupils.
Yu mus’ sab’ yu trotro fu kan sabi pe y’ e go:
You have to know your background to be able to shape your future.
A Surinamese proverb says: yu mus’ sab’ yu trotro fu kan sabi pe
y’e go. You have to know your background to be able to shape
your future. It is important to know what your roots are, so that
you know how things turned out and what effect they had. From
that point on, you may feel what you had better do or not do,
what as a society we should want or not want in the present.
Everything we now do and what we choose to do has effects on
future generations.
We should not get stuck in the past, carry ourselves as though
we were victims and feel embittered. It is
no good to anybody: we need not and we
should not.
Precisely by knowing
our background, all of us
together can make sure that
we do things differently,
better, in the present.
See DVD for a better
view of the interview

124
Marcel Pinas

2
The classroom,
that’s where it happens
31
Each and every day
The class is attended by
Pilots, welders, nurses and doctors,
Mothers and fathers,
Hairdressers, bank managers and artists,
And, who knows, the future president.
Each and every day
You shape the future
Of all that in your classroom.
Our classes are attended by this future every day. Every day we
provide nourishment, care and incentives. It is truly a privilege to
do this, to actually be a teacher. It is by no means an easy task,
but it is a challenging one: to be allowed to mean something to
the life of people whose growth is at its height.
Being a teacher means being allowed to take part in shaping this
future. The energy that is generated between the pupil and the
teacher in the classroom provides an optimum process of growing
and learning. Just like plants in the botanical world, each pupil
requires his own approach and environment to blossom fully.
The teacher plays an important part in stimulating the learning
power present in the pupil. He may make the process flower or
even wither due to his day-to-day responsibility in the classroom.
A teacher from one of the rural areas said, ‘Motivated teachers
made me feel happy inside’.
All day-to-day activities of the pupils and the teachers take place
in a classroom environment. We speak of a powerful learning
environment if it substantially contributes to learning, in other
words, a classroom which displays a lot of visual material related
to the subject matter.
The organization of this learning environment and the way of
teaching (teacher’s style) make the environment powerful. The
way in which the teacher teaches determines the opportunities
that the pupil gets. Teachers make or break good education.
The pupil and the teacher thrive in a stimulating and powerful
learning environment. Good teaching every day is conducive to
the growing power of all pupils. This is the source of motivation
and inspiration for every teacher.
The chapter is organized in the following way:
1. We start with the story about the desired, ideal
situation.
2. We then present statements made by people from all
over the country.
3. We conclude with background information:
• The teacher and his learning power
• Sensitivity to pupils
• The powerful learning environment
• Organize the classroom
• The right approach
• Balance of head, heart and hands

The dream
32
A heart from Miss Naomi?
I’ll just have to wrap up the surprise for Sandro, Miss Naomi
thinks. Sandro does not find learning easy, but he has tried
very hard to do his sums. I can just see him, smiling shyly, she
thinks happily. It is going to be a busy week, she sighs. Preparing
lessons, having meetings and a workshop … Toot, toot. It is the
bus. It is waiting outside to take her to school. She quickly has
a slice of bread and gulps her tea and hurries to the bus that is
about to leave.
‘Good morning, Miss Naomi,’ says the driver who takes her to
school every day. ‘How are things with you?’
‘All right, all right,’ answers Miss Naomi, though she knows
better. Her diary is full of appointments for the week. Meanwhile,
a number of children she knows get on the bus.
‘Good morning, Miss Naomi,’ they shout enthusiastically. They
give her another eager look.
When the bus stops in front of the school fifteen minutes later,
Miss Naomi gets out and enters the school yard. It is already quite
busy. The children are playing to their hearts’ content. She sees a
lot of happy faces. But eh, what is happening at the mango tree
at the end of the yard. She gets a little closer and has a better
look. Two girls from her class are calling Indira names. Indira.
Instead of punishing them at once, Miss Naomi quietly goes up
to the girls.
‘Hello girls, how are you?’ she asks. She does not comment on
the situation but takes something from her bag. The three girls
look expectantly at what is going to appear. They forget their
quarrel. There is always something exciting happening when
Miss Naomi is around. She takes a beautiful paper heart from
her bag. It is made of red cardboard. ‘I have a little problem,’ she
says smiling, for she knows what she is going to do.
‘Look, I think this heart is a little dull, I just can’t manage to
decorate it beautifully and I need it later in class. Can you help
me please? I have got some glitter and spangles, and some
coloured thread and paint. Come on,’ and the three girls follow
her curiously. The quarrel has been completely forgotten.
They are going to do something exciting for Miss Naomi! A little
later the girls are decorating the heart together. “Think of some
nice words to go with it,’ Miss Naomi added.
Singing sums
Music is heard in the classroom. All the children know what is
coming. They can hardly wait for the arithmetic lesson to begin.
They used to find arithmetic boring and difficult. But these
days arithmetic is their favourite subject. The music sounds,
the children get up. They sing the multiplication sums and rap
to the rhythm. Four times three makes twelve, eight times five
makes forty and the children soon sing the multiplication sums
at the top of their voice. Jasmine comes forward and mentions
the sums and the whole class joins in enthusiastically. So does
Sandro. Learning is great fun this way. You can move! And before
they realize, they have sung all the sums and they can easily

do those in the arithmetic book. The
children like doing them.
While they are doing their sums, Miss
Naomi is working with three pupils
at the table where they get special
instruction. It is a table in a quiet corner
of the classroom. It is quite normal for
the children to see Miss Naomi working
there with some children. They get
some extra attention and instruction.
For all children are different, and a
good thing it is too, or else the world
would be very dull.
The children feel at home in the
classroom. There are corners where
you can work and they have decorated
the classroom together with Miss
Naomi. The tables have been arranged
in groups of four and the children
may help one another speaking softly
when they are at work. They do not
whisper the answers, for they are not
in the classroom to copy one another,
are they? That is left to the copycats.
The children know very well that they
are in class to learn together. They
have learnt how they can learn and
work together.
Miss Naomi has enough books and
games that enable pupils to learn
things. She has arranged them neatly
in the cupboards. The children can
get the material themselves when
they have finished their work. There
are trays on top of the cupboards
with extra work to practise language
or arithmetic or other subjects. The
notice board shows the work prepared
by the children for a history project.
Once you have finished everything,
there is always something interesting
to choose. That is motivating.
The classroom hums with activity
It is hot in October, it is the dry season and it is almost unbearably
hot. Luckily, Miss Naomi is considerate. They do all the work
that takes a lot of thinking and concentrating before 10.30. But
around 11.00 they start the more creative subjects. One day it is
drawing, the next it is handicraft or music. All children work on
projects three times a week. Sandro’s mother is coming in today
to give a hand during the project class. The whole class is waiting
anxiously to learn what topic Miss Naomi has chosen.
The class is quiet as a mouse. Where has Miss Naomi gone?
What is keeping her? Suddenly, the door opens. A woman enters
wearing koto and angisa. ‘Good morning, children,’ she says.
She then sits down in Miss Naomi’s chair. Of all the cheek, the
children think. ‘Today I’m going to be your teacher.’ And she
starts to talk, about the plantation where she lives. The children
are all ears. She puts her hand underneath her clothes and brings
out a large heart, a beautiful, large, red heart, which is beautifully
decorated. It looks like a work of art. Say…, the three girls
recognize it. It is their heart. Could that woman …? They feel
warm with excitement. But the woman quickly makes them fix
their attention on her story once more … how people performed
beautiful dances at parties and how the master of the plantation
and his wife gave them sweet things on those occasions.
My fondest wish
A little later, all the children are working in groups at their fondest
wish, their heart’s desire. A little group would like to go on an
excursion to Zorg en Hoop Airfield. They want to know more about
aeroplanes. There is a lot of deliberation and discussion about the
matter. Miss Naomi has taught them how they can make a plan
together. The tasks are distributed and today Sandro is the leader
of his group. He makes sure that everyone participates. He is very
good at it. He seems a born leader.
Miss Naomi is also working at her fondest wish. She is going to
say more about it later.
The poem
Meanwhile it is almost twelve o’clock. It is very hot. The heat
has worn Miss Naomi out but she is pleased with the work the
children have done. Once the children are standing in front of
the class they know they have to be quiet. Miss Naomi calls it a
routine, something that recurs every day. She is clearly looking
forward to it and she is curious to know what the children have
come up with. The children give her so much in return, day after
day. It gives her the energy to continue, that satisfaction. The
children are sitting in a circle. They may tell one another in turn
their fondest wishes. They ask one another questions. They
understand the wishes even better now. All of a sudden Jasmine
puts up her hand. ‘Miss Naomi,’ she says, ‘and now your fondest
wish.’ The children know by now that that sweet woman just
now was none other than their Miss Naomi. Miss Naomi puts on
some beautiful, quiet background music. She looks at each pupil
intently. These are the priceless, beautiful moments for a teacher.
33

She begins to recite from memory:
I would like to bind you
into one people
without it remaining a dream
for in name we’re Surinamers
but in our actions we’re still black
Indian, Javanese or Chinese
34
I wish I could change your skin
heal your heart
in one perfect prayer
yet another request:
no longer go about this country blind
play with children who don’t have your blood type
speak the languages of all our people
just as you eat the menu of the world
I would like to bind you
into one people
without it remaining a dream.
Miss Naomi has not noticed that the head teacher, Mr. Sweet,
has entered the classroom and is standing in a corner listening.
How proud the head is to have someone like Miss Naomi teaching
in his school.
A born leader
‘Come in, Mrs. Blackson.’ Sandro’s mother enters. She appreciates
it that Miss Naomi has found time to talk about Sandro. They meet
once a fortnight. ‘Look,’ says Miss Naomi, ‘isn’t it beautiful?’ and
she shows Mrs. Blackson Sandro’s fondest wish. ‘This morning
Sandro has been the leader of his group and he has done so well.
He seems a born leader.’ Sandro’s mother is bursting with pride,
she loves her son so much. But she is also worried about his
achievements at school.
Miss Naomi carefully keeps a record of the progress made by the
pupils. She uses a pupil monitoring system that is used by all the
teachers in the school. In addition to language and arithmetic,
she also looks at Sandro’s social and emotional aspects. For if
you are afraid of making mistakes, that could be the cause of not
being able to learn well. She discusses the strong points with
Sandro’s mother and the points that require attention. Together
they draw up a plan for the classroom, the school and at home.
After 45 minutes they say goodbye. This week Miss Naomi will
have another discussion about the approach with Miss Saskia,
the school’s care coordinator.
Going home
After the final preparations in the classroom, Miss Naomi, tired
but satisfied, walks to the bus that will take her home. ‘Hello,
Miss Naomi,’ says the friendly bus driver.’ ‘Well, have you had a
good day today?’ ‘It has been a lovely day,’ says Miss Naomi, and
she walks to the back of the bus. She becomes lost in thought
and for a while thinks back to the girls’ quarrel, the beautifully
decorated heart and the surprised expressions on the children’s
faces when they discovered she was that unknown woman. It
was so funny. She smiles from ear to ear at the thought of it.
¹ Translation of Ik zou jullie willen binden
From Oog in Oog, Frente a Frente (Shrinivasi 1974)

Interview with Carl Breeveld
Carl Breeveld,
director of the Manmitman Association
Boys are crying out for a different approach
It is essential that education should take gender into account,
that it should respond to the needs of both boys and girls. At
the moment most dropouts are boys. That really worries me,
and many others with me. Rightly so, for an unskilled man is a
problem to society. More and more women are highly educated
and the men lag behind. It’s therefore important to stimulate
young men and we have carried out a project to this end, Stuka
doro gi opo doro: Continue your studies, continue to develop, so
doors may open for you.
Today’s education takes insufficient account of the child itself
and the development phase it is in. There is no point in, for
example, putting abstract things to children and all children need
a lot of variety and playful methods. Both boys and girls want to
do things, they want action, dynamism. If they work like that,
children, especially boys, don’t
drop out so easily. Teachers
should be equipped better to take
children’s different development
phases into consideration. You
can get both boys and girls to keep their mind on the lesson by
considering these matters in education. If you can’t incorporate
those things boys drop out sooner than girls do. That is what
is happening today. Many children are crying out for a different
approach in education and are therefore obstructive by carrying
on like madmen or by talking and giggling. This will disappear
with a more child-oriented approach.
Education is too focused on the cognitive aspect, the so-called
knowledge aspect. More should be invested in the educational
aspect. Socio-cultural training works at the development of the
core of human beings. Pupils that are not good at the cognitive
level should be given the opportunity to develop in other areas. By
offering a varied curriculum
that makes the most of
different talents, more people
get the opportunity to acquire
a place in society and move
forward.
These days the number of
female teachers in education
is disproportionately high.
That’s why I think that we
need more male teachers in school.
Stuka doro gi opo doro
Continue your studies so doors will open
Of course, education would have collapsed
completely without female teachers, but it is important for our
children, both boys and girls, to see male role models, especially
because there are so many
single-parent families without
a father. They see a mother
at home, a female teacher at
school. It would be a good idea
to give incentives to boys enrolling at a teachers’ training college,
so that the number of male teachers will increase.
In my opinion, success is not an ultimate goal but a process.
The basic conditions for this success include physical, social and
creative aspects. Man is a homo ludens by nature, a ‘playing
human being’. We learn and develop while we play, as long as
we get the freedom to play. Playing offers a lot:
creativity, contact with others, and dealing with
victory and loss. Educators, parents and teachers
play a key role in creating these basic conditions
for success.
See DVD for a better
view of the interview
35

36
Statements from all over the country
The fourth-year teacher was very dedicated,
sincere and warm. We children wanted to
imitate him. I have never forgotten this.
(Natascha Neus, Para)
My sweet kindergarten teacher told
us stories as if she were my mother.
She was fond of everybody. She has
been my role model and I have drawn
my inspiration from her. I wanted to
do my utmost to meet my teacher’s
expectations. I wanted to please her
and that’s what made me strive for
perfection.
(Esmé Boschmans-Valies, Paramaribo)
The teacher always held my
hand when I was learning
to write. It made me feel
accepted. It is a rewarding
task for the teacher to pull
pupils that are not so smart
through.
(Lygia Vriesde, Coronie)
I appreciate it when pupils can express their
opinions in a respectful way and are open and
when the teachers return this respect for their
children, but even better, show patience.
(Marlies Obergh-Boëtius, Marowijne)
In the fifth year of primary school, the
teacher told us something about history
during arithmetic, something about
geography during drawing. In this way the
subjects were integrated and because of this
integration I was better able to understand
the subject matter.
(Letitia, Nickerie)
You have to create an atmosphere
in which pupils feel at home in the
classroom. (Singoastro, Nickerie)
What stuck in my mind is the
teacher’s self-discipline. It stimulated
me enormously.
(Kaylas Sitaram, Wanica)
Cynthia Mc Leod was my form teacher
in the fourth form. She was not only a
teacher but a mother who motivated
me enormously to do better at English.
She brought heaps of English books to
school for me to practise. It made me feel
very good. At the same time, I felt I was
indebted to her, you see, for giving up so
much time and going to so much trouble to
enable me to achieve something.
(R. Ghisaidoobe, Para)
The teacher of the second year of primary school was an impressive
teacher. She was so clear, humorous and pleasant that I always wanted
to be the teacher and imitated her whenever we played school. It also
stimulated the urge and desire to become a teacher later on, which I did
eventually. (Monique Brown, Paramaribo)
Respect for one another
and understanding both
on the part of the pupils
and the teacher are
the basis for a good
relationship.
(Aisa Jainullah
Kasiemkhan, Nickerie)
Intellectual stimulation,
belief, trust, moral values:
they make life valuable. I
have been given lessons for
life and profound advice by
teachers at primary school
and secondary school.
(Bruce Sariredjo, Paramaribo)
You have to evaluate yourself as a teacher on a regular
basis to make up for missed opportunities and make the
most of yourself and the pupils.
(Shirley Lum Chou, Commewijne)
I was not just a teacher but a nurse, policeman, and mother and father to the children rolled into one.
(U. Jiawan, Nickerie)

At Futunakaba, the teacher learnt
to speak Saramaka (which she
could not speak before). She
really liked it because she could
then communicate freely with
the children. It stimulated her to
do her best. And she is glad that
she can now go back to teach
at Futunakaba.
(Gemberley Eduards, Sipaliwini)
Pupils can learn an enormous lot
from one another. That is what makes
learning enjoyable for them.
(Denise, Coronie)
I had my positive experience in
education at the school at Gujaba,
where I put some girls in school. The
parents did not want the girls to go
to school because they had to help
doing household chores. ‘They’ll only
learn how to write letters to boys at
school,’ the parents said. I did not
give up and eventually succeeded in
getting the girls in school. There have
been girls at the school at Gujaba
ever since.
(Evi Vrede, Brokopondo)
I was stimulated enormously to
study by the patience, love and good
examples of my teachers.
(Geeta, Saramacca)
I myself am motivated to teach.
It comes from within.
(Moesafirhoesein, Saramacca)
Appreciate the work of each pupil,
because each pupil has his own ideas.
(Kartoikromo-Badroen, Commewijne)
I still feel good even now
about the teacher’s idea to
cherish unity and love among
the pupils.
(J. Kohinor, Wanica)
If you are a teacher yourself, it means that you
have to try your very best. Making children into
something. It takes love and patience to do it.
(Maike Ramlochan, Commewijne)
Thanks to the fourth-year teacher learning fractions has been a
memorable experience for me. With the use of fruits that I knew in the
interior, like orange and gourd. Depending on the fraction we had to
learn, sugar cane was divided into two, three or four parts. I understood
fractions offered in this way very well. I still employ the same method
of using objects the pupils know as visual aids.
(Urma Rozenhout-Hoop, Marowijne)
37
As a child I found it very hard to walk
seven kilometres to school. The teacher
made allowances for me.
(Billy Klassy, Brokopondo)
I appreciate the teachers that continue
to teach under very difficult conditions,
the teachers in the interior, for
example, and the pupils in the interior,
who take the same test as the children
in Paramaribo and yet some of them
pass. (Glenn Lugard, Sipaliwini)
Enthusiastic teachers made me feel
happy inside when I was a child.
(Viola Tjon Kiet Soeng, Saramacca)
The teacher’s stimulating words
were very important to me.
(Cheryl, Coronie)
What I will always remember
from the time I was in
kindergarten are the teacher’s
motivation and attention.
(Anneke Djopawiro,
Coronie)
Good teaching has been for
me the foundation of my
later career.
(Soraya Descartes, Wanica)
The headmaster, Mr. Strijder, used
to pass on all sorts of wisdom to
us during the raising of the flag
ceremony. They have been very
important for me and my life. One
of them: You’re going to school
today and you’re going to plant
knowledge. Tomorrow you’ll harvest
the knowledge you need to help build
up the country.
(Albert Aboikoni, Sipaliwini)

38
Explanation
The following background information continues
the discussion of the views on pupil-oriented and
child-friendly education.
We start with The teacher and his learning power.
His role is crucial in the pupil’s learning process. If
the teacher uses his power optimally to stimulate
and support the learning of each pupil, the results
will improve.
Next, it is essential that teachers should have Feeling
for pupils. Positive, stimulating guidance which
shows that the child is really understood and seen
improves the pupil’s achievements. This will make a
pupil blossom and flourish.
The third background issue deals with the importance
of a Powerful learning environment. This powerful
environment is concerned with the organization of
the classroom and the school environment, but also
with the teacher’s style. New developments, like the
introduction of the computer, have an effect on the
learning environment all over the world and call for
new didactic approaches.
Together with the pupil and the teacher, the learning
environment forms a major triangle in our story.
That is where learning takes place: in the classroom.
A good organization of that classroom once again
facilitates learning. The section Organize the
classroom deals with it. Evidence-based research
shows that there are didactic approaches that are
effective in the pupils’ learning. More information is
to be found in the section The right approach.
We conclude the background information with the
section Balance of head, heart and hands. Transfer
of knowledge (head) is important. After all, you need
a foundation to continue learning. But research and
experience have shown that active learning, being
allowed to act, experimenting (acting) and the
emotional experience of learning (heart) also matter.
The fact is that pupils with a positive self-image and
self-confidence learn a lot more easily.
The teacher and his learning
power
What?
Each pupil has learning power. But how can this learning
power be stimulated to a greater extent? Learning is generating
considerable interest. And even though the pupil has to do the
learning himself – after all, the teacher teaches – the teacher
is still very important in the classroom. He can stimulate the
learning power by using an approach that makes pupils actually
learn. It is important to realize that most of the problems arise
because pupils do not learn in the right way and not because the
content is unclear. Traditional learning still causes many problems
to large groups of pupils. The question: How do I learn exactly?
is hardly answered. The subject matter and too much control on
the basis of the subject matter still command too much attention
in the classroom. But in the end what matters in learning is the
question: How do I learn exactly?
An approach that starts from learning power
1. provides conscious instruction and conscious practice;
2. does justice to differences in prior knowledge, so that
each pupil can set to work with confidence;
3. stimulates enjoyment and curiosity, so that the pupils will
be more committed;
4. is in keeping with the pupils’ learning habits or learning
styles; after all, each pupil has his own way of learning;
5. gives pupils enough time to enable them to learn;
6. provides positive inducements.
Conscious practice requires that the pupil should know exactly
beforehand what is going to be learnt. This provides the basis
on which the pupil can work out for himself what else he needs
to achieve the learning goal. Self-management is a key concept
here. Meaningful learning also results in pupils being able to
understand the subject material better. Knowledge of different
styles of learning does justice to differences.
The teacher can see to a powerful organization of the environment.
He can also see to a powerful approach in the classroom and take
care that actual learning can take place. It is exactly this power
that the teacher has that contributes to learning in the classroom.
After all, each person – including the pupil – grows thanks to
positive learning moments, compliments and the experience of
success.

What is the puzzle?
What should be given attention to in the classroom? Is it the
textbook? Or is it just the pupil? Or both?
Too much attention is still devoted to following the content of the
curriculum. The book must be finished. The chapter has to be
finished. A lot of filling in and copying has to be done. All pupils
begin and finish at the same time, they all work at the same page
on the same day. As a teacher you are going to be very busy.
You have to see to it that all pupils set to work seriously and
continue to work. You have to check them and correct them. And
if you are out of luck, you have to correct and assess all those
written pages too. This is not pupil self-management but teacher
management. The page is done and the book is finished. The
target has been met. But it is also vital to look at what has been
learnt in the end.
The major piece of the puzzle is: How can we really focus
all attention on learning so that the pupils’ learning power is
stimulated optimally?
What do we wish for?
It is stimulating the learning power in children that causes pupils
to start learning. On the one hand, it depends on the pupil’s
own inner motivation, potential and interest. The more the pupil
himself feels like learning and uses his own potential to that end,
the better deep-level learning can take place. On the other hand,
the pupil goes to school every day. That is where he meets his
fellow pupils and the teacher.
It is desirable that every teacher should be able to use his learning
power in the classroom. The learning process or growing process
is set in motion, stimulated and nurtured to a greater extent.
Only then can we achieve optimal results. Pupils do need learning
power.
How?
The teacher
• creates a powerful learning environment;
• coaches learning in a positive way and uses didactic
approaches;
• asks questions that invite thinking, investigation, reflection
or action; open questions that offer more opportunities
for answers; questions that keep pupils on their toes and
invite them to solve cognitive conflicts; questions that
stimulate the pupil to think himself together with other
pupils;
• is a model for how a pupil can be actively engaged in
learning. If the pupils notice that the teacher himself
also learns and does not know all the answers, learning
in school becomes more interesting. If pupils have to
answer questions they suspect the teacher already knows
the answers to, they are apt to think the question is
meant to test their knowledge. It does not stimulate them
enough;
• has the courage to break traditional patterns. Working
silently and on one’s own may give way to working
together effectively. Suddenly there is less need to discuss
work afterwards, because pupils have already given one
another feedback. Too many and one-sided rewards with
stickers may sometimes have negative effects on learning,
because pupils especially focus on the achievement. What
matters is to accept responsibility for your own results
and for the result of practice;
• provides good teaching, day by day.
39
Tips and information
• Using learning power and focusing attention on learning
does not happen as a matter of course. The teacher also
has to learn himself. It is about the teacher’s own learning
process. It only works if the teacher takes responsibility
for it himself and takes time to learn new skills.
• Start changing something that pupils have affinity with,
like a particular subject or a particular approach.
• Find out what conditions are needed. See to adequate
communication with the pupils, colleagues and parents
about what you are going to try. Be open to feedback.
• Announce to the class that you are going to learn
together and explain clearly what will be done
differently and why. It is new to the teacher and the
pupils and that is why it will have to be discussed in
detail.
• Being a teacher often means: dare to let go of old
patterns and try out new ideas; making mistakes is
allowed and reflection is important.
• Interesting websites are www.krachtvanleren.
nl, www.leerkracht.nl,www.kennisnet.nl, www.
lereniseenmakkie.nl, www.hersenenenleren.nl, www.
leren.nl

40
Sensitivity to pupils
What?
Sensitivity to pupils, it is so obvious. And yet, it is sometimes
forgotten. The interaction among pupils, teacher and subject
matter affects the pupil. If the interaction is good, the pupil will
have the feeling, the experience that he can believe in it. It is an
essential basic competency of every teacher to be sensitive to the
pupil’s perception. It is about the extent to which the teacher, in
interactions with the pupils, responds to their emotional needs.
The teacher is aware of what he says to pupils and how he
says it.
So what matters is that the teacher can enter into the
feelings or emotions experienced by pupils in certain
situations: being sad or cheerful, angry or scared, being
disappointed or seized by panic, feeling happy or
miserable, feeling connected or lonely, jealous
or disillusioned, relaxed or confused. There is
an infinite variety of feelings. The question
that should always be asked during class
activities is: does the pupil feel good about
what the teacher says or does, or does
he not? And what can the teacher
do to create a positive climate that
offers room for different feelings
and emotions?
Coaching by the teacher
who takes this personal
experience of pupils
into consideration has
a positive effect
on the pupils’
development.
The pupil’s
self-respect
increases,
he does not
feel alone but,
on the contrary,
he feels safe and
connected. He draws
strength to admit feelings
and in this way enhance the
chance of internalizing them.
Coaching characterized by lack of
respect, irritation and belittlement makes
a pupil feel small and humiliated. The pupil is
not stimulated to explore his feelings, and may
even feel hurt after the interaction and be driven even more to
deal with the environment in a negative way. The relationship
then deteriorates noticeably and it becomes more and more
difficult to put the pupils back on the right track.
What is the puzzle?
How do we follow pupils’ feelings? And what about the
teacher’s own feelings?
We know by now that it is more difficult to
achieve optimal results without a positive
perception on the part of the pupil. If,
as a pupil, you feel happy, cheerful
and confident, it has a positive
effect on learning.
Both in class and
outside it, the
t e a c h e r
constantly
interacts with
his pupils, and
mutual feelings
are transmitted in
the process. It often
happens unconsciously
rather than consciously,
even though we usually
think that our actions are
highly deliberate. If the teacher
himself is in good spirits and
confident, it has an effect on the
pupils.
Enthusiasm gets others enthusiastic. The
same applies to the reverse. So by means
of his way of interacting, the teacher can
make the pupils blossom and flourish more but
he can also cause them to wither.
Classes with too many pupils or too much pressure
on achievements, but also not knowing how to deal
with one’s own perception and that of the pupils, may
result in a focus on negative perceptions.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How can the teacher take the pupils’ feelings and his own
feelings into consideration? And how can the desired, positive
behaviour be stimulated?

What do we wish for?
The teacher is aware of his own
feelings. It is only human for teachers
to get on better with some pupils than
with others. We all have our personal
preferences. But a professional
teacher is aware of it. He can ignore
it, as it were, temporarily and not let it
influence the learning process in the
class. He is above it.
41
Being sensitive to perception is a
regular skill demonstrated by the
teacher in pedagogic action. The
pupil will feel seen more quickly. It
will make it easier to maintain the
teacher’s connectedness with the
pupil and learning. The interviews
and statements illustrate again and
again that teachers who turn out to
be sensitive to perception, who really
see the child, are always reminded
of their own childhood for years to
come.
Feeling yourself seen as a pupil is an important factor contributing
to the success of the learning process. Society’s diversity also
makes it necessary to know the pupils’ social, religious and
cultural backgrounds and really understand them. Being sensitive
to the pupil certainly leads to better results, greater satisfaction
on the part of the teacher and especially to education giving
satisfaction.
How?
The teacher can find out whether he is sensitive to perception by
asking himself the following questions:
Respect
• Does my behaviour (in speech and action) express respect
and equality?
• Do I approach the pupils as equal persons? Do I take them
seriously?
Attention
• Do I spend enough time on individual pupils?
• Do I put pupils in the centre of positive interest?
• Do I give them the feeling they are worth it, they belong,
have a place in the group?
• How do I meet the need for attention and recognition
through what I do and say?
• Do I pay attention to desired behaviour in particular?
Affection
• Do I show my affection and do I take care of all my pupils?
• Do I pay compliments regularly, give pupils a pat on the
head, praise them?
• Do I adjust to the pupil’s own way of having contact?
Confirmation
• Do I monitor success and failure of pupils? In what way do
I deal with it?
• Do I regularly draw the pupils’ attention to their
achievements, to how they deal with others and to who
they are as human beings?
• How do I use opportunities, in speech and action, to make
pupils experience that they are competent?
Clarity
• Am I sufficiently clear to the pupils about what is expected
of them, about what is going to happen?
• Do the pupils find enough to hold on to in their environment
as far as time, space and persons are concerned?
• Do I give realistic information to adjust wrong or frightening
representations of certain phenomena?
Understanding
• Do I consider pupils’ feelings and emotions? Do I put myself
in their environment? Do I show and feel that I understand
them?
• Do I help pupils to get a grip on what concerns them
emotionally?

42
Tips and information
Six basic principles should prevail in the classroom to make
children feel at ease¹.
Respect
To show respect for children, the teacher allows the
children to start the conversation themselves when
they enter the classroom. Children communicate
spontaneously with the teacher and the teacher
encourages them by asking open questions.
Spontaneous communication is the fruit of the
teacher’s good relationship with the children. A good
relationship is a relationship in which the teacher sees
the children as equal and keeps inviting them to share
experiences.
Attention
Children need attention and want to be seen and
heard. Teachers have to respond to this. Example: the
teacher notices that Steven is proud of his project on
the Amazon. Or that Wendy suddenly grasps fractions.
The teacher shows interest by noticing and remarking
on these feelings, ‘You’ve done very well’, ‘I’m happy
for you’.
Affection, confirmation, clarity and understanding
When carrying out activities, teachers can tell the
pupils something and ask them whether they like it or
not. Children then get the feeling that they may help
to decide and that their opinion counts. If it becomes
clear that pupils feel unsafe or threatened, the teacher
should show understanding of it. Besides, it is important
that the teacher should make clear arrangements with
the children and stick to them. Children must be able
to predict the teacher’s behaviour.
Websites and books:
wwwgoodfeeling.nl, www.eq.startpagina.nl,
www.sociaalemotioneel.nl, www.basislink.nl.
Suriname has tried out materials about axenroos (see
also the keyword axenroos on Google). Daniël Coleman
is known for his work on emotional intelligence. Besides,
a great many teaching programmes have been developed
that focus attention on socio-motional development.
The powerful
learning environment
What?
An environment? And powerful at that. What do we mean exactly?
Isn’t a classroom just a classroom? No, just as all pupils and
all teachers are different, similarly all classrooms are different.
Only by looking around the classroom do you quickly get an idea
of what happens in the classroom on a daily basis. In addition
to the pupils and the teacher, the so-called powerful learning
environment also plays an important role in learning. What we
mean by a powerful learning environment is an environment that
gives the pupils ample opportunity to develop, together with
others. An environment that, as it were, invites development,
that challenges children to learn safely in their own way and an
environment in which mistakes may be made as well.
A powerful learning environment is an environment in the
classroom and the school that offers interesting and challenging
materials, methods and activities to the pupils. The layout of
the classroom and the school is a determining factor in this
context, but also the activities that the teacher undertakes.
Attention is paid to versatility and variety. All development areas
are appealed to as much as possible to enable all pupils to come
into their own. The teacher’s style also plays an important role.
The teacher’s approach in the learning process strengthens
the learning environment in which the pupils spend their days.
A powerful learning environment invites inquisitiveness, discovery
and responsibility on the part of the pupil, self-management,
autonomy, discussions, cooperation and research.
¹ Adapted from the ideas of Ferre Laevers

Mr. Rakesh’s pupils have had lengthy discussions
about the rules their class has to stick to. You
can see them, complete with drawings, written
down on flip-over sheets that have been put up
on the wall. Together, they have drawn up five
important rules: listening to one another and
hearing someone out; no eating and drinking in
the classroom; if you want to ask something,
you put up your hand; if you have to go to the
toilet, you just go. But there are also lots of
things about a history project they are working
on, about Javanese immigration. A drawing of a
depot with exhausted immigrants made by Alex,
the great artist of the class. And last but not
least, the pots with germinating seed on some
old tables. In this way they can see what they
are learning. In the cupboard, there is a pile of
pieces of colourful cloth they can use when they act out a story.
Mr. Rakesh has just celebrated his birthday. His portraits drawn
by pupils and the birthday group photo with Mr. Rakesh in the
middle still hang on the wall.
What is the puzzle?
No two environments are alike. Should the classroom be full of
material? Should work produced by the pupils be put up all over
the walls and on clothes lines? Does the classroom arrangement
in rows have other effects than a group arrangement? How can
the environment be made powerful and contribute to the learning
process? Does the teacher’s behaviour play a part in the powerful
learning environment?
It is true that the classroom arrangement does have an effect
on learning. A crowded, chaotic, messy classroom arrangement
creates an untidy atmosphere. It often blocks a clear view.
A classroom arrangement with rows of desks and chairs can
give the teacher more control or it can create quiet for certain
activities. A group arrangement, on the other hand, invites
interaction and collaboration among pupils. In spite of concerted
efforts to renovate and expand, the teacher often lacks the
space and sufficient means to fit out the classroom effectively.
Overcrowded classrooms leave little room for more effective
arrangements. New school buildings are insufficiently based
on new ideas about powerful learning environments. There are
often too many pupils to one classroom to adequately offer equal
learning opportunities to each pupil. There are not sufficient
high-quality teaching materials both for the cognitive subjects and
the creative subjects. Sound, practicable curricula are also part of
the powerful environment. The environment is also determined to
a large extent by the teacher’s behaviour. Are you committed as
a teacher? Are you tired or rested, positive or negative? Are you
alternately serious and funny?
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How can we make the learning environment more powerful?
What does this involve for the classroom layout? And what does
it imply for the teacher?
What do we wish for?
We want every pupil to be able to learn in a powerful learning
environment. In this environment, the teacher uses his ‘power’
to achieve this. There are interesting and challenging materials,
methods and activities available for the pupils. The size of the
class is such that each pupil can get enough attention. The
teacher coaches the pupils in a positive, supporting way. The
environment is fitted out in such a way with materials and means
that it offers opportunities for individual work, group work, circle
discussions, autonomous work and working in workshops.
A sound and practicable curriculum strongly influences the
pupils’ achievements. This curriculum has two aspects.
1. The pupil is given ample opportunity to learn.
The pupil is given ample opportunity to make himself
familiar with the subject matter. The time needed may
differ from pupil to pupil. After all, a slow pupil needs more
time to practise than a quick pupil. In practice, there is
often a discrepancy between the planned programme, the
curriculum, and what is actually achieved in a school year.
2. The teacher is given sufficient time to realize the curriculum.
The teacher should therefore have enough time to deal
with the programme in the time available for teaching.
Programmes are often too tight and too much teaching
time is lost by ineffective class management.
43

44
The teacher can draw up a practicable and
sound curriculum with what is essential subject
matter and what can serve as extra material.
He makes sure that there is enough time for
pupils to make themselves familiar with the
important subject matter. He introduces a
clear order in the essential subject matter and
arranges it in such a way that the pupils will
have enough time to learn it. When planning
his lesson, he makes sure there is enough time
to deal with the subject matter.
Setting challenging goals and powerful feedback motivate the
pupils to learn. High, realistic expectations have a positive effect
on the pupil’s results, also on those of the so-called problem
pupils. Clear, attainable goals that are communicated to the pupils
clearly improve the performance. Above all, these goals also have
an effect on the school team’s cooperation (Marzano 2007, pp.
21-37, pp. 41-45). If the teacher gives regular, systematic and
powerful feedback to the pupil straight after the learning activity,
the learning performance will be influenced positively.
A safe and orderly environment enables pupils to learn
unhampered. Order and safety influence the pupils’ performance.
Aspects like pedagogic action, effective class management,
team spirit and professionalism of the team, setting challenging
goals and powerful leadership all contribute to a safe and orderly
learning environment in the school. Clear rules – drawn up
together with the pupils with meaningful consequences in case
they break them – create an orderly climate in the classroom. All
pupils need clear structures.
How?
Efficient planning and investments on the part of the
government are essential to satisfy a number of basic conditions.
Making long-term projections as to the increase in pupils
per district facilitates the planning of the need for facilities.
Adjustments to and renovations of existing school buildings may
take new approaches to learning into account, like collaborative
learning, autonomous learning, computer facilities. Giving
schools a more autonomous status will enable head teachers to
work in the school more efficiently with their own means.The
teacher himself can fix up the classroom in a different way by, for
example, arranging the tables in groups, putting up drawings and
photos, seeing to a clean classroom by assigning tasks to pupils,
creating corners, organizing autonomous work by organizing
cupboards well and having sufficient materials available.
Challenging goals may be set at school level
and possibly for specific pupils. In addition to a
fair government assessment system, feedback
may be given each term to the pupil and the
parents by means of an appropriate report which deals with the
learning development of the individual pupil. The government can
determine challenging final attainment levels and interim targets
and incorporate them into the curriculum.
A safe and orderly environment can be achieved by drawing up
clear rules of behaviour for the whole school. Fitting consequences
are thought up if the rules are not observed. Each class can
work at stimulating self-regulatory behaviour. A pupil monitoring
system can spot pupils at risk more quickly and in good time.
Tips and information
• The learning environments will be influenced
increasingly by developments within ICT (Information
and Communication Technologies). Education will be
confronted with it more and more.
• Websites: www.natuurlijkleren.net, www.mhr.nl,
www.teamontwikkeling.net, and keywords like digitale
leeromgeving, computers in de klas.
• Make sure that crucial subject matter can be dealt
with in the available time. Give the pupils enough time
to practise. Protect the time available for education.
Extending school days is costly and not always effective.
Schools can protect their time by being as efficient as
possible at the beginning of the school day, breaks and
playtime, changes of lessons and giving information.
Really use the instruction period for learning.

Organize the classroom
What?
A well-organized classroom contributes to learning power. The
teacher plans, prepares things and organizes effective learning
situations. Research has shown that class management is an
important factor in improving the pupils’ learning achievements.
That goes without saying. A chaotic classroom as a result of
poor class management not only causes achievements to stop
improving, but even leads to their deterioration.
45
Effective class management creates the conditions for giving
all children equal opportunities in education by, for example,
differentiation in the classroom. ‘Class management is creating
the conditions for successful education’ (Veenman 1993). The
following aspects are involved:
1. The layout of the classroom;
2. Rules and arrangements in the classroom and for the
school (routines);
3. Effective didactic skills;
4. Prevention of problem situations by thinking ahead and
planning;
5. The creation of effective learning time.
What is the puzzle?
Is the learning power greater if the classroom is well organized?
Is it only about the classroom arrangement or more? Effective
learning time is often lost due to an ineffective classroom
organization. As a result, the pupil will get less learning time
and the teacher will have less time for instruction: poor planning
and preparations, a packed programme, insufficient teaching
materials, lack of photocopying facilities, overcrowded classes, in
short, traditional teaching aimed at finishing the textbook.
Research has made it clear that a realistic and sound programme
allows both the pupil and the teacher more time to give enough
attention to the subject matter. The curricula are often too
ambitious. The time between half past seven and one o’clock is
precious and should be put to good use.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How do I organize the classroom in such a way that it makes a
positive contribution to learning? Does the arrangement change
during the day or the teaching activities? How do I organize the
school in such a way that the differences among children can
be taken into account to a greater extent? Can a contribution be
made at school level?

What do we wish?
46
The teacher organizes the classroom in an effective way. The
layout of the classroom is such that teaching materials are easily
available for the pupils. Forming groups can be done quickly and
efficiently with suitable furniture. Teaching materials in the form
of, for example, exercise material (revision, improvement) are
sufficiently available to make differentiation possible. The rules of
the classroom have been drawn up together with the pupils and
support the day-to-day routines. It is even better if these rules
have been brought in line throughout the school.
The teacher has effective didactic skills, including the ability
to differentiate. During the class Autonomous Working the pupils
work at their own assignments and the teacher has the opportunity
to spend time on care improvement. This routine of working on
one’s own is is used in the whole school. Experiences from pilots
(LEARN 2008, Kindvriendelijke Scholen 2007, UNICEF) show
that the pupils’ waiting time is considerably shortened. The
motivation of the pupils increases. The pupils’ autonomy is
challenged: I can do it myself.
Grouping pupils takes little time because the pupils are familiar
with the routine. The pupils are also used to carry out classroom
duties that rotate by means of a duty board. When planning
the day, the teacher anticipates possible problem situations and
knows how to prevent them by sound preparation. The lessons
are prepared and planned daily. The learning time needed by the
pupils and the instruction time that the teacher thinks he needs
are taken into consideration.
How?
A new teacher is coached by an experienced teacher in further
developing his own class management. At school level, team
meetings do not only fine-tune rules and arrangements (routines),
but also effective didactic approaches (like differentiation, working
autonomously, direct instruction, collaborative learning). Breaking
the rules and arrangements has meaningful consequences.
The head teacher, the care coordinator and the reform coordinator
regularly keep observations in the classrooms and coach the
teachers. Rules and agreements are limited to a minimum and
are visualized in the school building by, for example, pictograms.
The head teacher monitors the optimizing of the effective
learning time of each class. Problems are discussed openly and
respectfully during, for example, a special meeting.
Tips and information
1. Together with the pupils, write down all the rules you use
to organize the classroom.
2. Discuss an approach to observing these rules.
3. Discuss the most important rules and practices in the
classroom on the first day.
4. Be clear and friendly. Stimulate desired behaviour and
stop undesirable behaviour.
5. Organize enjoyable things that enable you to get to know
the children.
6. Be positive and optimistic. Indicate that you expect your
pupils to be successful in your class and that you will help
them to be so.
7. Avoid situations which you are sure that many pupils will
fail.
8. Tackle misbehaviour quickly and resolutely. Bullying is not
accepted.
9. Prepare yourself well.
10. Be predictable in your approach. It benefits the weak
pupils. Use both controlling and coaching approaches in
your classroom.
Interesting websites are www.internetwijzer-bao.nl/
klassenmanagement.nl, www.ontwerpatelier.nl,
www.ictopschool.net

The right approach
What?
The teacher can strengthen his learning power enormously with
the help of a correct didactic approach. Research (Marzano
20030) shows that organizational, pedagogic and didactic action
has a positive influence on learning achievements. Effective
teachers use an effective approach. The pupil-oriented approach
advocates a balance between both the teacher-controlled and
the pupil-controlled actions. By teacher-controlled action we
mean that in the classroom the teacher uses quite consciously
a specific approach that influences the pupils’ learning of the
moment as optimally as possible. This is something completely
different from the traditional approach, in which the teacher is
mainly led by the content of the books and takes it as a starting
point.
47
Other tips for the layout:
1. Reserve a space in your classroom for a circle without
having to shove around furniture too much. Give pupils
a set place.
2. Create working places for pupils that need a quiet
moment.
3. Create room where you can give instruction to a small
group of pupils.
4. Arrange the furniture in such a way that you can see
the faces of all the pupils.
5. Pay attention to the route the pupils have to take to get
materials or, for example, to go to the toilet. A wrong
route may cause a lot of unrest. Do not put pupils
with concentration problems or behavioural problems
on this route.
6. Introduce a clear order when placing books, exercise
books and materials in your classroom, like subject by
subject.
7. Take care that everybody has a clear view of the
blackboard.
8. Computer monitors may seriously distract pupils. Try to
arrange the classroom in such a way that they cannot
be seen from the classroom.
9. Make sure that the desks and chairs are the right height
for the pupils.
10. Reserve room for displaying the work made by pupils.
Well-prepared and planned instruction and an effective approach
support the learning process. We mention six effective types of
approach (of course, there are more):
• working autonomously and the instruction table
• the direct instruction model
• collaborative learning
• differentiation
• interactive education
• creative methods
What is the puzzle?
Do the pupils always need desks in rows and wait for what the
teacher says and carry out what he says? Or are they allowed to
think themselves and be active? Just start working at something
or work with clear action plans? Always in the same way or
is there variety? Is the book used as the starting point for the
transfer of knowledge or learning or is the pupil used as the
starting point with an approach that suits the occasion?
So far, traditional education has not taken enough advantage of
proven effective teaching methods. These methods are sometimes
insufficiently known or insufficiently trained with the teachers.
As a result, the pupil’s learning power is insufficiently stimulated.
It is often not clear to the pupil, for example, what is being learnt
and why. A lot of precious, effective learning time – so learning
power – is lost because of an ineffective approach. In this way
the drop-outs in particular, the pupils that learn more slowly, and
the bright pupils, the fast pupils, benefit too little from education.
Only too often, pupils have to wait until everybody has finished
and then continue with the lesson. Research has demonstrated
that there are methods that have a strong, positive influence on
learning.

48
The pieces of the puzzle are:
What approach is effective and influences
the pupil’s learning? How and when does the
teacher use this approach?
What do we wish for?
What we want is an effective approach
in the classroom to stimulate the learning
power optimally, to let all the flowers in the
classroom blossom. It is about more effective
and more deep-level learning. This is the case
when pupils are in a clearly structured learning
situation. That structure is provided by the
teacher. Hence the term ‘teacher-controlled’
approach. By a teacher-controlled approach
is meant the conscious use of various teaching methods that
optimize learning.
Effective learning of basic knowledge and basic skills may be
started for all pupils at the beginning of the teaching session
and later for the pupils that require extra practice. The subject
matter is then deepened to a greater extent (by, for example,
collaborative learning or interactive education). Effective learning
can take place during the instruction by means of the model of
direct instructions. The main characteristic of this way of working
is a clear organization of the subject matter, a clear structure of
the lesson, and direct feedback to the pupils. Effective learning
can also be applied during a daily hour of working autonomously,
when all pupils are working at, for example, a number of basic
and optional assignments. The pilots (Kindvriendelijke Scholen,
LEARN, Kalbobis and so on) have demonstrated that this
greatly motivates the pupils. Pupils learn a lot from one another.
Collaborative learning in small or larger groups using methods
tailored to the pupils is an excellent means of understanding the
subject matter more deeply.
The new methods emphasize the
interaction between the teacher and the pupil
or the interaction the pupils have among
themselves with regard to the subject matter.
Mutual interaction makes active, makes
committed, motivates and helps the pupils to
understand the subject matter well. Besides, it
improves the pupil’s language skills. It is building
knowledge as also explained in chapter 1 in the
section on social constructivism.
The teacher can find support in collaboration
with colleagues. Discuss attractive methods
that you have applied successfully with one
another. In this way you learn from one another. A cupboard
full of creative material and a notebook giving methods used for
various goals can help you if you are stuck.
How?
Train teachers in using these effective didactic skills. Incorporate
this approach into the subject matter that is used on a daily
basis in the classroom (curriculum) and coach the teacher (e.g.
by the reform coordinator and the head teacher) in using it.
What can the teacher do himself?
1. Use an effective approach in class regularly, so that it
increasingly becomes a routine both for the pupil and the
teacher. Include effective methods consciously.
2. Always set clear goals and keep referring to them during
the lesson. Pay attention to progress, reward desired
behaviour or achievements, alternate group work and

individual work. Provide variety.
3. Keep concentrating intently on the subject matter
you offer. The teacher focuses his attention on
the learning experiences of the class, prior to
the subject matter, during and after the lesson.
Prior knowledge is activated (what do we
already know?), questions are activated (what
do we want to know?) and afterwards we look
back (what do we now know better?).
4. Make sure there is enough learning time
allowing all pupils sufficient time for revision,
practice and applying the subject matter. The
pupils are stimulated to become more familiar
with the subject matter. One child will need
more practice and the other child far less.
Applying what has been learnt, in a team, leads
to more depth and better understanding. Again,
the effective teacher creates opportunities for
children by means of his clear approach.
5. Discuss regularly what you have done. In this
way you will get new ideas.
49
Tips en information
What characterizes working with the direct instruction
model?
• The teacher is clear about what he wants to achieve. (‘This
lesson we’re going to … and at the end of the lesson you
will know … and you can …’)
• Clear instructions stating explicitly what is expected of
the pupils (‘I’m going to explain first what … is, next you’ll
get the opportunity to work in pairs for ten minutes at …,
when you’ve done that you’ll know …, I’ll discuss it once
more in class and we’ll then round off by …’)
• The teacher offers pupils opportunities to practise with
more and less coaching (‘First, you’ll do it according to
my approach, you may then choose whether you do it like
this or like that. Who wants more help may join me in a
minute’)
• By walking around and observing carefully while the pupils
are working by themselves, the teacher gives feedback to
the pupils about progress, both when asked and without
being asked (‘You’ve done it well. I still miss …; it’s very
good what you’re doing; this is the wrong way. I’ll join you
to explain how it can be done’)
• The teacher provides a friendly, learning-friendly
atmosphere and a lot of positive feedback.
It will be clear that this way of working requires a sound
preparation of the lesson, with a well thought-out organization
of the lesson at the right level for the pupils.
So direct instruction is especially effective for starting pupils
who do not know much as yet about the subject matter. This
implies that direct instruction can always be used effectively
at the beginning of a session, since this is the moment that
virtually all pupils still know little. Moreover, this way of
working always proves to be effective for pupils that have
difficulty learning, pupils that have difficulty structuring their
own learning. It is possible in situations like that to further
refine the instruction for this group of pupils (with more
structure) after a more general instruction for the whole class.
Besides, research has shown that structuring the lesson
makes many pupils feel safe. Research on fear of failure has
shown that a structured lesson substantially reduces fear of
failure. You could say that structure creates the beginning of
a good learning climate.
• Consulting Google with the relevant keywords provides
a lot of information.

50
Balance of head, heart and
hands
What?
You do not only learn with your head, but also with your heart and
hands. Head, heart and hands form a well-sounding threesome,
the three H’s. It is not only the head that should be challenged;
the pupil is more than a head. The heart, too, (the socio-emotional
development, perception, feelings) and the hands (being allowed
to act, to do things on your own, to be occupied in a creative way)
should also be given a balanced place in the daily programme.
In this way, education becomes varied and the learning power of
more and varied pupils is challenged. As one head teacher put it,
‘The pupils are going to care more for education.’
A rhythmic weekly plan may assist the three H’s. By a rhythmic
weekly plan is meant a school timetable that has been drawn up
in such a way that the three elements mentioned above alternate.
Exertion alternates with recreation. Activity alternates with rest.
Action alternates with reflection or silence. Set moments have
been included for the heart (the feelings, perception). In our daily
life activities involving the head, heart and hands keep alternating.
This natural rhythm rightly deserves a place in our curriculum.
What is the puzzle?
Is learning only being involved in using the head? The pupil
brings much more to school: his body with arms and legs, his
heart full of feelings. So far, the balance has been missing in the
curriculum. Too much emphasis is put on the main activities. Too
little attention is devoted to activities of the heart and hands. As
a result, only a small part of the pupils’ potential is challenged,
that is, only the head and especially the right side of the brain.
The teacher and ‘her’ children
My little people
Paulus comes back to school after two weeks. He says that
he went to the interior with his mother for a funeral. He
has missed four tests and important new subject matter. If
he does not get any extra coaching, he will no doubt have
to repeat the class.
Hanna and Jack were allowed to represent the school at a
reading contest. Jack wins a trophy and gets some more
prizes. The head teacher suggests that he should give one
of the prizes to Hanna. Jack refuses.
Shalini’s mother asks permission to take Shalini for a week
to Miami, where her grandmother lives who is going to
celebrate her 60th birthday. Shalini will miss two tests and
important subject matter.
Cynthia, who is in the sixth year, is picked up after school
by a grown-up man in a car. The man is not her father and
you suspect that Cynthia has a sexual relationship with
the man.
Djoeminie is the sweetest girl in the classroom. She
is well-mannered, quick to laugh and always ready to
help. Besides, she performs well. A film crew enters the
classroom. They would like to interview an average pupil.
You would prefer them to talk to Djoeminie.
Oh boy, I had never thought that it would tax your
conscience so much to be a teacher. Every day you have to
take decisions about the life of those little people in your
classroom. Doing your teaching practice, when you give
your lessons at a school, you don’t really know the children.
You only try very hard to explain the subject matter well,
let every pupil have a turn and avoid any language blunders,
so that Sir or Madam at the back of the classroom give
you a pass, let you get your certificate quickly! But once
you spend all the time with these children, they are with
you for a whole year, you get to know them. Good God,
they are so dependent. The way they come running up to
you in the morning, to carry your bag for you. The way
you sometimes see them sweating away at a sum, the tip
of their tongue between their lips, how they fight to clean
the blackboard. And how they can sing, even Hendrik, who
can’t hold a tone, beams with joy when I get my recorder
out of my bag. Well, you just can’t help trying to find some
second-hand shoes when you see that Roytje comes to
school in his old, worn shoes. And then you dry Ravindra’s
tears when she has grazed her knee. You then give extra
lessons to Paulus and Shalini and let them take their tests.
You then sit down with Hanna and Jack, and with Cynthia
and listen to what they’ve got to say. And you say that
Djoeminie is such a nice person that the film crew want
to meet her straight away. I have not become a teacher for
nothing, but simply because I love children.
Ismene Krishnadath, writer, teacher and educationalist.

A highly one-sided appeal is
made to the pupils’ cognitive
powers in particular. As a
result, the child’s development
is also quite one-sided and
a lot of hidden talents do not
flourish. The child’s learning
power can then diminish rapidly
involving the risk that pupils
lose motivation.
What do we wish for?
51
We want a day-to-day or
weekly programme maintaining
a natural balance of activities
of the head, heart and hands.
We want a balanced curriculum
which offers the rotation of
these activities in a coherent way. By carrying out the rhythm
week by week, a recognizable structure and order arises for the
pupils. Predictability increases. Pupils that are more active by
nature (especially boys) are challenged to a greater extent. Pupils
that are more sensitive are seen and are given the opportunity
to express themselves and in this way the learning power is
stimulated alternately. Individual differences and talents are taken
into account, for all children are equal but not the same.
How?
If the present timetable is adapted to the ideas mentioned above,
the classroom climate and the learning power will be influenced
in a positive way. In addition to activities for the head – thinking
– sufficient time has been included for action (hands) which
enables the pupils, on their own or together with other pupils,
to carry out assignments or experiments. Moments of rest and
reflection recur on a regular basis leaving room for expressing
feelings (the heart).
The activities of the head, heart and hands are carried out
within the various disciplines and educational aspects of the
curriculum. They are integrated into the teaching packages, so
that they are easily recognizable and applicable both for the pupil
and the teacher. An activity involving thinking is followed by an
activity involving movement. An hour of quiet work is followed
by a moment in which what is learnt is exchanged. Multiplication
tables are practised in the arithmetic class by means of play
involving movement.
The geography class may also
be held outside the classroom,
for example in the school yard
by means of play. The week is
concluded with a festive activity
celebrating the successes with
learning together.
In this way learning once
more becomes fun both for
the pupils and the teacher,
for everybody is involved and
feels challenged.

52
Tips and information
Good ideas are to be found in the work of various educational
innovators like Peter Petersen (JENAPLANconcept). He
developed ideas about the rhythmic weekly plan in which four
main activities keep alternating: discussion, play, work and
celebration¹.
Discussion refers to communication among pupils and
between pupils and adults. The circle is an essential method
in this context, because all pupils can see one another well
and the involvement of the persons taking part is optimal.
Examples of circles are the storytelling circle, the project circle,
the reading circle, the presentation circle, the discovery circle,
the evaluation circle and circle discussions about a specific
topic, something, for example, in the socio-emotional sphere
which deserves the group’s attention at a particular time.
Play is not only limited to young children. Playing together
is vital to all ages, because in this way pupils learn to work
together and show consideration for one another. ‘Play’ really
means learning by means of play, dealing with impressions
and experiences gained and expressing oneself. During play,
pupils discover their own environment and that of others. This
also applies to older pupils and even to the teachers.
Work can be done in different ways. One way is dealing with
subject matter after instruction or, for example, by working in
groups. Forms of autonomous working are also quite suitable
and give the opportunity to respond to differences among
pupils (e.g. differences in tempo). During autonomous working,
the teacher has room for extra coaching or observation.
Celebration has a positive effect on both the classroom climate
and the school climate. Celebrating together propagates: we
are a community and everybody belongs. Festivities and events
that can be celebrated in school life contribute to the school
as a community. They are moments at which teachers and
pupils, and sometimes parents, come together to celebrate
getting together, to dwell on and reflect on not only joyful but
also sad events, to deepen values and standards, to express
themselves and tell one another about the experiences that
the head and heart have gained recently.
Stories, dance, music and school creations come in handy.
Celebrations help to determine the rhythm of the year plan,
day-to-day plan and the week plan of a school. In many schools,
the year is opened and closed with joint celebrations. National
holidays are celebrated together and we focus together on
anniversaries and festivities of different cultures and religions.
Attention is devoted to sad events, close by or far away, and
current affairs in the world. Birthdays are celebrated, just as
the arrival and leaving of pupils.
• Many educational innovators aim at a better balance of
the activities of the head, heart and hands at school.
We mention some: Peter Petersen (Jenaplan), Maria
Montessori, Rebecca Wild, Paolo Freire, Ferre Laevers
(EGO), Helen Parkhurst (Dalton), Emilio Regio.
• What is interesting is that the largest group of educational
innovators may very well be the teachers themselves.
They try to improve and reform their work day by day,
with or without support, and often seem to operate in
the background. Consult the keyword ‘educhange’ on
Google and you will come across interesting exchanges
and projects.
¹ Derived from www.jenaplan.nl

Interview with Gerrit Barron
Good teaching deepens
people’s education
What good is a dream to you as long as it remains a dream? By
organizing your life in such a way that you actually carry out
all your wishes and plans you add more depth to your life. And
you then become inspired to continue. Once you have realized
a dream, you are at the beginning of another challenge. It’s a
process that just keeps moving on to new dreams, challenges and
opportunities. We use those to make our life better. It’s therefore
important that you keep that flame burning inside you. Starting
from that flame, inspiration, you carve your own way and others
may let themselves be lit by your flame.
Gerrit Barron, writer
53
If teaching offers an inspiring environment to our children, it
helps to realize those dreams. Education therefore needs people
with a vision and enthusiasm. These days, education is too often
just about getting a
certificate quickly.
It doesn’t invite
participation on the
part of the pupil.
Good teaching
deepens people’s education. Your teaching, your upbringing
and education must be excellent. Excellent teachers are really
wrapped up in the children. They have social skills by nature, or
have learnt them at a teachers’ training college.
All of my books carry clear views that have to do with the awakening
of children. My books are based on what is characteristic, on
reassessing what is typical. Children are given an insight into their
country, their situation
and the environment in
which they grow up.
My books are not just
for recreation, so doing
something pleasant. I
wish to hand on information to children in an entertaining way.
Add more dimension and depth to your life by focusing on what you
dream about and wish to carry out
When I was at school, children were still beaten. I experienced
beatings as shocking and I would never do something like it later.
Something negative may turn into something positive because of
your own attitude. I became a teacher. It meant that I could break
this pattern of corporal punishment in my own class. This is the
positive outcome of something unpleasant you experienced. You
know that you don’t want it and that you can prevent it in your
own classroom.
To me, the schools of the future will be schools that create an
environment in which children feel good and comfortable so that
they want to learn. These schools will arouse pupils’ curiosity by
bringing our country and nature into the class.
I can see lots of green before me and space in which children
can discover and, consequently, learn. Something quite
different from the often sterile arrangement and organization
of too many classrooms right now. The school
environment will also be more in harmony with
the home environment in the school of the future.
See DVD for a better
view of the interview

125
Sri Irodikromo

3
A school learns
too
55
Every day pupils learn in the classroom. This is where the pupils’
primary learning process takes place. The pupils’ learning may be
stimulated enormously by mutual collaboration and fine-tuning in
the school.
If we continue the inspection of our bromki model, we will find
the class triangle, which in turn is part of a number of other
triangles. All these triangles together form the school. The school
itself is again part of a community or environment (chapter 4).
The school does its utmost to make sure that learning in the
school is done optimally.
Teaching is done by human beings. The close collaboration
among all the players inside and outside the school is a condition
for success. Within the school system attention is also focused
on realizing the learning power. What is involved is the learning
power of both pupils and teachers. After all, together they make
the school.
A school also learns.
The chapter is organized in the following way:
1. We start with the story about the desired, ideal situation.
2. We then present statements made by people from all
over the country.
3. We conclude with background information:
• The head teacher makes the difference
• Equal opportunities for everybody
• Continuous improvement is something you work at
together
• Quality, everybody’s responsibility

56
Once upon a time there was a school for animals. The
school accommodated different animals. The teacher of
the first year, master Owl, did his best to teach the children
the different subjects. He always took care to prepare his
lessons well and be at school on time.
He knew exactly what he had to teach the children and
at the end of the school year, he had done everything the
books said he should do. Yet, he was often disappointed
because somehow or other a great many pupils did not do
well in the subjects. Master Owl did not understand it at all.
How on earth could it be?
Duck was very good at swimming, but bungled climbing
trees. Monkey was very skilful at climbing trees, but he
always failed swimming. The chickens were best at finding
seeds and worms in the sand, but they always stepped
aside when climbing trees came up. They did not even take
part. Every time the subject came up they were sent to the
headmaster because master Owl thought they were too
lazy to do their best.
And the rabbits? They were extremely good at running, but
they needed extra lessons in swimming. And what a pity
about the tortoises. They were sweet, docile pupils, but
they were very slow and lagged behind. It was decided to
send them to a class for special education in armadillo’s
burrow.
From Modulen kindvriendelijke scholen (2008),
Ministry of Education and Community Development
Oh education,
I’ve been providing you for more than 30 years.
At first unwisely at times, gradually more wisely.
I got paid then.
Now I am paying rather than getting paid.
Yet, I believe in you, for thanks to you
I can write these lines,
oh education,
you make me old because of all this marking
and you keep me young
with all that naughtiness.
Never listening properly, always formulating sloppily,
always wanting to go off (as we used to)
but if I’m absent for three days,
I hear from all sides, what’s the matter with Master?
And when you meet the biggest rascal after ten years,
he tells you proudly that he is about to graduate,
thanks to this teacher, he whispers in his girlfriend’s
ear.
And when you meet him with his child, after twenty
years,
this teacher has taught daddy. Say hello.
Shy, the little one gives you a hand.
The little one greets you, with little eyes expressing
respect,
on behalf of the big ones.
This makes up for everything,
raspy vocal cords, tired eyes and fingers.
And then you go on
believing in education,
the mother of all
fathers and mothers.
Rappa (R. Parabirsing), writer, teacher,
runs his own library

Interview with André Kramp
Children are the future
Improvement in the quality of education is important to me, the
quality of the lessons, of the teachers, of the learning environment
and of measuring instruments to evaluate education. The status
of teachers is too low and must be drastically improved. The
status and appreciation of teachers leaves a lot to be desired in
developing countries. It’s an international problem.
Education must be improved in our country, especially in areas
where the situation is at its worst, that is, in the interior. The
phenomenon of the boslandonderwijzer (teacher for the interior)
still exists. The requirements for becoming a boslandonderwijzer
are six years of primary education and a training of some days in
Paramaribo. Structural policy measures are urgently needed for
education in the interior. Teachers could be stimulated to go and
work in the interior, by, among other things, better salaries.
Education is the mainstay
of society. In fact,
education is just as it
was in the old days.
What I want is to adjust
and improve education, so that it better meets the wishes of
this society. Education has the task to prepare pupils for the
numerous changes in today’s world.
The pupils are tomorrow’s workers. They need tools to be able
to play their part in this competitive world. The sustainable
development of a society starts with sound education. I see the
school as a place where children can develop optimally. In this
context, I’m reminded of the ideas of Jacques de Lore. They focus
on four pillars on which education is based: learning to know,
learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be.
Education is the mainstay of each society
André Kramp, educational project coordinator
I think the last pillar is one of the most important: each human
being has the right to
develop in such a way that
his intellectual, artistic
and spiritual talents are
cultivated. In a country
like Suriname, I’m also
thinking of ‘learning to live together’. We are situated in the
Caribbean and have the greatest cultural diversity, but there is
no intercultural education. We don’t understand one another’s
languages and we know little about one another’s customs. I
do know how to make a roti and I know what a phulauri is, but
I don’t know the deep-rooted cultural traditions of, for example,
the Indians, Javanese and Chinese.
The unique character of Suriname may
be highlighted by paying attention to this aspect
and enriching our education.
See DVD for a better
view of the interview
57

The dream
Is she coming? The head teacher Mr. Sweet is waiting impatiently
in the schoolyard. He wants to tell Miss Naomi straight away what
he thinks of the ‘hearts meeting’. He is proud of his teachers
and he knows that they, together with the pupils, form the heart
of the school. Miss Naomi is very important to him. He cannot
create a good school without highly motivated and enthusiastic
teachers.
‘Good morning, Miss Naomi,’ the head teacher says. Miss Naomi
returns his broad smile. ‘It was really good.’ Miss Naomi is glowing
with pride. She knows the head teacher always supports her.
Reform is going at full speed
58
‘Sandro has been doing much better,’ says Miss Saskia. She
keeps an eye on the development of all the children of the school.
‘Yesterday I had a talk with Miss Anke and we worked out a plan
for working in the classroom.’
Miss Saskia is the care coordinator. She coordinates all the
special attention that children need in school. It is not only about
children that have trouble learning, the dropouts, but also about
the smart pupils, the ones that stand head and shoulders above
their classmates.
The Ministry of Education has devised an effective pupil
monitoring system. This system includes observation lists and
tests. All the teachers in the school support the system.
Reform is going at full speed. Together with the care coordinator
and the reform coordinator, the head teacher forms a well-knit
team: the school’s driving force. The three of them carefully
watch the school’s development. In this way children get more
equal opportunities. Miss Wilma, the reform coordinator, is
concerned with school improvement. Together with the team, she
keeps thinking about ‘how things can be done better’. She gives
advice to the teachers, comes into the classroom to see how
teaching is done and regularly plans interesting workshops for
the school team. She is pleased to be able to do something with
her experience within the school. MINOV has made it possible for
her not to teach any class so that she can truly work full time at
innovations. Her head teacher supports her wholeheartedly.
Miss Saskia says that the new approach of having children in all
classes work for themselves is very successful. ‘Children need
not wait so long and teachers at last have time for some extra
attention.’ In this way, innovation helps to create room for paying
extra attention to pupils.

Are we doing the right things?
In the second term there is a team meeting. All the teachers stay
for an hour after school. They think it is important to support one
another. At the beginning of the meeting, the head teacher asks
some simple questions. ‘Are we doing the right things at school?’
‘And are we doing them in the right way?’
Very soon, the teachers have split up into groups and are
discussing these simple questions. They are accustomed to
looking at the quality of the school on a regular basis. It is only
then, they think, that the school can be improved structurally.
‘I think that we have more time to pay extra attention to the
children by letting them work on their own,’ says Miss Farida.’ ‘It
wasn’t like that in the past. I felt I simply didn’t have the time for
it. I’m very happy with it and so are the pupils.’
‘I quite agree with you, but I think we’re not going about it in
the right way yet. I don’t have enough material in my classroom
to give to the children who have finished their work early,’ says
Miss Naomi.
‘I’ve worked out an idea in my classroom,’ says Miss Jenny.
‘I put extra work sheets in plastic folders. I don’t have to copy
much that way and I can have different sorts of work ready. The
children do the exercises in an exercise book.’
59
All the teachers attending the meeting write down this idea
straight away. You can see the whole team think the same:
That’s what I am going to do this week. At a workshop, the head
teacher has learnt to do something about quality care. In this way
he can check more easily whether the school is doing the right
things in the right way. Eventually, it will all benefit the pupils’
learning. And you do not have to do it on your own.
Tonight on television: Bun Taki
‘Yes, hello, this is Henna Draaibaar speaking. Is it the head
teacher speaking? Would you like to attend our new televised
discussion programme Bun Taki?’
Oh, how exciting, thinks Mr. Sweet, and he asks at once, ‘Can I
bring someone from the team?’ He wants the teachers from his
school to say their bit too. After all, they are the heart of the
school, together with the pupils.
The next day, Mr. Sweet, Miss Saskia and Miss Ingrid take part
in the discussion programme. Henna has explained to them that
they will only talk about positive things: bun taki. ‘As soon as
the discussion takes the wrong direction I‘m going to interfere,’
she says giving them a wink. ‘Talking about positive things has
an energizing effect. It makes you grow and bloom.’
They soon forget they are taking part in the new talk show on

60
television. There is nothing more enjoyable than talking about
things that go well in school. The camera is rolling, you feel
the excitement, you sense the people’s enthusiasm. They cannot
stop talking about the possibilities schools now offer in Suriname.
‘The pupils feel at ease at school.’
‘The teachers are enthusiastic and feel that MINOV supports
them.’ ‘We work more as a team and learn a lot from one
another.’ ‘The parents are also perfectly satisfied.’ Mr. Sweet
concludes by referring to the head teacher’s opportunities to run
the school well. Since the school now has a budget of its own
he can attend to any needs there are more quickly. In conclusion,
Henna asks, ‘It’s all about learning and the opportunities that the
authorities and the school offer to the pupils for optimal learning.
But does the school itself learn too?’
The school can also learn …
‘Yes,’ they all say with one voice, ‘a good school keeps learning.’
The next day the whole team is sitting nervously in front of the
television set, wondering whether they have done all right.

Interview with Bert Eersteling
Education is the basis for development
Pupils may understand one another better by working together
and supporting one another. When I was young, I had the
experience of working together with other pupils and students
and we all ended up benefiting from it.
Bert Eersteling, head of the MINOV Department of Education in the
Interior
Connectedness results in more mutual respect and that is good for
our society. If we set a joint goal to work at this connectedness,
you should be able to see this reflected in the curriculum. Solidarity
and the qualities you need for it as human beings may be further
developed in the school programmes. When head teachers
are trained to be managers, they learn to guide the process of
attaining more solidarity and collaboration in school. The head
teacher then knows what to do to achieve the right quality and
goals together with the team. To get head teachers who are able
to do this, requires training in communication, management skills
and in ‘harmonizing people’.
61
Since the nineteenth century we have had whole-class teaching.
There are often more than forty pupils in a class and, of course,
that is far too many. If we want to give our pupils what they are
entitled to, we have to abandon whole-class teaching. It also
means we have to adapt the law to the
innovations we wish to introduce. It
also implies that we have to train our
teachers in a different way, so that they
can focus attention more on the children
and their learning processes. Education will be improved and its
level will be raised by combining present whole-class teaching
and a new approach and new insights.
A child has a lot of talents, knowledge and skills right from the
start, while we adults think that we have to stuff children with
knowledge. The point is that we help the children to discover how
to give expression to what is already alive and present in them.
Each child has unique talents. What I call the new learning is
to cultivate these individual talents
by offering opportunities to express
them. This is what you are going to
bear responsibility for in the school.
At the moment it’s still common
practice that we determine what
the children have to produce, while
I want to see the opposite: we help
the children to produce what is
already there.
Connectedness results in more
mutual respect
The community of the village or the neighbourhood used to
be essential to the education of children. Many parents have
learnt to read and write in such a community and not only that,
the community played a major part in children’s upbringing. In
the past when school had just been
introduced, the church exercised
considerable influence and supervision
over what happened in school. Skipping
school was unheard of because social
control was very strong in the community. If you stayed at
home, a member of the school council came to fetch you. In
that respect, villages and neighbourhoods with a long church and
school tradition were successful.
It would be nice if we could reintroduce some
of this communal upbringing, including social
control.
See DVD for a better
view of the interview

62
Statements from all over the country
I found it a privilege as a teacher
to help set up a physics lab
room and a library or organize a
workshop, all this together with the
pupils. It has taught the pupils and
me a lot. Things like these make
education good and enjoyable.
(A. Naipal-Soerdjbalie, Paramaribo)
Good education implies that each
pupil gets his own time to learn.
(Ilse Goedhoop, Saramacca)
What is important is the teachers’
positive attitude towards the pupils,
with mutual respect playing a major
part. Situations in which the teachers
have done everything they can to
get the best out of their pupils. The
teachers were always ready for us at
school.
(Sandra, Wanica)
In my first year as head teacher I
was faced with a serious problem. The
school was destroyed by a strong gust
of wind. The entire community provided
full support, both physical and mental
support. It made me stronger mentally.
I managed to get my act together and
set to work to start the new school
year within six weeks on 1 October as
usual.
(Erwien Martodikromo, Para)
You can provide good education by
means of goal-oriented teaching
with the help of visual aids. By
having pupils participate in activities
and by working in groups.
(Mohamed S. Khodabaks, Coronie)
Just the goal that you wanted to be
something later made it exciting and
challenging. You also feel the need to
show what you want to be. My cousin
was a senior nurse at St. Vincentius
Hospital and I thought it was great that
she had become something. She always
stimulated me when I went to see her
at her home. She said I had to become
something or else I would end up being
poor. I gave my all to follow her advice.
I felt I could achieve something. I have
learnt that you always need someone to
be there to stimulate you or else you’ll
come to no good.
(Olivia Domini, Marowijne)
A pleasant atmosphere at work
among colleagues has stimulated
me to perform better.
(Debbie Asalobi, Commewijne)
Organize teacher exchanges
more often. It is instructive
and forges bonds.
(Reon Gokoel, Nickerie)
The teaching staff has
become enthusiastic
about teaching at a
different level from
primary school by
collecting materials
themselves and
giving the pupils the
opportunity to come up
with their own ideas. In
this way many hidden
talents surfaced.
(Ilma Baasaron, Para)
From my own
experience I know
that many pupils
regard the school
as their second
home. They really
feel at home at
school. And I
have experienced
that the teachers
always come up
with new ideas.
(Jo-Ann Soeroredjo-
Djojodikromo,
Commewijne)
I think it important that
there are friendly relations
among teachers and
among pupils as well.
(Carmelita Fereira,
Nickerie)

A sixth-year pupil was given the advice to
leave and her guardian wanted to take her
from school. As head teacher I started
looking into possibilities to help the child.
I found that she learnt best by listening
rather than by visual means. I then
adjusted the instructions for her and it
has worked. She now works much better.
(Benny Venloo, Marowijne)
What I have experienced as very positive in education is when we
teachers meet to talk about how to cope with certain situations at
school, particularly when they concern pupils.
(Thelma Kastiel, Brokopondo)
I was given a combined class consisting of four-year-olds and
five-year-olds. What to do? The class was unruly and I had
trouble keeping discipline in the class. Eventually, I approached
an experienced colleague. She advised me to deal with the fouryear-olds
first in a learning session, while the five-year-olds were
given the instruction: do the work you like to do. In this way order
was restored in the classroom. (Carmelita Tjon A Meeuw, Wanica)
Everybody needs good education to be successful in
later life. There should be as few differences as possible
in the quality levels of teachers. It is therefore
important that you always do your best in everything
you do. (Mack Poeketie, Sipaliwini)
Meetings and learning experiences abroad have
been positive learning experiences for me.
(Anneke Djopawiro, Coronie)
School trips were a pleasant experience for me. Away from
the straitjacket of the classroom. You experienced the group
in a completely different way. The teacher was a totally
different person. (Elaine Rellum, Paramaribo)
When my teaching practice teacher invited me
to give a lesson, I was scared and got cold feet,
but she stimulated me. Afterwards she said to
my fellow students, ‘You see, she can do it. She
really carries herself like a teacher.’
(Abigail Jonathas, Paramaribo)
As principal of the vocational
school, I want to get the best
out of each pupil.
(Albert Alleyne, Commewijne)
63
There are people in education who mean
well by education. They are the doers.
They take initiatives for the greater
good. Positive role models are important
to everybody. (Wilgo Leslie Demon,
Paramaribo)
The teacher completely opened her mind to us. As a result, I got a
different idea of myself and others. I learnt to accept and appreciate
myself for who I was. This stimulated and supported me during the rest
of my studies. (Urmi Bardan, Wanica)
As a three-year-old girl I was eager to go to school. I was very
much interested without knowing why. The atmosphere in
the village, the experience of seeing children go to school; it
all presented a challenge, and my parents and the pupils had
something to do with it. (A.J.B. Paulus, Brokopondo)
I always wanted to be a teacher. My
teachers at school were fantastic role
models. (Rinia, Saramacca)

The head teacher
makes the difference
What?
64
It is a fact. Every school is headed by a head teacher, and that
is necessary. After all, a ship cannot steer a proper course and
reach her final destination without a captain. From international
research (Waters, Marzano and McNulty, 2003) it is clear that
the head teacher makes a difference to the school’s quality.
Recent research in Suriname (MINOV-LEARN 2008) has also
demonstrated this. The pilots have shown that the schools
that reach the top are exactly the schools that have committed
leadership. Effective head teachers exert a strong influence on the
process of quality improvement. This influence may have either a
positive or a negative effect on pupils’ achievements. The study
Exploring the Principals’ Contribution to School Effectiveness
(Hallinger and Heck 1996) analyses fifteen years of research on
the influence of principals on schools. It also shows that good
head teachers have a quantifiable effect on the effectiveness of
their school and pupils’ achievements.
They influence the results of their school by, among other things,
setting school goals, by giving direction, introducing structure and
creating organizational and social networks. Besides, successful
head teachers see to a school policy, sound procedures and
practices that contribute directly to the pupils’ learning and in
this way to the quality of education.
A head teacher who wants quality education focuses his attention
on the why and how questions. Why does my education look like
this? And how can I create more learning power in the school?
And how could it be improved even more? What matters is that
pupils, teachers and parents feel good in the school and are
motivated. The head teacher makes a substantial contribution to
this and makes the difference.
What is the puzzle?
Is it about the school head teacher, or about the head teacher
who is also a leader and manager at the same time? Is it about
the focus on administration and management? Or is it about the
focus on learning power?
The story about the head, heart and hands is applicable here
too. To hold a steady course through the turbulent waters of the
numerous changes, the school will have to use its hands and
its heart in addition to its head. Sitting around doing nothing is
out. Standing still is going backwards. The present changes in
education are highly complex and require vigorous leadership.
If we wish to improve the quality of education, we will have to
pay attention to the school’s leadership, in addition to paying
attention to the teacher in the classroom. The learning power
of both pupils and teachers increases, when the head teacher
increases his focus on it. That is logical. After all, everything you
devote your energy and attention to, will simply grow well. And
this also applies to the school.
Only too often, head teachers busy themselves with lots of small
and large things and are too little concerned with the learning
in the school. It is not always easy for the head teacher. As a
result of insufficient basic conditions, like inadequate buildings,
insufficient educational tools, lack of financial school budgets,
lack of educational support, lack of permanent training, the head
teacher is too often forced to keep focusing attention in the
school on the most urgent needs: repairing the roof, taking care
of income, solving numerous day-to-day problems. All this keeps
the head teacher from his proper task: enhancing the learning
power in the school.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
Do good head teachers lead to good schools? How can the head
teachers keep focused on learning power? What should the head
teacher be capable of? What are the main competencies needed

to keep the ship on course?
And can head teachers do it
on their own?
What do we wish
for?
The head teacher makes
the difference. We wish that
every school should have
a competent head teacher,
who, together with his
team, keeps focusing on
the quality of the school’s
learning power. By means
of regular training, the head
teacher tries to manage and
lead the school better. The
head teacher can stimulate
the team’s professionalism
and collegiality. Education
remains the work of man
after all. All interventions on
the part of the head teacher
are aimed at optimizing
and supporting the learning
power in the classroom,
both at pupil level and at teacher level. This can be achieved by
working at a sound school structure and culture.
The head teacher we want is
• a head teacher inspired by a lot of care for and attention
to children;
• an inspiring innovator with clear views;
• a team leader who takes the various competencies among
the members of the team into consideration;
• a manager who generates financial means and
preconditions;
• someone who knows how to direct and monitor in the
proper way.
The head teacher is a significant driving force behind the progress
of the school.
How?
A school, a teacher and a pupil can grow as far as the head
teacher’s ability lets them. A bad engine does not get you very
far. It will constantly have to be maintained and repaired. By
creating proper enabling conditions in the school (like sound
buildings, sufficient financial means, sufficient educational tools,
well-trained staff, solid support) the head teacher will be able to
focus his attention to a greater extent on optimizing the quality
of the learning power in his school.
So being a head teacher is becoming more and more complex,
much more so than that within the traditional ‘head teacher
approach’. A yearly training is a must to enhance the head
teacher’s ability, so that everybody can continue to grow in the
school. The quality you see in the school is largely a reflection of
the head teacher’s action.
Head teachers’ training courses are aimed at making the head
teacher competent in eight basic competencies:
1. self-management
2. intrapersonal action
3. interpersonal action
4. organization development
5. organizational policy and management
6. educational business practice
7. directing professionals
8. directing primary processes.
Tips and information
• Leadership is seen as one of the most important aspects
of effective school improvements. Research has shown
that leadership is closely related to
• a clear mission and clear goals for a school;
• the general school climate and the climate in
separate groups;
• teachers’ attitudes;
• teachers’ practice;
• the organization of the educational programme;
• the opportunity for pupils to learn.
(Marzano 2007, p. 119)
• Effective leadership is characterized by behaviour that
stimulates interpersonal relations:
• optimism
• sincerity
• attention and understanding.
Websites: www.schoolleider.kennisnet.nl, www.internetwijzer-bao.nl,
www.vo-raad.nl/brochures/basiscompetenties-schoolleider.
65

Equal opportunities for
everybody
What?
Children need opportunities to grow and flourish. Getting
opportunities implies that you are approached in a positive way,
are liked, get attention, are stimulated and can gain successful
experiences, that the adult – the teacher and the educator – is
available for you. Education should be a lever to offer children
perspectives instead of maintaining unequal positions and
hindering social mobility. Each child has learning power.
66
No single person is like anyone else and that is what makes our
world so special and diverse. Naturally, that also applies to the
pupils who attend our schools daily. They all come from different
socio-economic home environments with their own backgrounds.
Those home environments create different starting points. One
pupil comes to school bringing a full bag, the other one comes to
school with a virtually empty bag.
Apart from differences in starting points, the pupil distinguishes
himself from other pupils as a person. The child has a DNA full
of potential and talents to grow into a unique human being who
can make a contribution both to his own development and that of
others. Good education takes all these differences into account
and regards differences as opportunities rather than obstacles.
Teachers also differ from one another. We all know teachers that
were good at certain subjects and managed to inspire us. They
should also be given scope to develop their talents. Offering equal
opportunities means offering a challenge to everybody.
What is the puzzle?
Do we notice differences or do we rather ignore them? Do we
appreciate differences in the school, or do we punish them? Can
pupils be different? Can teachers be different? Is everybody given
the same or sufficient opportunities in the school?
At the moment, education is still geared to the average pupil
and lays down average standards for report marks, end-of-year
reports and repeating. That is odd and counterproductive, when
you proceed on the assumption that all human beings, young or
old, are different. Whether you work at equal opportunities or
not, these differences will always continue to exist. That is all
right. It does justice to the uniqueness of each human being.
Our government has signed agreements on inclusive education. By
doing so, it has indicated that it wishes to work at an educational
system in which pupils may differ and in which they are offered
proper care as much as possible. Offering equal opportunities
means that every pupil gets the same opportunities in education
to let his own potential blossom. Offering equal opportunities
does not mean that all pupils will be expected to achieve the
same final results. Pupils will continue to be different, that is
the way it is. Offering equal opportunities means: creating the
chance of good education for each pupil.

The pieces of the puzzle are:
How can we offer equal opportunities
to all pupils? How do we monitor the
differences there are among pupils?
How can we improve the school in
such a way that equal opportunities
are offered? How can we differentiate
in the classroom?
What do we wish for?
We wish to create educational
opportunities for all pupils. If we
start by organizing a system of care
in every school, we get a better idea
of the differences and we can work
at an effective approach. A special
teacher, the care coordinator, who
has been trained to coordinate the
overall care for children, monitors
the care that children are given and
need. Together with the head teacher
and the school team, this care
coordinator works at the permanent
quality of care provision.
It will be possible to get a better idea
of the care needed in the school by
means of clear procedures within the
school for carrying out observations
and tests in all classes (the pupil
monitoring system), by means of
regular discussions about pupils,
and by keeping pupil files. This care
should be provided both for the
drop-outs (the weak pupils) and the
smart pupils (the quick pupils). The
data gathered on the various subjects
and educational areas can be used
at school level to improve education.
This is done by the care coordinator
together with the reform coordinator.
The teacher uses an effective approach in the classroom (see
chapter 2), and manages to organize the classroom in such a
way as to enable differentiation. This can be done by incorporating
moments of autonomous working at school level in all
classes, starting with the infants. If pupils work on their own, the
teacher can find time to provide care for pupils that need extra
attention. The care coordinator also maintains close contact
with the parents. In this way joint efforts are made to provide
the pupils with optimal care. In the last few decades a lot of
views have been developed on creating equal opportunities in
education. On the basis of these studies¹, we have arrived at five
central starting points:
1. the learning person is the focus of attention;
2. interactive language teaching;
3. working with diversity as a starting point;
4. taking vulnerable pupils into consideration;
5. making school together.
The learning person is the focus of attention
As already dealt with in chapter 1, the constant focus on learning
power, which highlights the pupil and the learning process,
contributes to equal opportunities. Education can be organized
in such a way that the pupil can take part in it in an active and
participatory way. Instead of education that is provided FOR the
pupil, it becomes education that is provided BY and WITH the
pupil.
It is also essential to follow the pupil’s learning development,
especially when we accept that there may be differences.
Pupil-orientation may not lapse into lower goal-orientation
by constantly lowering expectations. It is exactly sticking to
high expectations that has favourable effects on the pupils’
development. These days, ‘high challenge’ within educational
reform programmes is the key principle of many international
educational reform progammes (Hopkins 2001).
Interactive language teaching
Several pilot projects are successfully being carried out in
Suriname in the field of interactive language teaching. The proper
interaction between the teacher and the pupil helps the pupil to
think along actively. Learning is largely a thinking activity. After
all, the teacher knows from talks with and observations of the
pupils which areas require special attention.
As a result of the interaction with the teacher, the pupils also
know much better where they are and can take part more
actively in their own learning process. Forms of direct instruction,
collaborative learning and interactive language teaching fit in best
with this approach.
For many pupils, the instruction language is not the mother
tongue. An interactive approach of language teaching is of vital
importance to them.
¹ From Beter breder en met meer kleur – Ferre Laevers et al 2005
67

68
Working with diversity as a starting point
Pupils are different and bring a great deal of diversity to the
classroom. If you can manage to view this in a positive way, it
is very enriching. When reforming our education, it is important
to be aware of this mindshift in looking at the pupils. Each pupil,
young and old, brings his own story to the class. So it is not
surprising that each pupil approaches what is taught in his own
way and puts his own meaning on it. If we want to work at
equal opportunities, we will have
to acknowledge this diversity and
actually even more than that: we
will have to start from this diversity.
The education of the future
requires it. It is not only the
subject matter that is sacred,
but it is the learning activity and
the learning experience in which
the pupil participates actively.
The teacher then considers the
diversity as a rich source he can
draw on indefinitely to enrich
education.
Considering vulnerable pupils
Teachers are aware of the fact
that pupils differ and that there
are vulnerable pupils in their
target group. This also means
dealing with equal opportunities,
not closing your eyes to the
day-to-day reality. Some pupils
benefit too little from what
education offers. That applies
both to the weak pupils and the
bright ones. These pupils need
extra support. The crucial point
is, however, that you should not
wait until it is too late, but take
preventive action while creating equal opportunities.
Organizing a wider range of care within the school by means of,
among other things, a care policy, a care coordinator and a sound
pupil monitoring system may make a constructive contribution
in this context. The evaluation of the learning process should
be broad-based and not be limited to cognitive subjects like
arithmetic and language. Emotional and motivational factors
should also be included. Education offering equal opportunities is
based on a deep-rooted belief in the pupils’ learning power and
tries to keep challenging this learning power in a positive way
(pedagogic optimism).
Making school together
The days that the teacher did his job in the school individually
and in isolation are over. Collegiality and professionalism have
been demonstrated to be factors that stimulate learning in the
school. Several studies and, for example, the LEARN pilot from
2008 have shown that the schools
that achieve optimal results
are exactly the schools that
show close cooperation among
the head teacher, the teachers
and the parents. By means of
cooperation, mutual consultation
and coordination, the quality of
education increases.
Making school together also means
that the school maintains concrete
and constructive communication
with the parents. Parents, and
certainly those of vulnerable pupils,
may have a considerable influence
on the learning process of their
children.
Last of all, it is important in the
context of equal opportunities
to have a good look at the fact
that education for pupils at
primary-school age should be free
of charge and, because of it, more
accessible.
How?
At school level, care is coordinated
centrally. This may be done best
by a specially trained teacher
(the care coordinator) who has
not got a class of his own. Together with the teachers, this
care coordinator monitors the activities related to the pupil
monitoring system (chapter 2). Data is identified and strong and
weak points are gathered at pupil level, class level and school
level. By means of a test calendar, each teacher knows when
certain tests have to be administered in his class. The school
team is given the opportunity to improve its own professionalism
by means of training (possibly by the care coordinator). The
teachers themselves use differentiation in the classroom during,
for example, instruction and autonomous work.

What are critical factors contributing to the success of equal
opportunities?²
1. Regulations
Tips and information
Regulations adopted by the government play a major role
in achieving inclusive education in Suriname. It is too
arduous a task for most teachers to deal with children
needing extra care in a class of more than forty pupils.
The size of classes as well as extra help in the classroom
(for example from a class assistant) seems to play a part in
the extent to which attention can be given in a classroom.
If the concept of inclusive education is to have a chance
of succeeding, the material as well as the personnel
conditions should be guaranteed by the government.
2. Differentiation of curriculum
Differentiation will have to be a key theme within the
development of curricula. Attention will have to be
devoted explicitly to the basic targets and extra targets in
the educational tools to be developed. Teaching methods
(including methods for autonomous work, collaborative
learning, direct instruction model) may be incorporated
deliberately to deal with the differences in the class. The
educational tools to be developed offer extra material both
for the stragglers and the quick pupils. The designing of
programmes by teachers has effects on the pupils’ learning
process (Marzano 2003). In the context of extra care,
teachers should therefore be able to make well-considered
adjustments to the curriculum wherever needed.
3. Policy of the school as a whole
The school management plays a crucial part at the
introduction of inclusive education into the school.
Its views and the communication with both teachers
and parents are of vital importance. Another aspect in
overcoming resistance in the teams is to pay attention to
the teachers’ resources.
The teachers should have the feeling that they are
not on their own, but that they help one another, and
are supported by the care coordinator and the school
management in providing pupils with extra care.
4. A continuum of education and support
Teachers can indicate that they need professional
support from both inside the school (school
management, care coordinator) and outside (Minov
counselling department, inspectorate, training).
The teacher needs someone to call on if he has any
questions.
5. Training and refresher courses
Teachers indicate that they lack expertise to deal
with providing pupils with special care. Adding to
the expertise or specialisms of teachers creates more
opportunities.
6. Volunteerism
Working at inclusive education requires a complete
change in attitude in the school. The teachers should
look at diversity in the class in an entirely different
way. Inclusive education is not something that can
be imposed and it only has a chance of succeeding if
the teacher, the team and the school leader are fully
committed.
7. Way of introduction
Small-scale pilot projects are to be preferred. On the
basis of positive experiences, what has been learnt may
spread all over the country like an ink stain. Because of
the lack of regulation and expertise it is recommended
to move forward little by little. It has been found that
teachers are more ready to participate in reform if they
experience success.
Websites: www.ond.vlaanderen.be/GOK, www.klasse.be,
www.basislink.nl/leerkracht/Ik-zorgverbreding,
www.klascement.net
69
² Derived from Inclusief onderwijs als innovatieproces-VLOR 2000

Improving permanently is
something you do together
What?
70
Nothing remains as it is, everything keeps changing. This
also applies to the school. Improving education is something
you do together. The head teacher cannot do it alone. Sound
coordination at school level is imperative to be able to keep up with
the numerous innovations and changes. Working at children’s
learning power means that the teacher is firmly supported in
the classroom to enable him to introduce the improvements in
his day-to-day teaching. So the teacher is seen as the factor
determining the success of innovations. New ideas also show
that the change should be partly devised or thought up by the
teacher himself. Changes that have been imposed from outside
do not usually work. It is the teacher himself and the pupil who
should realize that the change makes sense. It is about their inner
pulling power and not just the pushing power from outside.
So education requires constant improvement. As said before, the
head teacher is extremely important. To have a clear picture of
the numerous changes, the head teacher works together with the
care coordinator (who spots items for consideration in the field of
broadening the range of care) and the reform coordinator.
What is the puzzle?
Are we looking for short-term improvements, or lasting
improvements? How do we monitor all this? How do we make
sure that all those involved really take part?
The many discussions we had in the various districts have shown
us there is a positive will and commitment to improve and change
our education. Good teachers are working at improving the
learning achievements of their class, and in difficult circumstances
too. To this end, they regularly reflect on their own thoughts and
actions and adjust them. But more is needed. Lasting change at
school level does not happen as a matter of course, but should
constantly be systematically managed and stimulated.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How do we work at lasting improvement? What is expected of
the teacher and the team? How can we enhance professionalism
and collegiality?

which the team has mutual consultations and works together.
This may be done by organizing shared work between parallel
classes or by organizing regular consultations. Joint team
coordination is also important. The head teacher is the purveyor
of culture and the maker of culture. He may stimulate collegiality
and professionalism by means of his management style.
Professionalism can be achieved by learning from one another’s
experiences by means of, for example, exchanging views and
visiting one another’s classroom. Attending training sessions and
guiding the content in the classroom by the reform coordinator
are very stimulating. If every school appoints one or more reform
coordinators, it will be possible to work at improving education in
a more durable way.
71
Tips and information
What do we wish for?
Many positive experiences have been gained with reform
coordinators, both in Suriname (Schoenmakers 2007) and in
the Caribbean. These specially trained teachers coordinate all
innovative activities in the school. They help to stimulate the
teachers’ professionalism and collegiality. These two aspects
have been found to be proven factors in the improvement of the
quality of education (Marzano 2003).
The reform coordinator coordinates the innovative activities in
the school. He provides or organizes training for the team and
supports the teachers in bringing about the changes in the
classroom by, for example, regular visits to the classroom and
discussions afterwards. Together with the head teacher and the
care coordinator, he forms the management team or the driving
force behind the innovation in the school. This reform coordinator
may do his work best if he has no class of his own and is able to
observe and support the classes.
How?
An open culture in the school as a result of close consultation
and sincere communication strengthens the relations within the
school. Collegiality may be stimulated by creating moments at
• In several Caribbean countries, both primary education
and secondary education have used the reform
coordinator successfully in educational reform.
• MINOV has gained positive experiences with the post of
reform coordinator in the collaborative LEARN project.
Several training modules have been developed like
training skills, coaching skills, dealing with resistance,
creative skills. (material produced by LEARN 2007)
• Working with a change team headed by the reform
coordinator with positive support leads to improvements
in the school. The change team should
• pay attention to matters that concern teachers;
• be accessible;
• involve teachers who do not belong to the change
team in taking decisions and solving problems.
The change team should convey the message to the team
members, that is, that they are appreciated and accepted
as experts.
• Website: www.watwerktopschool.nl,
www.onderwijsmaakjesamen.nl

72
Quality, everybody’s concern
What?
‘Good education is doing things that help you go on,’ was one of
the statements made at the workshops held in the various districts.
Put quite simply, but a truism. Education is the lever to achieve
development, but then preferably with a lot of quality. So, working
at quality is a must. Quality is everybody’s concern, whether you
are a pupil or a teacher. The pupil is stimulated by parents and
teachers to do his work with care and attention and to learn from
his mistakes. The teacher, too, works daily at quality education
and is stimulated by his colleagues. The head teacher works at
improving the quality of education weekly. The minister works
at creating policy and conditions to permanently realize the
quality of education.
The care for quality may take place permanently and
cyclically at two levels, that is, internally by the school
itself (self-evaluation) and externally by the government
(schools inspectorate). Working at ensuring and improving
the quality of the school is a challenging process. Quality
care only really works if it is care for everybody. A process
of quality awareness plays a key role.
The role of the head teacher as manager, motivator
and guardian is of crucial importance. By means of
various pilot projects, a lot of experience has been
gained with systems like Integral Quality Care.
Quality care is not the same as quality. By quality
care we mean the way in which the school works
at its efforts to provide and guarantee quality.
Quality care comprises a wide range of activities.
They may be linked closely to five key questions.
• Does the school do the right things?
• Does the school do things well?
• How does the school know that?
• Do other people think so?
• What does the school do with that
knowledge?
Quality education determines to a large degree
the opportunities that children get in life. Children
have a right to it.
What is the puzzle?
Do we do to a sufficient extent the things in school
that promote learning? And how do we make sure
that we keep doing it? Do we work ad hoc or do
we work systematically at quality?
We should not only keep wondering how much
is learnt, but also how well it is done. Acquiring
knowledge is one thing; integrating that knowledge
and really internalizing it is something completely different.
We must realize that learning takes place in an institutional
context. Education is organized in curricula, in schools, in classes,
in subject combinations, in year plans, in weekly timetables,
in school books, in regulations, in relationships of authority, in
classes, in didactic practices, in test procedures and in norms of
moving up and passing. All these elements influence the learning
achievements. Cancelled lessons because of absence of teachers
and strikes are harmful; inefficient use of instruction time when

material has to be copied from the blackboard because there are
no or not enough books is ineffective. Whether learning is done
properly may be investigated by, for example, the school itself or
the schools inspectorate.
Working at the quality care of a school often happens in a
way that is not systematic enough and is insufficiently
rooted in the school system. As a result, the quality of
learning often remains at the same level or sometimes
deteriorates. The question is: how can the school
work at its own quality in a sustainable manner?
Many teachers and head teachers will say, ‘We
work at quality, don’t we?’ We do see great
efforts made at schools to pass the tests,
to bring a computer into the school, to
keep the schoolyard clean. And indeed,
that is also working at quality. Each
school has arrangements and procedures
to make sure that things are done
properly and the right things are done.
But it often happens ad hoc rather than
systematically. Real quality care requires
more. Integral quality care focuses
attention on a systematic approach. It is
a permanent, cyclical process that never
stops. It also requires reflection on one’s
own work.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How can we keep doing the good things
in our education? And how do we
monitor it? How can we stimulate quality
awareness? Is the work we provide
quality work?
What do we wish for?
We prefer to be helped by competent
fellow men, whether it concerns
a heart surgeon or the pilot of a
plane or a farmer. A country’s
future also depends on the extent of
the people’s development. Our children are the future. Quality
education provides an important foundation. The numerous
changes force us to create quality education.
Training the head teacher and his team in systematically
applying quality care may make a substantial contribution to the
development of quality awareness. In order to achieve more, the
team members should be able to relate their interpretations of the
given circumstances and their planned actions to a continuous
process of growth and development. In that case, they do not
only invest their energy in eliminating shortcomings, but also in
enhancing a sense of quality and quality-oriented thinking and
acting.
We want a well-considered system of integral quality care in the
school. Internally, the school practises self-evaluation. In addition,
regular, external quality care by means of school inspections is
of importance. The schools inspectorate plays a major role in this
respect.
Quality care extends over all policy areas of the school and
should focus attention mainly on the primary process: learning.
The foundation is formed by the focus on the quality of the
73

teachers’ pedagogic and didactic action and the pupils’ learning
in particular. From this basis, quality care is directed towards all
policy areas in a coherent manner. It is a matter of all sections
of the school: pupils, teachers, parents, school management,
board and government. Quality care is integral in this respect; it
is everybody’s business. Everybody is jointly responsible.
How?
Together with VVOB within the LEARN project in the period
2003-2007, MINOV developed an approach called Integrale
KwaliteitsZorg (IKZ) or Integrated Quality Care (IQC). On the
basis of these views and given the idea that head teachers are
key figures in the processes of change and innovation, schools
can introduce integrated quality care plans. Head teachers can
get going with their team to shape the changes they want
themselves step by step. The cycle permits them to work at
quality in a more purposeful manner.
74
To this end, IQC has a systematic strategy. Broadly speaking, it
is made up of the following series: gathering data – analysing
and prioritizing – drawing up action plans – carrying out action
plans – making evaluations midway and afterwards – adjusting.
We call it integrated quality care because we study and link up
a wide range of aspects. In this way, the school can make its
own evaluation. The schools inspectorate can gather information
about the quality of the schools by means of inspections. In this
way, both internal and external quality care are provided in the
school.
Tips and information
• In the period 2003-2007, LEARN developed a detailed
system of IQC based on the Surinamese context. This
detailed system was made available to MINOV in 2008.
Teams may use this package to work on a yearly basis
at studying the quality of their education and developing
improvement plans at school level and teacher level.
• The stages of integrated quality care are the following:
1. the entry stage Is the entire team in favour
of the introduction of IQC?
2. the inventory stage What is the present situation?
3. the action plan stage What actions do we wish
to undertake to create the
desired situation?
4. the adjustment stage Where do we have to make
adjustments and how do
we go on?
5. the evaluation stage Have we done the right
things in the right way?
• Working at quality is done in an integrated manner:
among school board, head teacher, teachers and
parents. Developments in which the pupils also get a
say are interesting.
• Quality awareness implies that we have to wake up
and take responsibility.
Websites: www.gco.nl, www.kwaliteitskring.nl, www.
eduforce.nl, www.toetswijzer.nl, www.ond.vlaanderen.be,
www.kwaponetwerk.nl

Interview with Marcel Meyer
Think in terms of possibilities
When I was young, teachers were nearly always like missionaries.
They were prepared to give a great deal for educating children.
Just before I went to school, tuition fees still had to be paid.
Some smart pupils did not have the money to pay the fees.
Actually, they should have left school. The teacher then said, ‘I’ll
pay for that boy, for he can learn and he wants to learn.’ Another
example: Catholic schools had a special class for secondary
education. Fortunately, these Catholic classes also accepted
non-Catholics. Arrangements were then made for you to
continue your studies. The point I’m trying to make is that
people thought in terms of what was possible, not in terms
of what was impossible. That is something that we should do
more often now.
I have one important principle, one slogan. ‘Associate with
different people and make sure you see things from a broad
perspective.’ I’m not going to have myself pigeon-holed. I wish to
cover as broad a range as possible of people I associate with. So
nobody need be afraid of coming to see me. I have learnt at an
early age to appreciate other cultures and cooperate with them.
This educational situation of ours, all of it, has a historical
background. If you don’t know this background it is very hard
Marcel Meyer, chairman of the Suriname Business Association (VSB)
to make plans for the future. Education in Suriname had and
still has possibilities that further people’s perspectives. What is
impossible on paper turns out to be very well feasible in practice
from time to time.
We’re very well off in this country, but we don’t know how
to define and appreciate our own values. We have so many
opportunities, so many natural resources. Things should only be
better organized.
Each neighbourhood in Suriname has families and each family
has two to four children. Every so many school children need
a classroom. That is a question of planning. It won’t do, for
75
Associate with different people and make sure
you see things from a broad perspective
example, that I have to travel from Ma Retraite to Zorg en Hoop
to go to school. For a community, it is important that there should
be, for example, invariable, clear rules for setting up and keeping
a primary school.
Besides, it is essential that there should be an educational
system that offers opportunities and perspectives to people who
wish to get a university training and to people who wish to get
vocational training or other training. In the end, I
am convinced that all of us together can achieve
a lot in this country by preserving our integrity,
working hard, organizing things well and keeping
See DVD for a better
view of the interview
up-to-date.

125
George Struikelblok

Together we are strong
4
‘The children are not our
children …’ They are
entrusted to us. They are a
gift. The seed that has been
planted is nourished with
love, attention and care by
parents and educators. In this
way the child can grow into a
strong plant or tree.
Parents are most important
in a child’s life. If only for
this reason it is essential that the school should maintain close
relations. The inspiring interviews illustrate that the relationship
that used to exist between the home environment and the
community was a major factor in children’s completing school
successfully. ‘As a child, as a pupil and later as a student, you
were closely watched by the adults around you. Wherever help
was needed, it was offered.’
So parents are of vital importance for the pupil’s learning, for
learning is not only done at school but also at home. Every
day children meet with different learning experiences in their
environment, also outside the school gates. All these diverse
experiences enter the school every day. By acknowledging and
making use of the home environment as learning environment,
what happens in school is no longer cut off from the community
around it.
It is essential for learning to pay attention to the collaboration
among school, parents and neighbourhood. The school is
characterized by a variety of pupils’ backgrounds. The children
also pick up a lot in the neighbourhood. The collaboration of
school, parents and community strengthens the learning process
of our pupils: the learning power increases because of it.
This chapter deals with the role of parents in the learning
process, the collaboration between parents and school and the
significance of the community.
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters
of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you,
yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not
to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as
living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
Khalil Gibran
The chapter is organized in the following way:
1. We start with the story about the desired, ideal
situation.
2. We then present statements made by people from all
over the country.
3. We conclude with background information:
• Your home makes you learn
• Parents being active in school
• Involve the neighbourhood
77

An important letter
The dream
School is over. Indira comes home after a long bus ride. ‘Hey,
Mummy!’ Indira calls out enthusiastically when she enters the
house. ‘I have brought an important letter from school. You have
to read it quickly. We have to prepare snacks.’ The thought of the
delicious fried bananas mummy prepares every year makes Indira’s
mouth water. Her mother hurriedly comes up to her. She is just
as keen. ‘Show me quickly, Indira.’ She reads the letter carefully.
It is the school’s newsletter, which comes every fortnight. In this
way she is always well-informed about everything that happens
at school. It is great, for it enables her to think along and do
something for the school whenever help is needed.
It is almost 25 November. An important national holiday is
approaching. Every year, the school celebrates Srefidensi,
Independence Day, with the pupils and the parents. Indira’s school
has organized things well. At the beginning of the school year, all
parents get a letter headed ‘Are you joining us?’ The parents are
invited early on to help during the school year. The letter lists all
sorts of jobs, like parents for reading in the class, parents for odd
jobs around the school building, help for the sports day, Christmas
78

and Srefidensi, and the parents’
committee. There is something
to be done for everybody. At the
time, Indira’s mother had put
down her name through the letter
to help out at the Srefidensi party.
Every year Miss Naomi collects
all the letters and draws up a list
of which parents will help out
at which activity. Mr. Sweet has
distributed all special activities
evenly among his team. In this
way they all do their bit.
Fried plantains
It is I o’ clock in the afternoon.
Some parents are coming into
the schoolyard. There are some
teachers talking to parents that
have come to pick up their
children. One of the parents walks
up to the head teacher to make
an arrangement when he can do a
small job for the school. Indira’s
mother goes to Miss Mildred’s
classroom. She is coordinating
the Srefidensi party, together with
the parents who have given their
names. Two more parents enter the
classroom. The working group is
complete. ‘We have already had a
lot of ideas from different classes,’
says Miss Saskia. ‘Everybody
remembers last year’s Srefidensi
with pleasure. The fried plantains
were a huge success last year.’ ‘I
would like to make them again,’
Indira’s mother spontaneously
offers her help. She enjoys taking
part in the school’s activities
tremendously. She feels she is even more welcome at school.
And she also gets to know the school better.
Playing school with the parents
‘I’m glad you’ve all found time to be here tonight,’ Miss Sandra
says. ‘Your children are our most precious possession. We are
permitted to cherish them for some hours a day, when they
come to school washed, dressed and fed, day after day. Thank
you, parents. Between us, we are extremely important to them.
Tonight I wish to talk with you about all that I’m going to do
in the classroom this year. I’m going to talk about the subject
matter the pupils have to know and how you can help with it.’
The parents are impressed by the poem by Kahlil Gibran recited
by Miss Sandra. They are all silent for a while.
She then says, ‘All right, time to get some work done. I’m going
to be your teacher for a while and you’re my pupils. Are you in?’
The parents, surprised, nod their confirmation. They have heard
from their children that Miss Sandra is always full of surprises.
They often talk with their children about their experiences at
school. The parents soon sit down in groups and get all sorts of
79

80
assignments they have to carry out together. In this way they
learn that the new approach in the classroom is not just for fun.
They feel that this approach leads to learning better.
There are five words written on the blackboard:
• discussion
• incentive
• assistance
• supervision
• hope
By means of these words, Miss Sandra explains that as parents
you can actually do things at home to make learning easier for
the pupils.
Srefidensi
At last the day has come. It is 24 November, the day before
the actual holiday. There are lots of people milling around in the
schoolyard. The children are dressed in their Sunday best. Some
are wearing a kotomisi, others a sari or a sarong. Market stalls
have been set up in the schoolyard. They have been decorated
in bright green, yellow and red colours and music sounds in the
background. Everybody is having a good time. Sandro, Indira,
Jasmine, Jenny and Steven have joined Miss Naomi, who has
just come into the schoolyard.
‘Miss Naomi, Miss Naomi,’ they all shout. ‘We feel like having
a party!’ They take her by the arm and pull her towards one of
the most important stalls: the food stall. Lots of delicious food
is displayed: filling for rolls, fried noodles, fried rice, Javanese
chicken soup, roti, chicken pie and, of course, crushed ice with
lemonade and the famous fried plantains.
It is not just pupils and parents that come to school today.
Grandpa Joeloemsingh, who lives next to the school, is also
present. And grandma Jones. Mrs. Mc Leod and Mr. Barron are
today’s special guests. They all live near the school. They are all
going to do something special later on. Mr. Barron has set up a
dream place. That is where he is going to dream, together with
the pupils, about Suriname’s beautiful things. And together with
the pupils, Mrs Mc Leod is going to write about history. Grandma
Jones is going to talk about the old days, when she lived on a
plantation in Para. And grandpa Joeloemsingh has come to enjoy
the pleasant atmosphere. Together with his team, Mr. Sweet,
the head teacher, has mapped the neighbourhood. They now
know exactly what people live there. They are frequently invited
to come to the school to share their experience of life with
the pupils. It teaches the children a lot. The people living in the
neighbourhood have also been invited today. The school is now
just like one big family. Some time ago someone tried to break
into the school, but the neighbours discovered it. They managed
to chase the burglars off.
It just goes to show: together we are strong.

Interview with Eddy Jharap
Belief in one’s own ability
At the same time you may have a number of friendly relations
with people and gather people around you who won’t hesitate
to give their opinion about you. Knowing things is important, but
knowing people is even more important. You do have to adopt an
attitude of being willing to listen to their criticism, of not minding.
Education should inspire the belief that people mean well by you.
Let’s say, trust in goodness. Apart from that it’s about working
hard, persevering and wanting to grow. If they do, people will
manage all right.
Offer teachers the basis, so that education
can be the basis for children
Eddy Jharap, former general manager of the State Oil Company
If you apply my basic principle - belief in one’s own ability –
to education, the teacher should also radiate that belief. Why
have people taken a job in education? To hinder children, or to
teach them something, give them tools that will enable them to
function better in the end? What matters is to instil in them a
belief in themselves, a belief in a better life. As a result, they will
make efforts with greater confidence and with more good will,
because they feel it inside, not because the teacher wants it. You
have to be prepared to take risks in your life and make mistakes.
It seems a good idea to me that children work at the development
of their potential as if in play.
I would like to advise head teachers to set clear targets like, for
example, the percentage of passes. Once you have set the target,
you can have a look at how it is going to be achieved. There are
pupils, teachers, teaching materials, and it is the head teacher’s
task to see to it that all those components fit in with one another.
He can hold teachers’ meetings to discuss what has been done
well and what has been done less well. And teachers may inspire
one another with practical tips.
Self-reflection is something that I think is really important. Always
look at what happens to you and why it is that it happens to you.
Self-reflection is a condition for being able to grow. In order to
grow, you may consult, read and study books.
Teachers become committed when there is a minimum basis, a
salary that satisfies them enough to make a contribution. This
implies that they can live on their salaries. If they can’t and have
no clear prospect of things improving, you will really end up
having indifferent teachers. They’ll look for second jobs. As a
result, their energy and efforts will be spent on
several jobs, and nothing will be done really well.
Nobody can do a hundred things at the same time.
So, offer teachers that basis, so that education
See DVD for a better
can be the basis for children.
view of the interview
81

Statements from all over the country
Ever since I was a child I wanted to
learn to cook. When I was ten years
old, I was finally allowed to learn it.
My first dish was stewed chicken. I
still work in the catering industry.
(Sandra Atmopawiro, Marowijne)
My brother taught me
to drive a car within
two weeks.
(Harriet Ramdin,
Nickerie)
I felt absolutely great when my godfather and
my friend were present when I was awarded
my bachelor’s degree. (Anne-Rita lingers,
Commewijne)
The parents’ experience of life
is important for your education.
You carry it with you in your own
life and pass it on to your own
children. (S. Ramsaran, Nickerie)
In spite of everything, my father has been
able to stimulate me. Even though he had
not had much schooling. He mentioned as
examples other people who had become
something in society by going to school.
(Marsinie Martodikromo-Dipodiwirjo,
Marowijne)
When certificates were presented, a mother asked her son to come forward,
she gave him a hug and told him how proud she was of him. This sort of thing
improves the relationship between mother and child. The mother literally said,
‘You have surprised me, I hadn’t expected it of you.
(Lititia Tjen-A-Tak, Paramaribo)
82
To go to school I had to travel
from Wageningen to Nickerie all
the time. I persevered in spite of
everything because of the strong
stimulus offered by my mother,
who showed a great interest in
her daughter’s achievements.
You always need someone to
support you.
(Anneke Djopawiro, Coronie)
I have learnt from my mother not to
become dependent on a man. To achieve
that, I had to do my best at school, so
that I could earn my own salary. That’s
what I’ve done my whole life. I wanted
to be something in society and I have
succeeded.
(Verginia Alwanahi-Arichero, Marowijne)
I’m proud to be a member of the parents’ committee
of Klaaskreek; more pupils passed last year because
of our activities. (M. Rensch, Brokopondo)
At home and at school, there was always
someone to listen to me. You learn from your
parents and at school. (Denise Doorson, Coronie)
My father in particular was the person who inspired me to study. My
parents had little schooling themselves and had to work very hard to
provide for the family. They stimulated me to study so that you become
something in society and have a better life. (Jacob Duym, Saramacca)
As I lived in the country,
social control was important
for my education. This
experience has taught me
to pay attention to what is
positive, and not to negative
things. (J. Scheuer, Wanica)
A parents’ committee is
necessary to create the
well-known triangle: teacher -
pupils – parents. Education
then becomes something
involving all of us.
(Steven Emid, Commewijne)

As a three-year-old girl I was eager
to go to school. I was very much
interested without knowing why.
The atmosphere in the village, the
experience of seeing children going
to school; it all presented a challenge
and my parents and the pupils had
something to do with it.
(A.J.B. Paulus, Brokopondo)
On the back of my father’s bike
from the village of Matta to the
kindergarten at Zanderij.
(R. Jubithana, Wanica)
I have always wanted to do a lot for children and I want to
stimulate children to do their best and become something in
society. That’s why I have set up a parents’ committee.
(W. Romer, Saramacca)
My elder brother has been my role model, protector and pioneer.
He provided the motivation to do the course.
(O. Alberg, Saramacca)
I was doing a training course a number of years ago and it was
community training, purely to develop your community. The best
part of it was that you were working yourself at the creation of the
projects. (Annette Jabini, Sipaliwini)
I developed my writing skill thanks to my
grandmother. You see, I had to write letters for my
grandmother to her children abroad. Grandma didn’t
dictate the letters literally, but just said what she
wanted to say or ask. So it was up to me to formulate
the sentences myself. It was not until much later
that I realized that I had gained this experience from
grandma. (Roline Hart, Para)
After I had passed my driving test and had to
park the car in the carport next to the house
for the first time, I hit one of the pillars of
the garage and badly scratched the car. After
that day my father taught me how to do it for
three days. He had bought that particular car
deliberately so that I could get some driving
experience. (Vanessa Bidesie, Paramaribo)
My mother always
said some encouraging
words to me
before I left the
house. I always got
that support.
(Harriette Melcherts,
Paramaribo)
My parents, as
traders, have
been my role
models.
(Myra Cruden,
Coronie)
83
That pupils return after their
studies to work in their own
environment.
(Elisabeth Eersteling, Sipaliwini)
Collaboration is important. By
working together you achieve
better results.
(Lea Leter, Commwijne)
The children’s parents stimulate
me. The parents are my watchdog
group and because of them
I become better.
(Lygia Vriesde, Coronie)
A good relationship with the pupils’ parents
helps you to do your work well. That’s why I
think parents’ participation is very important.
(Marie Purperhart, Saramacca)
Parents should maintain close contact with
the school, give their assistance.
(Rita Edwards, Nickerie)

84
Your home makes you learn
What?
Learning takes place at school, many parents think. And they are
partly right. The school makes sure that learning is possible for
every pupil. That is its job. Many years of scientific research have
confirmed that, in addition to the school, the home environment
is also an important factor in stimulating children’s learning
(Marzano 2007, p. 89).
Parents know their children longer than anyone in the school and
a child still spends more hours at home. The parents are still the
major players in the upbringing of their children. They are experts
on their children. They create daily a home environment that
can have a positive effect on the children’s achievements. They
provide sufficient rest and order, wholesome food, attention,
care and love. We all know it, they are so important to children. It
is the foundation that each parent can provide his child with. It is
the basis that the child brings along to school every day. Research
shows that outstanding achievements do not only depend on the
socio-economic status of the family (White 1982). The child’s
potential and the coaching by the parents are of vital importance
to learning. And that is heartening.
What is the puzzle?
The home environment may vary from child to child. One child
lives in a situation in which he is stimulated. The other child
lives in a difficult situation facing lots of problems and lack of
attention and care. It goes without saying that this affects the
pupils’ achievements. Some parents are too busy making ends
meet and work many hours or have several jobs. Or maybe
parents are not sufficiently aware of the fact that they also have
considerable influence on their children’s learning, and they do
therefore not know how to act.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How can the school have a positive influence on the home
environment for the benefit of learning? What are the
most important activities in this context? And what can you do
at home to support learning?
What do we wish for?
We want the home environment to stimulate learning by
1. showing an interest in what happens in the school. Talking
about experiences at school by parents or educators and
showing an interest in schoolwork has a favourable effect
on achievements.

The following ideas may be passed on to parents so that they
know better how they can help the child’s learning:
1. How can parents show an interest in the school?
• Parents discuss homework with their children on a
regular and systematic basis.
• Parents stimulate their children to do homework.
• Parents offer to help them with the homework.
2. What points can parents pay attention to while exercising
supervision?
• Parents may pay attention to the time spent on
homework.
• Parents check whether homework has been done.
• Parents keep an eye on what children do at school,
what time they come home and what they do after
school.
3. Expectations of parents and styles of parenting. What can
parents do?
It is stimulating if parents have positive expectations of their
children’s achievements, if they believe in their children.
Realistic, high expectations are important and influence
the achievements. Regular reflection on one’s style of
parenting helps the parent to be aware of his behaviour as
a parent and its effects on the children. Positive coaching,
attention to homework, positive discipline are all matters
that help.
85
2. regular supervision. This implies supervision of the child’s
school life. The parents supervise the children’s behaviour
towards education and direct this behaviour in a positive
way to optimize achievements.
3. high expectations on the part of parents and suitable
styles of parenting. High expectations with regard to their
children’s achievements really have a positive influence
on the achievements. Linked to this are so-called styles
of parenting that pass on the expectations to the
children. If parents or educators show an interest in
their children’s daily life, it has a positive effect on the
learning achievements. This is achieved by means of
warm-heartedness on the part of the parents, consistent
rules, absence of harsh punishment and consistency in
bringing up children (Marzano 2007, p. 91).
How?
The school can tell parents at parents’ meetings and other times
that their role is important for the child’s learning.
Tips and information
A simple way to stimulate parents to follow and coach their
child at home is by regularly sending short messages about
the child in the classroom, giving positive information about
the child’s progress, but also a number of points for the
parent to help or supervise. A parent reads the notice and
signs it, and can then talk about school and schoolwork
with the child. The parent may send a message back if
there is certain information that affects the child’s learning,
like illness or lack of sleep.
The school cannot enter the home environment, but
it is possible to make the parents more aware of what
the school expects of them and to offer them tools for
achieving this, by organizing parents’ meetings, workshops
or short training sessions.

86
Parents being active in the school
What?
A successful school helps a pupil to get the most out of himself.
But learning is not a matter that concerns the school alone. We
have already seen that the role of the parents is important. In
addition to their role at home, parents can also mean something
within the school.
Involving the parents actively breaks down the barrier between
school and home. Parents will then come to school more easily
and teachers will find it easier to make contact with the parents.
A form of collaboration will arise between school and parents by
making use of the parents’ help and efforts. If a school works at
it, the quality of the school will improve. Experience has shown
that parents become more active if they feel welcome and
are approached in a positive way by the head teacher and the
teachers. For some parents, the threshold of the school is high
and they only expect bad news if they are approached. Parents
are often not used to being able or allowed to play an active role
in the school. But if it works and parents become more active,
the school may profit from it enormously, which will eventually
benefit the pupils.
What is the puzzle?
Do we want parents in the school, yes or no? Aren’t parents too
troublesome? Or can they in fact help the school? Do we keep
them outside the gate, or do we open the gate to them?
Schools complain about the lack of interest on the part of parents.
Parents complain about the lack of information provided by the
schools. They are usually called up if something is wrong. It does
not bode well. Lack of communication, lack of participation and
lack of opportunity to contribute prevents parents from becoming
personally involved. The schools sometimes are not sure of the
role of parents and how far their involvement should go. One is
often afraid of too much interference on the part of the parents.
Where is the limit?
The pieces of the puzzle are:
How can the school enter into a meaningful conversation with
parents? How can parents participate actively in school life and
how are parents given a say in the school?
What do we wish for?
We want parents to participate actively in every school by means
of
1. regular, positive contacts between school and parents;
2. creating various possibilities in the school for active
participation on the part of the parents;
3. giving parents a say in what happens in the school.
The positive effect of these factors has been demonstrated in
several studies (Marzano 2007, p. 40). The parents’ interest in
and commitment to the school will increase when these three
points are taken into consideration.
How?
1. Improving communication in the school
Real communication is a two-way process. Many popular
means of communication, like letters or newsletters,
bulletins and brochures are excellent means of informing
parents – that is why they are popular – but they do not
lead to a conversation. Other means of communication
may, however, serve the purpose, like parents’ meetings,
talks between parents and teachers after school, consulting
hours, telephone conversations with parents, use of e-mail
and the Internet, and home visits. Conversations pass
off best if attention is focused on positive experiences
with the child and things that happen in school. If more
difficult matters have to be discussed, it will then be a lot
easier. This balance between positive and less positive is
important.
2. Improving parents’ participation
Parents’ participation in school activities stimulates
‘ownership’. The school may organize occasions in
which the parents may take part as volunteers. They may
be out-of-school activities like sports days or a social

evening, but parents may also act as a guest speaker or an
assistant at the office or an assistant to a teacher during
school hours, or as a handyman after school. The school
can draw up a list of activities in the school year and hand
it out the beginning of the school year. Next, one of the
teachers of the school organizes and coordinates it all.
3. Giving parents a say
The best chance of a lasting and positive change in
the commitment of the parents arises when those
who are influenced by certain decisions are involved
in preparing and taking those decisions. Parents are
particularly interested in decisions relating to curricula and
activities that directly affect their children’s achievements
and well-being.
Participation is achieved by creating certain structures in the
school that parents can be part of. The structure that is best
known is the parents’ committee or parents’ council, on which
both parents and teachers serve. Many parents’ committees see
it as their task to support the school with a number of projects
that cannot be carried out by the school straight away. The
choice of projects is usually up to the parents’ committee itself.
A school board is a different form of involvement on the part
of the parents and it is senior to the parents’ committee. This
board participates more directly in the functioning of the
school by establishing school policy, educational programmes,
coordinating various activities in he school, collaborating with all
the parents by means of drawing up a calendar of activities, and
by implementing and evaluating programmes in the school.
Tips and information
It is important in conversations between parents and teachers
that both parties feel full partners, each with his own expertise
and with a joint responsibility for the child’s upbringing. Some
parents are not well-educated, which creates a barrier to the
school. That is a pity because they certainly have interesting
knowledge and experience they can contribute to the
conversation. By showing respect and confidence the school
can show that parents are regarded as important partners
with a lot of knowledge about the child.
If different cultures and language background are present in
one and the same school, it is advisable to maintain contact
with the parents in the parents’ language or, at big meetings,
to provide translations of the main languages spoken. Written
communication may be conducted in several languages.
Direct communication, whether personal or by telephone
or e-mail, may be conducted in the language of the parents
one is talking to. The use of one’s own language removes a
substantial obstacle to communication between parents and
school, especially for the parents who do not speak Dutch
well.
It is important to allot enough time for a real conversation, or
else it will get stuck in information provided by the teacher
about the child. It is advisable to give parents the opportunity
to request talks themselves.
It is important that teachers know the children in the class
well. If the teacher talks about the pupil to the parents or
educators on a regular basis, he shows an interest in the child.
When contact is made with the parents, it is advisable to
gather elementary information like:
• What do parents or educators themselves expect of the
school?
• What are the child’s interests, what is he good at, what
does he like or what doesn’t he like?
• How would they like to be informed about the child and
the school?
• What information is of use to them as parents or
educator?
• In what way could they be involved in what happens in
the school?
It is easier to involve parents by choosing times that suit the
parents. During school hours, many parents are at work and
cannot get away easily to come to the school.
Successful programmes on parent participation often inform
the parents beforehand of what is expected of them. By
means of suitable acquisition techniques, the best persons
may be chosen for the task. It may be necessary to coach
teachers in how they can work with parents effectively. Even
though parents in principle provide help free of charge, their
deployment may involve other costs, like the cost of material
or of training beforehand.
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88
Involve the neighbourhood
The immediate environment of the school may make learning
a lot more attractive and more relevant, if it is put to good use.
It is fun if children may leave the school occasionally to learn
outside. A shop or company near the school may turn out to be
an interesting learning experience. If the children go there with
the teacher to, for example, apply their knowledge of arithmetic,
Omu (the Chinese shopkeeper) must be informed beforehand.
The choice and organization
of out-of-school activities
can benefit greatly from
close relations with the
parents.
Teachers do not always live
in the neighbourhood of the
school. Because of this, the
possibility to involve the local
community in school activities
is sometimes overlooked. The
neighbourhood may, however,
be used very well for learning
or, through direct contacts,
may grow into an important
partner of the school.
Involvement of the community
can strengthen learning in the
classroom by means of using
the knowledge and experience
present in the neighbourhood.
The neighbourhood is not
only a learning environment,
but can also support the
school. Many people in the
neighbourhood are parents
of children that go to school
there or of children that used
to go there. Making use of this
situation can generate a lot of
goodwill towards the school.
Sound communication with the
local residents, by organizing,
for example, an information
meeting, can increase their
involvement and can create
the willingness to support the
school. ‘Impossible’ projects
suddenly turn out to be
possible.
Tips and information
There are several ways of getting to know the neighbourhood.
It can be done by making a survey of the neighbourhood:
the number of people in the neighbourhood, the average
age of the residents, ethnic groups, social organizations
that are active in the neighbourhood. Or the school may try
to define the neighbourhood geographically. Is it the area
where all the pupils live, or is the neighbourhood also the
area where people live with interesting jobs, with shops,
public places like a library, a community centre or parks
and playgrounds?
All teachers ought to know the neighbourhood. They
can get to know it by making an inventory of the
neighbourhood. Parents and pupils may help. Someone
from the neighbourhood can inform the team of teachers
about what goes on in the neighbourhood. Knowledge of
the neighbourhood indicates what opportunities there are
to use the neighbourhood as an area of learning. Interesting
people can be invited by the school and interesting places
may be visited. The neighbourhood can support school
projects. Large companies can provide financial resources,
other companies can make a material contribution or
provide workers. If the school and the neighbourhood know
each other, all this becomes a lot easier. On the other hand,
the children may learn to treat the neighbourhood properly,
not to litter, not to break anything and to be polite to the
residents. The school can have a positive influence on the
children’s behaviour both inside and outside the school by
means of walks and special lessons.

Interview with Centhia Rozenblad
Approach a child as you wish
to be approached yourself
We can’t do without one another. We really can’t do without
one another at all. And you have to try and collaborate with
everybody in all honesty. It may be a utopia, but I do have the
feeling that, in the small environment in which I move, I have
been able to bring about some change by collaborating, with the
result that things were being done better when I left. And that’s
why I say, ’Be there for and with the people’.
It isn’t so much that you teach a child to read and write, but it
is important to make a child believe in himself. I think that you
achieve a lot by doing so. Honestly.
We aim at making differences between children as small as
possible. We can stimulate children in disadvantaged situations
by showing them how valuable they are. Say a little more often,
‘I believe in you, I count on you, you are valuable to me’ and even
‘I love you’. That is terribly important. We have not been saying
it enough so far.
We talk too often in a bossy voice, ‘Come here’, ‘sit down’ etc.
without considering the negative feeling these terms evoke. I think
we should teach every adult to approach a child as you would like to
be approached yourself. I think
that’s immensely important. Do
you want people to yell at you?
No, you don’t. So don’t yell at a
child. Ask the child quietly why
it is doing what it is. ‘Why do
you go about it like this?’ ‘What is the reason that you behave
as you do?’ ‘Could it be done in another way?’ In this way the
child can reflect on his behaviour for a while and become aware
of it. In this way we bring up our future generations to have
self-confidence and we will actually achieve more. We won’t get
anywhere by shouting and yelling.
Dare to be the beginning of changes
Centhia Rozenblad, managing director of ‘s Lands Hospitaal
better to approach them positively and point out to them the
advantages of long-term planning and first completing school. If
we develop a programme to this end, we may prevent these boys
from falling by the wayside. But the pupils should know, though,
what they can and can’t do. It’s necessary to set clear limits, in
a pleasant way.
It is not enough just to approach
the child. You have to talk to the
parents, involve the parents in
the educational process. Many
families now live more or less
in isolation, without any social control. Education continues to
be the driving force behind getting on. I think we should make
Surinamese children realize that. We must develop a programme
to point out to parents that they have a responsibility. Everybody
should be able to ask once again, ‘Why don’t you go to school,
why are you hanging out on the corner?’
89
Many boys and men do not continue their education and often
say ‘No, m’e go wroko moni’. I want to earn money. Earning
money can wait, you can put it off for some time. It is much
more important to stay on in school. Money is gone like that,
while your knowledge always stays with you. We should be more
beside the boys at school, and less above them. There’s no point
in reproaching the boys, like, ‘You’re lazy, you don’t do this, you
don’t do that.’ You only confirm them in their behaviour, with
the result that they will really end up doing nothing at all. It’s
Don’t be afraid to take responsibility in this matter. Take the
initiative, guide processes and take control of bringing about
positive changes together. Show others that they do their bit
and that we really achieve something together.
You, as a teacher, can actually do something
about changing the present situation. This is not
a utopian dream, but a fact, as long as you do
your best, together with others, to bring about an
See DVD for a better
view of the interview
improvement. Just start now. You can do it.

125
Michael Wong Loi Sing

5
The forces at play:
growing is offering opportunities
Offering opportunities,
setting people in motion,
continuing to flourish.
It is all important in
education. Within the
school, opportunities are
created for learning for the
pupil who has belief in his
own ability every day. The
teacher and the parents do
their part. Great emphasis
is put on the importance
of pupils achieving good results, attention is paid to positive
learning and the teachers’ way of teaching. The development of
a sound infrastructure at school level is guaranteed, but more is
needed.
A plant requires a proper climate to grow. It needs light in the form
of sunshine, water and nourishment on a regular basis, trimming
or extra support. In short, care, room and protection. All this
produces beautiful, colourful flowers. But a lasting investment is
needed to guarantee and stimulate this flowering.
This symbolism also applies to education. Education does not
take place in the school in isolation. There are all sorts of forces
at work, like cultural, social and economic processes. Education
will flourish optimally in a stimulating, caring and nourishing
environment.
The chapter is organized in the following way:
1. We start with the story of the desired, ideal situation.
2. We then present statements made by people from all
over the country.
3. We conclude with background information:
• The forces at play: shaping education
Growing is offering people
opportunities and setting them in motion.
Growing is believing in yourself and in others:
your pupils, your colleagues, your
environment.
Working at growth
means feeding yourself
but also letting yourself be fed.
You don’t do that alone
but together with others.
Who am I?
Who is the other person?
Where do I want to go?
What do I need?
Growing vigorously
What causes growth?
What causes withering?
Growing is inspiring.
Inspiring is captivating and
setting in motion
always from your own position and
perception.
Growing is wishing to change
when meeting with others.
A new story is written again and again,
the past gives way
a new future is created.
91

The interview
The dream
Just imagine, ten years from now. Education is in a state of
flux and numerous innovations have blossomed. The Council of
Ministers has adopted a new law laying down that each child
aged 4 to 15 shall go to school. A lot of work has been done,
but all ideals have not been attained as yet. One day, a journalist
of one of the national dailies walks into the Kolibrie School. He
asks Mr. Sweet whether he has got a moment for him. Of late,
education has not always been discussed positively in the news.
The journalist now hears promising reports occasionally and they
have made him curious.
Mr. Sweet has prepared himself carefully for the interview. Miss
Naomi and Miss Wendy are also present. After all, they can talk
about their own experiences best. Once the recording equipment
has been set up and everybody has sat down at the table, the
interview starts.
The teachers are a little nervous. Should they only talk about the
successes, or also about other things that have not quite been
achieved yet?
‘Mr. Sweet,’ the journalist says. ‘In the last few months I have
92

heard more and more positive
news about education. Can you
tell me something about it?’
Mr. Sweet has a cautious look
in his eyes and, after a brief
silence, he comes up with an
answer. ‘I’m glad that the papers
have written some positive
things about education. In the
past years we have worked very
hard in our school. Education
cannot exist without teachers.
I could never have improved
our school’s education without
my teachers. We have taken a
lot of trouble to get the parents
involved in the school. It wasn’t
easy, for many parents are too
busy scraping a living. With great
difficulty, we have managed to set
up a parents’ committee. It has
been responsible for, for example,
cleaning up the schoolyard and
putting up some playground
equipment. We have had more
contact with the parents because
of it. Some parents sometimes
help us doing odd jobs and in this
way we have managed to repair some leaking roofs. The parents’
committee has also had talks with the District Commissioner and
with the Permanent Secretary for Education. Thanks to them we
have been able to add some classrooms to the school.’
Improvement means progress
‘I see that you have invited some teachers to this interview.
Miss Naomi and Miss Wendy, can you tell me whether any real
progress has been made in the last few years?’
At last the two teachers get a chance to answer some questions.
Papers usually write about teachers, but their voices are not
heard enough. They are glad. Miss Naomi starts to speak. ‘We
really think that we’ve made progress. We closely collaborate
with the team, the parents and the head teacher. Due to the
decentralization that’s now under way we have our own funds at
our disposal. The authorities make an amount of money available
annually for the maintenance of the building. We still have a long
way to go, we could do with some more financial injections from
the authorities, but the first step has been taken.’ Miss Wendy
adds, ‘We now draw up a school improvement plan every year.
We have learnt to do that in training courses that are now held
more often.’
‘Has the role of the authorities
changed of late? Have you
noticed anything?’ the journalist
continues.
Mr. Sweet takes a deep breath.
It is a tricky question that cannot
be answered with a simple ‘yes’
or ‘no’. ‘I have noticed that
the authorities have become
more active in the last few years.
They have formulated a better
educational policy. Compared
with the past, improvements in
education are better coordinated.
We feel more supported by the
government. Now that we have
more money of our own at our
disposal, we can work faster,
with the help of the community,
at improving the buildings. Some
time ago, together with some parents,
I spent a Saturday morning
repairing the toilet buildings.
In the afternoon, some other
parents turned up with some
delicious food. Training courses
for head teachers are also held
more frequently. It’s necessary, I
think. Everything becomes more
complicated. In the past, everything was much easier, but head
teachers are now expected to do a lot more. I now know better
how, for example, I can manage my school and I have noticed
a change for the better in the pupils and the teachers. We are
much more like a well-knit team that works at better learning in
the school. The teachers are still more committed and, together
with the parents, we work at the same goal: better education for
the children. Change, as I now know, is everyone’s business and
we’re beginning to manage nicely.’
Pretty stories or …?
‘I have to be realistic,’ Mr. Sweet admits. ‘We have made great
strides, but we are not there yet, not quite. My teachers still
have to do odd jobs after working hours to make enough money.
Salaries have not yet been raised to adequate levels and life is
becoming more and more expensive. So apart from the beautiful
stories about progress, there are some less exciting stories to
be told. The beautiful stories are about, for example, the annual
statistics that are drawn up and presented better and better. The
annual statistics show that the number of pupils in school has
increased, the number of dropouts has dropped dramatically and
the number of successful candidates has grown. The provision
93

of teaching and learning materials is going off nicely.
And the children are pleased with their new, more up-todate
textbooks. But what is less satisfactory is that the
classes are still far too large for all the children to get
enough attention. What is needed is more assistance
in the classroom to offer all the children equal
opportunities. Moreover, the school still has insufficient
financial means.’
Thinking a hundred years ahead
is thinking of the future
‘How do you see it Miss Naomi?’ asks the journalist.
Miss Naomi looks up surprised and says, ‘I know a
Chinese proverb that says: If you think one year ahead,
plant seed .If you think ten years ahead, plant a tree. But
if you think a hundred years ahead, educate the people.’
‘Those are beautiful words, Miss Naomi. Can you explain
to the readers what you mean exactly?’ ‘Look, we have
made headway in the last few years and that is important.
The authorities provide more and more support and
listen to what people working in the field have got to
say. After all, it is us who take care of teaching day by
day. I think that education is everybody’s responsibility
and if we shoulder this responsibility together, we can
achieve wonderful results. But we, teachers, cannot do
it on our own. We need recognition from society. Our
profession should be given greater status.’
94
Miss Wendy added, ‘And that’s precisely the responsibility
of the authorities and politics. If the authorities continue
to support us and offer sufficient powerful incentives, we
will be able to do our work even better. We have to look
ahead. If you wish to develop your country and secure a
prominent position in the world, you’ll have to continue
to support and help education to make this possible.
There are many forces at work in today’s education.
But what should come first is that our children will soon
determine our future. We can only ensure inspiring and
challenging educational experiences for our children if
we do it together.’
The journalist is pleased with the straight answers these
people have been giving him. He has now heard positive
stories himself, but he also sees that there are lots of
things open to improvement. After thanking everybody
he walks to his car in a cheerful state of mind. The next
day there is an interesting article in the paper headlined
Improve the World and Start with Education.

Interview with Walter Dwarkasingh
Good education requires our effort every day
There are many schools in Suriname,
about two to three hundred. To reach
all of them, you may group them
together. A counsellor or consultant
may be assigned a number of clusters.
Guidance and inspection play a key
role. If we wish to move forward,
quality lessons are a prerequisite.
The inspector is the person to keep
teachers on their toes by dropping in
unexpectedly and asking for teaching
plans. Good education requires our
effort every day.
If you wish to be competitive as a
country, you need a well-educated
people. Not just from a labour point of
view, but also, especially, from the perspective of community life.
Does education get better
because of better courses
and training? I don’t think
so. The teacher who has
attended a refresher course,
starts enthusiastically
introducing new methods
of class management,
teaching methods etc. He is still at it the second week, but he
won’t persevere much longer.
What you see here is a clash between innovation and the existing
school culture. The rest of the team responds halfheartedly.
That’s why the whole school team should be trained, not just
one individual. Professional life is important but is highly liable
Walter Dwarkasingh, educational adviser
Schools may be reformed if new teachers
apply structurally what they have learnt
at teachers’ training colleges.
to changes in the modern economy. A
specialty may become redundant and
retraining is then required. The ministry
has therefore decided to extend basic
education by three years. Literally, to
provide the basis.
Four-year vocational courses may then
be shortened. It will enable people
to adjust more quickly in society and
education to satisfy the demand of the
labour market.
A real danger of modernized vocational
training courses is that you train people
for abroad, like Caricom, where borders
have been lifted for professional people.
So training people is one thing, making
sure that you can keep them is something else. That’s why there
should be well-paid jobs available. This idea is beginning to dawn on
politicians. The government
now wants well-educated
people to run the ministries.
Another problem is that
the government has to
compete with the business
sector within Suriname,
and that the country has to
compete with other countries. Salaries have already been raised
for senior officials, but not yet for officials at the lower levels.
It is of vital importance to the prosperity
and successes of Suriname that the working
population stays in the country.
See DVD for a better
view of the interview
95

Statements from all over the country
It is important to have a relaxed relationship
with the community in which you work, your
school team and pupils. There should be
mutual respect. (Dora Baisie, Para)
There are people involved in education that mean well by
education. They are the doers, they take initiatives for the
greater good. Positive role models are important to everybody.
(Wilgo Leslie Demon, Paramaribo)
That you experience new things with the
pupils every day. What makes people
enthusiastic and motivated is that they
contribute to the development of our country.
(Melissah Tiropawiro, Wanica)
96
Several languages are spoken in Suriname. As a teacher you have
to fall back on the mother tongue and the child will understand
the lesson better. (Marijke Jozefzoon, Brokopondo)
My most positive experience with education – especially
because I was allowed to be part of it myself - was
teaching the children their rights and duties and
making them aware of them. We drew up ten rights and
duties that had to be observed at school. On the basis
of these rules, an educational fair was organized. This
resulted in appointing a child’s right promoter at each
school. This person has to make sure the rules are
observed. I enjoyed working at it since I was allowed to
supervise the process in two districts.
(Marlies Obergh-Boëtius, Marowijne)
There are no limits. Education is alive, so innovations
should always continue. Appreciation has to come from
the Ministry and there should always be incentives, so
that teachers are helped to function well.
(Anne-Rita Linger, Commewijne)
If you have a problem it is always advisable to consult
a more experienced person. If you act on this advice,
you’ll notice it really works.
(Verginia Alwanahi-Arichero, Marowijne)
If you fail to plan,
your plan will fail.
(Ingrid Karta-Bink,
Commewijne)
The Government should put education
first on its list of priorities.
(Albert Aboikoni, Sipaliwini)
The community was stimulated and trained to start projects on its own.
Thanks to the all-out efforts on the part of the community, we have
managed to make the park attractive once again.
(Gitana Plak, Coronie)
Offering tailor-made
and reality-oriented
education.
(Malone, Nickerie)
When I had to teach a
class of forty-five pupils for
the first time, I thought,
how and where do I start?
Fortunately, I got help from
the head teacher and the
other colleagues.
(Renate Schalkwijk,
Brokopondo)
Make schools
autonomous,
that‘s important.
(Chotoe, Nickerie)

Education builds people not
knowledge
(Robby Morroy, Paramaribo)
To become a Minister from being
a toddler or something out of
nothing. (Verranah, Saramacca)
When I was a little boy and went to school, I didn’t realize
what it was all about. But as I grew older and learnt more,
I realized what a teacher stood for. I then said to myself, ‘I
want to be like the teacher or someone else who has made
it in society.’ (Eduart C., Sipaliwini)
At home and at school, there was always
someone to listen to me. You learn from
your parents and at school.
(Denise Doorson, Coronie)
Dynamics in education stimulates. People, teachers, who
are capable of passing subject material on in a gripping
way. (Remy Clenem, Marowijne)
The best experience I had with my mother. She always taught me to turn
negative things into positive things. That I should not be afraid of making
mistakes. (Hilman, Wanica)
You learn by trial and error.
(Melissah Tiropawiro, Wanica)
I had the best learning experience with my little son. I can
share knowledge and experience with him, give concrete
examples. People grasp things so much better if you work
with practical examples. (Mohamed S. Khodabaks, Coronie)
The home environment should be such that the
educational process can pass off optimally.
(Harold Rusland, Saramacca)
It’s not just a matter of
qualified teachers but also
of competent teachers.
(Verranah S. Commewijne)
Learning (going to
school) was a challenge.
There was no electricity,
no water and I had to
walk to school through a
swamp. My surroundings
and relatives stimulated,
motivated and pushed
me to complete my
studies for a better life.
I didn’t want to bring up
my children in a
situation like that.
(Charity Kalloe,
Paramaribo)
As a volunteer I fraternized with local adults and children from different cultures. It has taught
me how other people treat children. The meetings were a very positive learning experience.
(Anneke Djopawiro, Coronie)
Teacher D’Abreu at the
teachers’ training college
was almost the perfect
teacher for me. If it is a
question of helping others
to get the best out of
themselves, you first of
all have to give the right
example yourself.
(Wasimin Soewarto,
Saramacca)
The best thing my father has taught me is that we
should not look at the situations you are in, but
rather at how to get out of them. So always try
the best. I have followed my father’s advice. That
means studying hard and working hard all the time
to attain your goals. I felt great that I had become
a teacher, for in those days (1973) being a teacher
was fantastic. So what I learn from this experience is
literally: where there’s a will, there is a way.
(Widiawatie Ramsoedit-Sitaram, Wanica)
97

98
The forces at play:
shaping education
What?
Our society is changing fast. This requires a different content
of our future education. It demands new competencies and
skills from people. The educational system is aimed at making
a contribution. It offers what prepares young people for their
task to make a positive contribution towards the development
and prosperity of our country and people. Young people’s talents
should be given sufficient opportunities in this context.
The government is responsible for formulating conditions providing
a framework in education. In this way the desired future citizen
may be further realized. What matters are the following issues:
• mankind, the earth and living together in a sustainable
manner: respect for human life in harmony with the
environment;
• belief in one’s own ability: emotional security,
self-confidence and initiative;
• multicultural society and solidarity: awareness of the
multicultural society and respect for the ethnic, religious
and other differences;
• knowledge of the history and identity of your country’s
people: a well-developed respect for Suriname’s cultural
inheritance (different ethnic groups, history, heritage etc.);
• demonstration of love of one’s country: a strong bond
with one’s own country and orientation as a world citizen;
• multiple skills: the availability of different skills, ability to
think independently and critically and orientation to the
application of knowledge and facts to solve problems;
• a sound mind in a sound body: the ability to control
physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being and make
a contribution towards the health and prosperity of the
community (MINOV 2004b).
quality requirements);
• operation of the government (inspection, counselling,
examination bureau, care structure);
• infrastructure of buildings and facilities.
• International developments
• Ideas about the new learning with a special focus on
information and communication technology (ICT).
• International agreements signed by Suriname
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child, which
has advocated the right to education for each child
since the 1990s. This has resulted in the Millennium
Development Goals and the agreements about
Education for All, under which countries agreed to
see to it that all children in the world will be able to
receive quality education in 2015.
• Special Needs Education, an obligation to create
special provisions for children who need extra help
and attention in education.
• It is essential that, in addition, Suriname should
come to an agreement in the Caribbean about joint
priorities within CARICOM. All these issues have an
effect on the school and, eventually, on the learning
power.
Special
Education
Legislation
Millennium
Goals
Mission and
Philosophy
Education
for all
Financing
ICT
Education is not something that operates in isolation. Many
forces are at play in our education. We mention some of the
major ones without wishing to be complete:
Educational
Policy
Infrastructure
• The government
• legislation, views and policy (like for example
decentralisation);
• shaping and application of adapted educational
legislation;
• fixed budgets;
• government standards (like attainment targets,
Decentralization
CARICOM
Inspection
Counselling
Care
Structure
Inclusive
Education
Standards
New Learning

Interview with Hans Lim A Po
Stimulate love of learning
Who is a better role model for the pupils than the teacher? A
motivated teacher with love of learning and a strong commitment
automatically imbues pupils with love of learning. That’s why it
is so important to provide good role models. Teachers may be
made to realize that their role is crucial. This means that you
first of all have to invest in the teachers’ sense of purpose, in the
purpose of education. It’s the duty of the authorities to recognize
this as the number-one priority.
A sense of purpose is a basic need of man. To me, a sense of
purpose is love of learning and working: derive meaning from
what you do and what contributes to society. A sense of purpose
is necessary in all stages of life. You get it by believing in life-long
learning, by believing in your own development through what you
learn and do.
This implies that you have a
perception of learning that
assumes that love of learning, of
life-long learning, is important. It
is not about learning from a book.
What matters is that you discover the way of learning that suits
you and search for your own development opportunities. Each
child has his own way of learning. By taking this into consideration
in education, you already start to stimulate the love of learning.
Pupils then begin to discover what they’re good at, what they
can do and what their talents are. In this way, they give a sense
of purpose its own place. That’s what it is all about.
Learning reflectively; think in every situation,
what can I learn from it?
Hans Lim A Po, director of the FHR Institute for Social Studies
Education and the learning that goes with it, is one of the
major binding elements in a society. Learning is part of life and,
consequently, it may provide
tools to cope with what you
encounter in life. I’m now talking
about pleasant and unpleasant
things.
Reflective learning is also important in this respect. What I mean
by this is that we should stimulate to a greater extent the ability
in pupils to look back at their own actions, and by doing so raise
their awareness. Teachers, pupils and all of us may ask ourselves
in each situation what we can learn from it. In my opinion, what
matters in education is not just stimulating love of learning
and sense of purpose. It is also about stimulating learning as a
continuous process, stimulating learning in a social context.
The role of education is vital if we talk about the influence on
individuals and on society as a whole. We underestimate it from
time to time. It is important that people should be committed,
be prepared to think outside their own context and exude love
of learning. What is needed is a critical mass to get the whole
body of educational innovations going. That is the solution to the
question of lack of commitment we are now faced with. You can
compare education to a pencil. If we speak of effective education,
this education may be compared to a sharpened pencil that writes
easily and creates beautiful things. If education is ineffective, it
means the tip of the pencil is broken.
99
What matters is working hard together at good
education in order to be able hand pupils effective
instruments.
See DVD for a better
view of the interview

100
What is the puzzle?
How do we deal with these forces at play? What does society
expect of education? What international influences play a role?
The educational system plays a prominent role in sustainable
development, economic growth, poverty reduction and equal
opportunities for everybody. It is influenced by national and
international views and developments. All this is reflected in the
educational policy, educational goals and the curriculum.
The personal convictions and experiences of the various
stakeholders play a role in all this. Parents very much want the
school to help their children to become independent and to
prepare them well for the labour market. Business and industry
want pupils to develop a broad employability, so that they can
be deployed in a flexible manner. Society wants democratic and
respectful citizenship. The teachers emphasize optimizing the
pupils’ learning process. And the pupils, what do they want?
They just want to study subjects they are interested in or find
useful. Pupils want to enjoy going to school, be appreciated by
the teachers and meet other pupils. Given all this, the government
faces a formidable challenge to devise an approach that takes all
these wishes into consideration as much as possible.
The government itself is influenced in turn by forces at national
and international levels. National and international agreements
have to be respected and honoured. The educational programmes
that are to be developed will have to be challenging, motivating
and meaningful and should be geared to the requirements society
will set, now and in the future.
The pieces of the puzzle are:
What does this field of influence mean to the curriculum? How
can adequate legislation and regulation, an ample educational
budget and an innovative policy respond to a changing society?
What degree of decentralization and autonomy of schools is
advisable? How can schools be supported strongly? Everybody
has a right to education but that makes it an obligation to all
those involved. The government, in particular, bears a great
responsibility to jointly achieve high-quality education.
What do we wish for?
We want to achieve together a fair, effective and efficient
educational system offering equal opportunities to everybody,
an educational system that provides a foundation for an
internationally competitive working population. Education that
supports sustainable development and meets established quality
standards. The coordination is taken care of by a professional
network of experts on education in a decentralized system giving
autonomy to local levels that also bear
the responsibility for the ultimate result.
A successful operation requires a sound
structure for support from the various
levels. This is a responsible task, but as
Henri Blinker indicates in his interview,
‘education is everyone’s business’. From
his own role or position, everybody may
make a positive contribution to the
realization of this dream. The starting
point continues to be how learning may
be optimized from the various levels. If
we all believe in it and join forces, the
flower will blossom fully and it will give
rise to beautiful new flowers.
How?
Hans Lim A Po makes a good start in
his interview, in which he explains that
it is important that people demonstrate
a positive commitment. They have to be
willing to think outside their own context
and exude a love of learning. By creating
a critical mass, the whole of educational
innovations will be set in motion. This
critical mass acts as a powerful motor to
gradually reform the educational sector.
This mass, such a core group, spreads
unchecked over the educational sector,
while enabling an ever growing group
to do their bit in an active and positive
manner in creating pupil-oriented and
child-friendly education in Suriname. The
genesis of this book is a good example of
this process. If you believe in something,
you can put a lot of things in motion.
But the crucial question that remains
to be answered is of course: what will
education look like in the future?
The following are a number of essential elements that are
characteristic of an innovative educational system:
1. Learning is a lifelong process. A strong foundation is
laid in the period of basic education for 4-15-year-olds.
In addition to basic education, the system offers a wide
variety of secondary education, both vocational and more
cognitive and academic education.
2. Tomorrow’s school offers flexible educational programmes,
so that each child may develop on the basis of his individual

capacity. Children are not all alike, but
they are equal.
3. The pupil-oriented and
child-friendly educational programme
provides scope for development in
many areas. In addition to the cognitive
subjects, attention is focused, among
other things, on creative education,
sports, the basic life-skills and personality
development.
4. There are central goals which fit in
with international guidelines and which
the system of testing is in keeping with.
There is an elaborate system of quality
control both inside the schools (quality
care and self-evaluation) and outside the
school (schools inspectorate and school
inspections). Either of these levels has
specific responsibilities to guarantee the
quality.
5. There is a policy of
professionalization to guarantee
that teachers and head teachers are
well-prepared for their task to create
high-quality teaching-learning situations.
6. There is a national policy
framework which serves as guidance
and is stimulating but, at the same time,
leaves room for the development and
growth of individual schools. The specific
situation of the school and related needs
to be able to guarantee quality education
are taken into consideration. There is a
certain degree of autonomy at school
level which makes it possible to take
decisions independently to be able to
respond to the specific situation effectively.
7. There is a broad network of stakeholders who all of them
do their bit in achieving quality education. This implies a
close involvement on the part of, among others, the parents,
the community, charitable organizations, NGOs and
donors.
8. There is a sound structure of support at all levels to achieve
the innovations. Innovation often goes hand in hand with
fear, insecurity and a need for support. The system should
provide it to enable people to function optimally.
9. There is legislation that protects and facilitates the right
of all children to education. In addition, a substantial
part of the government budget is available for education.
This investment is justified since it eventually will have
a yield of inestimable value: independent citizens that,
self-assured and starting from their own individual power,
make a positive contribution to the society of the future.
10. There are regular moments of reflection at all educational
levels to discuss how things are going, to share successes
and analyse problems. It is a consultative process with the
commitment of all those involved to see whether the path
that has been mapped out may be continued or needs
adjusting.
Educational reform is a complex process. There are many forces
at play. These forces partly influence the ultimate outcome. The
key to success is to collaborate in all honesty and openness. If
everybody shoulders his responsibility and helps to realize this
dream, in fact, the work is largely done. Everybody can take a
step forward. It does not matter however small the step seems.
They are all steps in the direction we want to go.
Change cannot be avoided. Just think that change gives us the
opportunity to innovate. It gives us the opportunity to show our
creativity. In doing so, we will have to further develop our belief
in our own ability. Someone came up with the apt statement,
‘there is work to be done in every community. Every country has
wounds that need healing. Every heart has the power to do that.’
If we all join forces, we will create a strong safety net. We can
then use it together to safely build the dream of quality education
for all children in Suriname.
Tips and information
• See UNESCO website www.unesco.org for more
information on Education for All.
• See www.millenniumdoelen.nl for information about
the various millennium goals.
• More information on children’s rights is to be found on
the site of Human Rights Education Associates: www.
hrea.nl (in Dutch).
• See www.caricom.org for more information on
Caricom.
101

We may also present the various levels in the field of forces as
follows:
When we move up one step, we arrive at the meso
level. This is school level. Schools should gradually
obtain a certain degree of autonomy (independence in terms
of management, finance, staff policy, educational principles)
and schools should be held responsible for meeting established
national quality standards. Investments by the Surinamese
government in educational innovation and improvement plans are
important in this context. Sound legislation and support enable
schools to improve education qualitatively.
Macro
Macro level
102
Nano
Nano level
Nano is the smallest level but one of the most important. It refers
to the learning process and the pupil. This book is concerned
with optimal learning. This requires a pupil-oriented approach.
What matters is to guide the pupil’s development during his
school career as positively as possible. The pupil is equipped
with knowledge, skills and attitudes. The pupil’s own motivation
and enjoyment of learning stimulate the learning ability.
Micro
Micro level
nano
micro
meso
macro
supra
Learning takes place in the classroom. We speak of the micro level.
This is where the interaction takes place between pupils and
teachers. It is all aimed at a learning process that is as optimal as
possible. The teacher is important. In this context,
education focuses attention on, among other things,
following the pupils (pupil monitoring system),
differentiation (dealing with differences) and on
care for pupils that attract attention (broadening
of care). It offers help to children that for some
reason or other lag behind or are very quick.
This is the level of the educational system: all the organs,
agencies, provisions and regulations that go beyond the
individual school organization and are explicitly aimed at the
functioning, development and continued existence of education.
They include the framework provided by law for the educational
system, the care structure with supportive counselling services,
the production of teaching materials, the inspectorate, the
development department, the examination bureau, the organs for
policymaking, consultations and advice, and the organizations
representing teachers, school boards, trade unions, teachers
and pupils’ parents. A more effective, more efficient and fairer
educational system offering equal opportunities to everybody, an
internationally competitive working population and an educational
system that is conducive to sustainable development and offers
services that meet established quality standards.
Supra
Supra level
The supra level surpasses the national level. It concerns the
cooperation in the field of education with international and
regional development partners (Caricom, Unesco, Unicef, IDB,
UNDP etc.), as well as bilateral relations with the Netherlands,
Belgium (VVOB), China, Brazil, India and other relevant countries.
Suriname has signed and ratified various conventions: Special
Needs Education (Access and Quality, Salamanca, Spain, 1994),
Education for All (Dakar), The Convention on the Rights of the
Child and the Millennium Development Goals.
Meso
Meso level

Interview with Humphrey Bendt
Sound leadership leads to good things
My dream is to train leaders who
will develop the right drive in
themselves and in others. It will
have to be done with the people
we have already got. You can
motivate them to work at their
personal leadership and develop
a philosophy for themselves and
their organization. You can’t create
leaders, they create themselves.
We can only stimulate them
by making them aware of the
importance of their role. They then
wake up to the fact themselves
that they can go about things in a
different way.
There is a culture of power in our
country. We have to get rid of it.
If power is seen as important,
people want to have more power and influence for themselves.
What do you do with a selfish culture, while what we need is
collaboration?
Education plays an important
role in the process of
achieving a turnaround
towards modern leadership.
That is where it has to start,
in school. We can work on
two fronts at the same time: the authorities and the school. The
authorities may start by putting more money into education.
But how can the authorities stimulate change and innovation if
Humphrey Bendt, director of Bendt Training & Consultancy
Leaders have to make themselves, but
we have to push them. If people work at personal
leadership, it has a positive effect straight away.
they do not change and innovate
themselves? That is a crucial
question.
Together, we have a collective
responsibility. It is not a question
of throwing out teachers. What
matters is to set processes in
motion and develop models that
are change-oriented. It’s not only
knowledge that plays a role in this
but a broad education too.
We therefore need programmes
for head teachers to work at
that broad educational practice,
with counsellors and stimulating
assessment and payment systems.
I repeat, you can’t make leaders,
they make themselves. But we have to push them. Or else we’ll
continue to move around in the same vicious circle. We have
to make them ready, impart
ideas to them and they will
then come forward as they
should of their own accord. I
don’t believe in any other way.
Working at
and investing
in the leadership
of managers in society and education, that’s
what I believe in. You’ll see that it works. We are
going to make fundamental progress!
See DVD for a better
view of the interview
103

125
Daniël Djojoatmo

Innovation is:
dreaming and daring,
thinking, acting and persevering
6
Our greatest fear is not that we are imperfect.
Our greatest fear is that we are immoderately strong.
It is our light, not our shadow, which frightens us most.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, beautiful,
talented, great?
But who are you not to be so?
Nelson Mandela
Innovation is dreaming and thinking, but especially daring to
act. The theme of this book is: starting from what optimizes the
pupils’ learning. So learning is at the centre. Each player has his
own role and responsibility. All players are vital to the game of
educational reform.
Reforming education is not done from one day to the next. We
all know that. Fortunately, we need not make it any more difficult
and complex than it already is. What is important, though, are
the latest ideas that clearly show that educational improvement
or innovation can only take place if the teacher is allowed sufficient
scope to try out and use a new approach in his daily practice.
The teacher is an indispensable link in quality improvement in
education.
The substance of educational innovations varies from copying
successful examples to drastic experiments like eleven-year
primary education. What is characteristic is that there are no
detailed blueprints but that educational innovations are developed
from the bottom up. Michael Fullan puts it like this, ‘There is
not just one solution in innovative processes. Develop your own
theories and actions by being a critical consumer.’ (Fullan 1992)
And ‘Change is not a blueprint but a journey.’ Fullan emphasizes
that innovations cannot be imposed (top-down), because people
do not want to be changed by someone else but want to change
themselves. He also states that there should be a balance in
innovations between so-called pressure (what is meant is control
by the government) and support (support at work).
The chief players in educational innovations are the pupils and
the teachers. They should be involved and be given room to help
design the innovations instead of being given the role of just
carrying them out. It is therefore important to encourage our
schools in their initiatives by means of money and support. It
may seem like a dream: schools are going to improve, reform and
even innovate themselves. But several Surinamese pilots have
shown us that it does not have to remain a dream. Teachers
feel for their pupils and, rightly, wish to be taken seriously in
educational innovations.
This last chapter emphasizes innovation.
And we say: innovation is dreaming and daring, thinking, acting
and persevering!
105

The dream
Some days later, a long article adorns the front page of a national
daily. There is a picture of Mr. Sweet and his teachers. You can
see their school building, recently done up, in the background.
We are proud of the positive reports in the media.
Reform the world and start with education
106
A better world seems a
long way off and is yet
close at the same time.
‘We are happy,’ says
Mr. Sweet, headmaster
of the Kolibrie School
in Paramaribo.
‘Education received
a lot of negative
attention for many
years, but I can tell
you that we have
worked very hard in
the last few years and
have made headway.’
It clearly shows. The
yard has been tidied
up, parents have made
playgroup equipment
and the authorities
have supported the
school in renovating
and extending the building.
‘We haven’t quite finished yet,’
says Miss Naomi. ‘But it’s a
start.’
Every day the future visits our
classrooms: the children, the
young people. They are going to
be our future leaders, geriatric
attendants, pilots, doctors,
lawyers, mechanics, street
sweepers and … teachers. The
authorities and society are
becoming increasingly aware
of the importance of education
for a better world. ‘I’m glad
we at last find ourselves in an
upward spiral. Education is
development. It’s important
to all young people in our
country. Their development,
their more critical and more
conscious way of thinking may
help us to build a better world,’
says Miss Wendy.
She has been working at this
school for over thirty years
and she has seen a lot in the
past years. ‘By focusing our
thinking on things we want,
things that we wish, we will
pull them towards us. You
can be an example in every
situation by working at what
you want instead of at what
you don’t want, whether it’s
in the organization you work
in (classroom, school, office
etc.) or at home. To be able
to welcome the future in your
classroom every day,
is really a gift.’
‘To reform the world’,
sounds extremely peculiar
or at least a little
crazy. Yet, it is not
quite as crazy as it
seems. Everybody
in education -
pupils, teachers,
head teachers and
staff at the ministry
- has been assigned a
major role in helping
to reform the world.
Pupils that feel good,
who enjoy going
to school, will be
well-prepared for
life and, in turn, may
make a significant
contribution in the
future to society, to the world.
The team members of the
Kolibrie School are pleased,
but they are also critical at the
same time. They have made a
start but they want more.
They wish the teaching
profession will eventually
regain recognition in society
and be appreciated more.
‘We make a difference,’
continues Mr. Sweet. ‘And it’s
about time we all realized it!’

Interview with Henri Blinker
Education
is everyone’s business
Education is the mechanism to set sustained development in
motion. That means, in fact, that education is something to
impart specific knowledge and skills to people. In this way people
are enabled to participate in society as well as they can. If we
wish to achieve this, all of us will have work at it, everyone at his
own level from pupil to parent to teacher to authorities.
The role of education is to show that there is a relationship between
what you learn and what you can do with it. Well thought-out
learning paths may educate pupils on their way to the right place
in the labour market. Cooperation with the occupational field is a
necessary condition for it. You could get the competences from
the occupational field and take them to the schools. That implies
quite a shift in the curriculum. Bring the occupational field and
society into the school, so that pupils will be better equipped
once they start work. Education will then be able to respond
to changes in the occupational
field and keep the subject
material more up-to-date.
Have consultations with
people in teaching. Give them a say and responsibility as well.
Arrangements can then be made, results can be measured and
people can be held accountable. If schools get a certain amount
of money of their own that they can spend on things that they
think are important to the school, you create involvement and
a sense of responsibility. In this way, it is not a question of ‘the
authorities give money and the teacher does in the classroom
whatever he likes.’ No, in that case there is a bit of ownership,
so that we can work more effectively and more quickly at badly
needed improvement.
It is important for a country to have competent workers with a
broad view of the world. Our country has a lot to offer to the
world: agriculture, mining and an emerging tourist industry. Once
Education is the mechanism to set sustained
development in motion
Henri Blinker, chairman of the Federation of Institutes of Denominational
Education in Suriname
globalization plays a greater role in our way of thinking, we will be
able to make well-considered choices in, for example, the field of
trade, politics and education. The example of Singapore is, I think,
a good one. They have clearly opted for trade, the economy and
ICT, that’s it. It means that Singapore is going all out to achieve
it. My advice to Suriname is:
make a deliberate choice like,
for example, economic policy
and go for it. In this way,
everybody knows in what
direction we’re going and what knowledge and skills are required.
If we involve as many parties as possible, like the authorities, the
Ministry of Education, the business sector, parents and students,
we may generate enough support for bringing about innovation
and improvement.
By competence-oriented education I mean that education has
been structured in such a way that all important competencies
needed in life are given a place in it. The thing is, to do this we
must know exactly what competencies are required to function
well in society as it is and will be in the future. They can then
be incorporated into the curriculum. By doing so you establish
cohesion of background information, subject material and actual
practice.
It also entails a bit of field work. During their schooldays, pupils
will already make a substantial contribution to community
development by doing something for, for example, senior
citizens, children’s homes and by being involved
in organizing after-school activities. In short,
the school, as a learning factory, should be less
isolated and be linked more to the skills required
See DVD for a better
in social life and the labour market.
view of the interview
107

Statements from all over the country
I wish…
…that all schools had facilities for
children to relax. So recreational facilities
where the children can do their own thing
instead of sitting in the classroom all day
and not being able to move.
(Agnes Ritfeld, Paramaribo)
…for a close collaboration among
parents, pupils and teachers. The
parents should feel committed to what
children do in school.
(Marlies Obergh-Boëtius, Marowijne)
…that all teachers gave their all to get the
most out of all pupils.
(Olivia Domini, Marowijne)
…that there were more
appreciation of special education
(laws and regulations)
(Lisette Slengard-Gravenberch,
Paramaribo)
…that we saw pupils as a whole, a complete human
being with all his qualities. The new education is
education that stimulates the eagerness to learn,
to know. Believe me, even though conditions may
not always be favourable, learning is really a lot
easier if we teach with a laugh, with attention and
with love. That’s what it’s about. Suppose, you have
nothing to give, but you can say, ’Do you know what
a fantastic person you are, do you know how much I
love you?’ What do you think the other person will
get? (Margo Kramp, Paramaribo)
…that you could do your work happily everywhere you go.
(Lugard J.M. Brokopondo)
…that the teachers could also deal
with unmanageable children and show
endless patience.
(Olga Mersing, Miss Olly, Marowijne)
…that teachers were
given extra training
all the time because
everything around
us changes so fast.
(Kaylash Sitaram,
Wanica)
…for good education for
everybody to be successful in
your later life. There should
not be any difference as
to the quality of teachers.
That’s why you always have
to do your best in everything
you do. (Mack Poeketie,
Sipaliwini)
…that counsellors from Minov would
participate more actively and were supported
more by the authorities to motivate and
stimulate everyone involved in education.
(Sharda Chotoe, Paramaribo)
108
…bilingual education for those that go
to the interior (for the infants that do not
speak Dutch). In this way the teachers can
work optimally with the children.
(Greta Pané-Kiba, Marowijne)
…that classes would not exceed 25 pupils.
(Glenn Lugard, Sipaliwini)
…that the curriculum were changed into a meaningful
and realistic one; that the appreciation for pupils
would change. (A. Pawironadi, Saramacca)

…that there were more opportunities
to study for all teachers through the
Internet. (Annette Jabini, Sipaliwini)
…that we appreciated and helped
the teachers with, for example,
housing, so that they can do their
work without problems. They will
then be more motivated to teach.
(Chequita Boldewijn, Sipaliwini)
…for an educational system that educates children in such a way that
they feel connected with themselves, nature and their fellow human
beings. For what teaches children to work together and stimulates a
harmonious exchange with their environment. (Natascha Neus, Para)
…that repeating classes would be done away with by making sure
that slow pupils are taken care of well. (Melitha Overman, Para)
…that we invested in the Surinamese
children. (Shirley Lum Chou, Commewijne)
…that whole-class education were
changed into pupil-oriented education.
(Ilse Goedhoop, Saramacca)
…that education should
follow modern technological
developments.
(Augusta Kasiman,
Commewijne)
…that we would gear our
educational system to the
developments in the world,
modernize it.
(Carmelita Fereira, Nickerie)
…that all students in Suriname could enjoy the right to
education. (Florence Nelzon, Brokopondo)
…that more grants and scholarships, allowances
were given to children. Sports
activities should be stimulated more in
education. (Anne-Rita Lingers,
Commewijne)
…that the government knew
better what it’s all about; it
could then formulate a proper
policy. (Hilmar, Wanica)
…that people became enthusiastic and motivated, and that
they could make a contribution to the development of our
country. (Melissah Tirtopawiro, Wanica)
…that quality care
were guaranteed.
(Myra Cruden,
Coronie)
…that the teachers were trained regularly.
(Wilma Pawiroastro, Commewijne)
…that our teachers did their best to achieve good results and that they
were child-friendly. (Robbie Weimans, Brokopondo)
…for computer education; it’s not
a luxury but a must.
(Ingrid Karta-Bink, Commewijne)
109
…that there were enough teachers in the interior to replace teachers who drop out.
(Elizabeth Bodoe, Brokopondo)

Dreaming and daring
Dreaming about better education. Daring to look beyond your
own limitations. We had the opportunity to hear many dreams
from participants from all over the country during the almost
two-year process that led to the concretization of this publication.
Everybody wants better, more attractive and more effective
education. We are convinced that educational innovation can
only succeed if we know what this dream is. This project tries to
take the first positive step. Our motto is quite clear: first believing
and then seeing. And not the other way round. Henry Ford once
said, ‘Whether you think you can do it, or whether you think you
can’t, you are always right.’ Faith in one’s own ability, as Eddy
Jharap explains in one of our interviews, is therefore crucial in
all situations. There is a common dream as far as educational
innovation in Suriname is
concerned: quality education
with motivated teachers with a
focus on the pupil and learning,
and with sufficient support
from the government and the
community. After all, together
we are strong. We cannot do it
by ourselves.
in which these innovations move. Research has shown that the
attraction an organization exerts on a staff member is largely
determined by the agreement experienced between the personal
objectives and the higher goals or mission of the organization
(Fullan 1983). This overlap is called shared values. If these shared
values cover a large area, the persons concerned feel they are a
substantial part of the organization. They are motivated because
life within the organization is significant to them. If a group of
people goes in for changes, they need to have a good idea of
the whys and wherefores of this change and a clear view about
where these changes lead.
Together with the team, the person in charge will be the driving force
behind the process of reform. Leadership is an essential impulse
to get the innovations really going. In addition, commitment and
specific expertise are required from all those involved.
110
We wish to pass on the motto:
believe in the innovation and
direct your energy towards it. If
we all have this positive dream
about education we can believe
in, we will achieve it together.
We will then actually see it,
and seeing leads to views.
Make sure they are views that
everybody supports. These arise
if we make room for dialogue in
the innovation process. Listen
to the practitioners in the field
and give them the opportunity
to make their dreams known
to one another in the school,
in the community and society.
Something wonderful will then
happen: If you can see it or
dream it, it already exists.
The process of the production
of this book is the proof.
Innovations are more effective
if we agree with one another
on the goals and the direction

Interview with Archie Marshall
Let a thousand flowers bloom
How can you achieve something? Let a thousand flowers bloom
and don’t say: this is the road and this is the way it should be
done. Give a lot of options, give a lot of opportunities, and it will
lead to ideas that people support. That’s why it is a good thing to
spread as many ideas as possible without imposing anything on
people. That is the principle of ‘let a thousand flowers bloom’ and,
of course, the flowers that go with the soil best will grow best.
We can then collect them to define and improve our education.
Education is in fact giving room to young people so that they can
adopt their own form. I believe that when a person is born he
does not set foot on this earth like a blank book, but does carry
a lot inside. He then starts to develop.
To me, development means the removal of layers, so that you
automatically become the person who in essence you already
are. People are born with natural intelligence. Your duty as an
educator and teacher is to give children and young people room
to develop their own form. That’s something that I think is really
important.
The opportunities my parents gave me have always inspired me.
They were strict, but open-minded at the same time. They let
me make my own choices and said that I was free to choose. I
have always admired them for it because they were not like that
themselves, but that’s what they gave to their children.
As children, we were always
given this room by our parents.
By doing so, they gave us
something they didn’t have
themselves. I think I admired my parents most of all for this.
Besides, I had many good teachers, who had a sound attitude
to life. In their teaching, they pointed out important things to me
and didn’t see me as a vessel they had to fill with knowledge.
Give a lot of options, give a lot of opportunities,
and it will lead to ideas that people support
Archie Marshall, Director of the Advanced Teachers’ Teaching Institute
A good teacher does not only impart knowledge but also
focuses on the feelings that exist in the class. The good teacher
recognizes that a child suffers from fear of failure, that the child
is disappointed that day at school or that there has been a quarrel
at home.
We often only pay attention in the classroom to the general
emotions like mourning, but what about the ‘small losses’? I
think this aspect is still receiving
too little attention in the training
of teachers. At the Advanced
Teachers’ Training Institute
(IOL) we pay more attention to
it. We already use modules like ‘personal effectiveness’. This is
about getting to know oneself, dealing with feelings and turning
negative emotions into positive ones. You may influence this as a
teacher and you can help the children by doing so.
The new learning is concerned with your attitude, your behaviour.
Knowledge and skills are subservient to it, not the other way
round. Ultimately, but that’s my opinion, you’re here to gain
experiences in this physical, material world to grow spiritually.
And the other things are meant to serve and not the other way
round.
Give pupils the room to experience themselves why things are
as they are and how they can respond in their actions. They are
looking for their limits and their possibilities.
As a result of turning restraining energies into constructive
ones, development may proceed. I would like to end where I
began. ‘Let a thousand flowers bloom.’ Give people chances and
opportunities. Remove the illusion of mistaken ideas. There are
no mistaken ideas; there are only things that you can’t carry out
there and then or that are not wise to carry out
right now, even though there is nothing wrong
with the idea. Give people the opportunity and
room to come up with ideas so that they will be
See DVD for a better
view of the interview
able to flourish.
111

Thinking
Daring to dream and seeing the change leads to thinking, making
plans together with others. If we look at the concepts, the
planning, the support and the implementation capacity, we may
achieve attainable results. Innovating is a learning process. And
learning is still too often a process of trial and error.
The central questions in devising the innovation process include:
1. Where do we want to go? The desired situation,
the shared views
2. Where are we now? The present situation
and the implementation
capacity
And perhaps the most important question:
3. How do we wish to achieve it? The strategy, approach,
the plan
And how do we achieve all this within a realistic, attainable
context and time frame?
112
concept support implementation capacity planning result
time
What we often pay too little attention to is the preparatory stage.
During this stage we assess, as it were, our own ability to make
a start, also in the field of the necessary basic knowledge. For
especially sufficient and basic knowledge contributes to the
success of the innovative process. It is an important lesson learnt
from the Surinamese pilots.
Attention should also be focused on the process of change. This
issue is often neglected. If a problem-oriented approach is taken
as a starting point, one looks at what falls short and how this can
be changed. There is a risk that we use makeshift measures to fill
gaps or make up deficiencies. Unfortunately, this approach is taken
too often. If on the other hand a more solution-oriented is taken,
one looks more at what is possible. The focus of the approach
then determines the choice of activities that will be undertaken
in the innovative process. As a result, the process of change gets
a more positive slant to it. Consequently, considerable attention
should be paid to the preparatory stage, because:
• People should be able to understand themselves the
benefits of innovation.
• The innovation should be in line with the subjective
experience of those who could use it.
• The people who could use it should see the innovation as
something they do not think difficult.
• The people who could use it should have the idea that they
can try out the innovation without having to make a great
many investments in it in money and/or time.
• When someone introduces an innovation, others should be
able to see it (derived from Rogers 1995).
If we get a clear idea of the views and the ability within a realistic
time span, it is important to find a suitable strategy to set the
innovation in motion. One chooses an approach which works
from the shop floor upwards (bottom-up), an approach with
government control (top-down) or, even better, a combination
of the two. Present innovative processes – including the LEARN
experiences – show that an innovative process paying attention
to the involvement and wellness of all the stakeholders offers
a better guarantee for durability. There should be, as it were, a
coordination of the macro (authorities and important stakeholders),
meso (the school) and micro levels (the teacher). The ultimate
innovation takes place in the learning process at micro level, in
the classroom, among teacher, pupil and environment. That is
where the innovation and improvement are needed: offering the

pupils sufficient opportunities for improvement.
Every person involved in educational and organizational
innovation makes a personal contribution to make it succeed. The
ownership of change is of importance at all levels. This can be
achieved by taking players seriously, having them participate at
the decision-making level, by developing realistic, feasible plans
and by giving responsibility.
Innovation = success + success + success
Shaping educational innovations takes time. Taking steps that
are too great and too many in one go does not work. Converting
major objectives into manageable and small steps helps to achieve
success. These steps may be included in an action plan and
whenever an objective has been met there is a result. Both modest
and great successes stimulate the innovative process. That’s
why it is important to highlight each step made and celebrate
it together with colleagues. At school, for example, the change
from subject-matter-oriented education to child-friendly and
pupil-oriented education involves a change in the structure of the
lessons and the school culture. It is therefore advisable to translate
these innovations concretely into small, short-term activities,
which follow one another and closely fit in with developments
already taking place in the team. Such activities can be carried
out in a relatively short period and, consequently, can quickly
be successful, without at once attaining the main objective.
Achieving these smaller objectives stimulates the persons
involved to continue and challenges other colleagues to try out
new actions on their own. Successful experiences accumulate
and really make innovative processes happen in the school.
Acting
Daring to dream and planning how to realize this dream is one
thing, but to actually implement it is something else. Only too
often, sound plans remain under a pile of paper too long. There is
no educational reform or improvement without action. Educational
innovation does not start tomorrow, but it starts NOW, today. It
is also a matter of just ACTING, says Fullan (Fullan 1992). What
also holds good for educational innovators is: what you really
believe in, creates movement, brings action, especially if it is
positive and popular.
Enjoyment in work and in life is the major key to success in
innovative processes. If you enjoy your work, you increasingly
attract more positive work situations. You radiate that you find
things to your liking and, as a result, colleagues feel drawn by
your enthusiasm. It seems easier said than done. But enjoyment
in your work really works.
Another essential insight is ‘focus your attention on what is
going well and on people who want to join’. In his interview,
Hans Lim A Po calls it: creating sufficient critical mass to be
able to bring about the turnaround. In each innovation, there are
front-runners, leaders, followers and saboteurs. The last group
is usually a small group, especially if the above-mentioned ideas
like creating a positive, common and supported dream are put
into practice. The resistance met with in each process of change
is natural and is part of innovative processes.
Leadership is another critical
factor to put people into motion.
Chapter 3 has already explained a
few things. See to good leadership
in head teachers and staff. They
hold a key position in the process
towards more effective schools.
This leadership implies more than
asking for results and reports, for
that, in our opinion, is more like
management. It is important, but
so is leadership. Leadership, to us,
means putting people into motion.
The leader is really interested in the
person behind the staff member and
also behind the pupil. The leader
knows how important it is to know
one another, to know what occupies
and drives every member on the
team, if you want sound, open and
sincere collaboration. (Adapted from
Zevenbergen 2008)
113

114
Knowing your team really well is a condition for good
collaboration. A real leader looks for the common values in the
organization, because he knows that it stimulates collaboration
and coordination. He has clear ideas about effective education
and effective organizations and propagates them daily by showing
them in his own actions. A real leader makes it easier for his
team members to work instead of checking them and bothering
them with forms, rules and procedures (Weggeman 2008). This
leader does of course take care that his team members keep their
attention focused on the goal and do not go astray. He trusts his
team members and adjusts his style of leadership to the team
member he is dealing with, while proceeding from the question
‘How can I best serve or help this team member?’
A real leader inspires and takes positive initiatives. He fills an
organization or school with energy, often just by means of his
presence. He directs his organization or school with this energy
and does not always think it necessary to hold on to his hierarchic
position. A true leader manages to be there at the right time, not
earlier and not later. This requires great alertness, good timing,
and the necessary discretion (Weggeman 2008). Finally, this
leader knows how team members can become owners of the
innovative process. He knows this is a condition for creating
support.
Working with an innovative team made up of, for example, the
head teacher, the care coordinator and the innovation coordinator
helps to achieve change. In this way the responsibility is shared.
An innovative team at the Ministry may be made up of, for
example, the head of a department and two staff members. This
team makes sure that the educational innovations are included
in the agenda and that everybody is actively involved in these
innovations. The most important responsibility of the innovative
team is cutting the educational innovations into smaller pieces.
The objectives of the innovations can then be translated
collectively into concrete, manageable steps. Besides, they
monitor the process and make adjustments wherever necessary.
Create support, see to ownership
Leaders easily create support, because they go in for ‘co-creation’,
creating together with other team members, with parents and
even with pupils. They do not say, ‘I create support’, they
simply do it. They show it in the way in which they work, that
is, by making all those involved part of the innovative process,
the creative process by having them express their ideas in
workshops, discussions and consultations by concretizing these
ideas. Creating a support base is not something that is reserved
to leaders; it is something for all members of the school team,
for all MINOV staff and for all parents. What matters in creating
support is to involve people at an early stage in ideas, in making
policy or in introducing educational innovations into the school or
the department.
Innovative processes affect all those involved in their heart. It
means in many situations that different behaviour is expected of
teachers, head teachers, care coordinators, innovation counsellors
and MINOV staff, in short, of everybody. Staff members expect
to be offered true guidance by their leaders. But expectations do
not always produce the desired effects. Expectations that are too
high often lead to disappointment, or worse, to strong feelings
and emotions about one another. It is important that everybody
who takes part in innovative processes challenges and develops
his own personal leadership. This implies that everybody should
take responsibility for his own actions and does not make his
performance depend on anyone else.
If people come up with ideas themselves, they will be quicker
to support them than when hearing these ideas from someone
else. Each human being needs some appreciation for his own
ideas. If plans have been worked out in
great detail and people can only carry
out these plans, they will not feel like
doing it in many cases. It is therefore
a good idea to involve people at an
early stage when designing innovative
processes and to give all those
involved the room and responsibility
to achieve these results in their own,
effective way. It is up to the leader to
present the results to be achieved in
the organization or in the school, to
create frameworks within which the
educational innovations are to take
place and to give all team members
the feeling that they are owners of the
innovative process, or part of it.

Persevere: you are important
Once people begin to move and the innovation gets going,
another important stage begins. It is the phase of carrying on and
persevering. Innovating and changing are a process that Fullan
compares to a journey. It is climbing and, at times, going down,
having a rest now and then and looking around and … enjoying.
Many innovative processes are started enthusiastically and full
of hope, but sometimes get stuck and stop. Good leadership is
important, especially at this stage. It is important to motivate
people permanently, to listen to and be open to problems, but
also to celebrate successful results together and hold on to them.
It is important to keep taking steps forward with the intention of
finding solutions together. You only reach the top of the mountain
by persevering together (Fullan 2001).
It is clear. This entire book tries to show that each player is
important to make optimal learning possible in the school. First
of all there is the pupil himself. He is responsible and has a
leadership of his own with regard to his own learning. Involve
pupils and parents in educational innovations. You will see that
it produces a lot of brilliant tips and motivated pupils who are
taken seriously. The teacher and the parents are those most
concerned with the learning process. They can make a difference
between growing and withering. They also have their own share
of responsibility and leadership with regard to the pupil. And
finally there is the leadership and the responsibility on the part
of the community and the authorities. They, too, can make a
difference, each from its own position. The pupil and the teacher
cannot do it by themselves.
You, whoever you are, are important. If we wish to create quality
education, you can make a difference.
In conclusion
Educational change depends on what teachers do and think, it
is as simple or as difficult as that. There is no development in
school without development of teachers. (Fullan 1992)
Real change only takes place if those involved – the teachers –
understand the change and see that it makes things go better in
their classroom. It means that support has to be created among
the stakeholders, that is, the head teachers and their teams.
The motivation has to come from within education. This can
be achieved by taking the well-being and the commitment of
these teams into consideration. ‘People cannot be changed by
just saying it’ (Pascale 1990). People should be given time to
acquire experience, to become familiar with things. During the
process, people become more and more competent. There is no
need to set everything out in specific terms. That is fatal to the
motivation process. But directions have to be given. Attempts
at change will have a better chance of success if the people
themselves are involved in the process of innovation.
Education and teaching is not filling the child’s head, but it is
fuelling the fire of self-motivation and the exploration of one’s
own talents. This will have maximum effect, if we, adults,
fully respect the child’s basic needs. The basic needs include
unconditional acceptance of the child’s autonomy. Respect
for children and their needs is concretized by arranging a wellprepared
and relaxed learning environment. This is fitted out
with informative material and what is supplied by a parent or a
teacher, from which the child may choose freely to do whatever
his inward-controlled development drives him to do within the
context of rules and the definition of children’s freedom. ‘It is
what teachers do, what teachers believe and what teachers do in
the classroom which will ultimately create the education that our
115

children receive’ (Kansanan 2000).
So change is chiefly the creation of
the ‘new understanding’. As soon as
a greater understanding of change
has been brought about, it will have
effects on the teachers’ attitude.
When dealing with change, we
should think more in terms of what
is exactly means to the teacher and
the pupil (Ruddock 1998).
Teachers like to take care of children.
They love their pupils. They want to
make a difference. Education can
only be reformed on the basis of
optimism: I believe in you!
116
Tips and information
• The school is the centre of change. This implies that
external innovations have to be adjusted to the individual
school instead of basing them on the assumption that
schools are all alike. Innovations must not be imposed on
education from the top down, but should be developed
from the bottom up together with the schools.
• A systematic approach to change is required. Educational
innovation and school improvement are a process that has
to be planned and managed carefully and will take years.
• The internal conditions of the schools are the major focus
of change. The internal conditions do not only refer to the
activities of teaching and learning in the school, but also
to the procedures in the school, the duties and roles and
the means which support the processes of teaching and
learning.
• Educational goals have to be made visible at school,
teacher and pupil levels. They represent the school’s
mission. This points to a broader definition of the results
than that only focused on learning results. Schools have
to work at more general development goals for pupils, the
professional development of teachers and the needs of
society.
• Even though the school is the centre of change, the
school is not an isolated institution. The school is part
of an educational system, the various parts of which
have to collaborate in harmony to reach a high quality
level. This means that the roles of teachers, head
teachers, governors, parents and policymakers must
be defined and that they have to make every effort and
commit themselves to the process of school reform
and school improvement.
• A change can only be considered successful once it
has become part of the teacher’s day-to-day practice,
the procedures and the structures of the school
organization. The innovation must be permanent. It is
insufficient to pass just through the stages of adoption
and implementation.
• Large-scale innovations in education will be more
successful as and when the following seven elements
are taken into consideration at the national level:
concepts and goals, standards, guidelines for
curriculum and related material, coherent policy, an
information system to monitor the innovation, finance
and administration, and involvement of external
support, and the three elements at local or school level:
teacher’s motivation and capacity, school management
and work situation.

Epilogue
June 2007 marked the start of this unique project, which gradually grew
into two beautiful, inspiring products: this publication and the DVD that
goes with it. I am greatly impressed with the wonderful dreams and
numerous suggestions that have been put forward for the educational
sector. Reforming education is indeed dreaming and daring, but certainly
thinking and acting as well!
The views about better and different education, as discussed in this
book, focusing on the pupils and learning, give an inspiring orientation
to the much-needed innovations in education. Eventually, the project
has resulted in six interesting chapters, in which the authors have
established many links between dream and reality. For the purpose of
providing inspiration, orientation and support, we see quotations and
wonderful statements about the children that we together guide on the
way to adulthood by means of schooling, guidance and education.
Because of the changes now taking place in the world, the discussion
about educational reform also has social and political relevance these
days. Investments in our education are therefore of great importance.
The development of our future adults will determine our country’s
future to a great extent. A lot has been set in motion in education so
far. A sound direction continues to be important, both for the ongoing
activities and the new activities to be introduced in the future.
The pupil’s learning and the role of the adults (teachers, parents,
authorities) form the thread that runs through the book. The pupil is
inquisitive and he wants to learn by nature. The teacher offers the pupils
structure and something to hold on to in a safe learning environment, so
that they can develop in peace and quiet, treat one another respectfully,
feel they are welcome and belong. This goes for all children. The wellbeing
of pupils is a vital basic need for learning and enhances the pupils’
personal development.
The last chapter deals with educational reform. Innovations in education
will have to involve investments and research. The authorities can be
of great importance in this respect. They can make the difference and
see to it that the teacher is allowed full play to actually carry through
innovations in the classroom. Without this government support, the
necessary developments cannot take place.
We subscribe to the importance of life-long learning. It is possible, if the
authorities and the educational institutes consciously further the pupils’
interests on the basis of their social and educational task. This is a
dynamic process that is forever in motion, and is discussed and assessed
critically in all openness. Only then will it be possible to carry through
educational reform on a large scale. It requires institutional reform.
It is probably for the
first time in history that
a book so emphatically
presents a positive
picture of the future of
our education. It is very
special that so many
people in our country
have joined to think
so intensively about
educational innovations
at pupil, class and
school levels.
The result is a colourful
collection of ideas, experiences and guidelines, which forms a sound
basis for what it is hoped will be an intensive, meaningful discussion
about the need for and orientation of innovations in education.
I hope that this book will play an important part in the discussion
about the further substantive structuring of educational reform and the
educational policy of MINOV, the educational sector and administrative
Suriname. The book is a new beginning and a starting point for workshops,
refresher courses, strengthening of the teachers’ training colleges as
well as a stimulus to the strengthening of the MINOV departments.
Who believes in the future of Suriname, believes in our youth, and,
consequently, in stimulating the many talents found in school every year.
I wish to recommend this book warmly to everybody who is well disposed
towards education and our future, but particularly to the many teachers
who may work out and adopt concrete ideas from the book straight
away. If we join forces, believe in one another, dare to dream together
and act together, the result can only lead to something wonderful and
valuable for the future of our country.
Ruben O.S. Soetosenojo
Acting Permanent Secretary for Education
Ministry of Education and Community Development
117

Acknowledgements
Good things cannot but generate something good!
We appreciate everybody’s contribution and expertise
From August 2007 the initiators,
MINOV/VVOB/UNICEF, met once a week
Henri Ori MINOV
Liesbeth Roolvink UNICEF
Loek Schoenmakers VVOB
With the support of
Loes Brijobhokun VVOB (finances)
Monique van Brussel UNICEF (logistics)
Saskia Plein VVOB (logistics)
The group was expanded in August 2008 by
Carl Beel VVOB
Lilianne Hercules VVOB
Thank you all for your valuable contribution to this
project
Safe transport was provided for two years
by
Patty’s taxi Mahinder Moennalal and his
drivers and the UNICEF drivers Jerry Maijpo
and Ramnares Oedairadjsingh
Yet more quality and coherence thanks to the
advice on the Dutch text given by Effendi
Ketwaru and Els Moor.
Jan Bongers managed with great precision to
remove the last mistakes from the manuscript.
They got in touch with the following writers:
Ismene Krishnadath, Rappa en Marylin Simons
The Dutch text was translated into English with
painstaking care by Nel Bakker. The quality of
the English text was further enhanced by the
useful advice of Sebastian Meaney
Valuable feedback was provided regularly and at
the end of the writing process by
U. Adhin, M. Barrow, E. Boschmans-Valies,
H. Blinker, S. Hanoeman, R. Jhagroe, T. Wolf,
H. Hermelijn, P. Hirasingh, A. Kallan, A. Kramp,
E. Lang, A. Marshall, E. Marshall, H. Ramdin,
S. Tjin A Djie, S. Tjoe A On, G. Oliviera-
Toendang, I. Tseng, J. van den Akker,
J. Van Ewijk, M. Valkenburg, N. Vromant,
K. van der Wolf, J. Zijler, Minister E.Wolf
Fifteen inspiring Surinamese were interviewed
and gave their valuable ideas/views.
Gerrit Barron
Humprey Bendt
Henri Blinker
Carl Breeveld
Walter Dwarskasingh
Bert Eersteling
Lilian Ferrier
Eddy Jharap
André Kramp
Archie Marshall
Cynthia Mc Leod
Marcel Meyer
Allan Li Fo Sjoe
Hans Lim A Po
Centhia Rozenblad
The presentation and the launch of the book at
the Torarica Hotel were taken care of by
Tille van Horenbeeck and Hilke Meerman, with
the cooperation of Art Lab dancing school and
Karin Refos (Stradius)
A lot of typing was done by
Myrthe Lionaris and Renie Sastropawiro
when working out the numerous interviews
Sunil Puljhun
118
Enthusiastic artists were prepared
straight away to cooperate free
of charge and make their work
available
Steve Ammersingh
Pierre Bong A Jan
Daniël Djojoatmo
Sri Irodikromo
Kurt Nahar
Monique Nouh-Chaia
(Readytex adviser)
Marcel Pinas
Sunil Puljhun
George Struikelblok
Jhunry Udenhout
Michael Wong Loi Sing
Our photographer Luciën Chin A
Foeng joined us on visits to artists.
Thanks to his professionalism and
flexibility some excellent pictures
were taken.
Professional camera work and the DVD
were produced by
Norman Deekman
Camera work and editing
Norman Deekman
Sergio Fong Tin Joen
Byorn Hasselbaink
Educational radio and television division
Loes Trustfull and her team
The trainers of the workshops in
the districts managed to touch
many hearts.
Sharda Ahmadali-Doekhie
Schubert Asmowidjojo
Edith Elizee-Tilon
Iwan Ganga
Hellen Hermelijn
Prya Hirasingh
Sheila Ketwaru
Maggie Schmeitz
Levina Schüller-de Lange
Marja Themen-Sliggers
Ria Verwey-Deley
Graphics
Graphoset
Design
Harold Hoeseni
Layout
Benito Defares
Administration
Marion Hoeseni
Printers
Quick O Print (Dutch edition)
Glène Calor
Drukkerij Sintjoris (English Edition)
Kurt Overmeire

Participants in the workshops held in the various districts included staff members of several
Departments of the Ministry of Education and Community Development (like guidance,
Inspectorate, Research and planning, Curriculum Development, Examination Bureau, Educational
Radio and Television), district commissioners and members of districts councils, school leaders,
teachers and other members of school teams, teachers and students of the Teachers’ Training
Colleges and the University, representatives of Non-Governmental Organizations, members of the
Boards of denominational schools and officials of other Ministries
Participants from the district of Paramaribo
U. Adhin
V. Alspeer
A. Alvares-Linger
P. Aveloo
M. Bakboord
M. Barrow
K. Bell, V. Bidesie
N. Bijlhout
S. Binda
E. Blackman-Dulder
M. Blijd-Wasbloem
H. Blinker
Y. Blokland
E. Bosch-Valies
M. Brown
JF. Chin-Chan-Sen
S. Chotoe
A. Codrington-Sawat
M. Creton
S. Debi
W. Demon
P. van Eer
L. Esajas
S. Ghisaidoobe
S. Hanoeman
M. Hoepel
T. Van Horenbeeck
B. Hulsman
F. Hulsman-Jimidar
A. Jonathas
C. Kalloe
L. Karg-Dankerlui
R. Kenswil
R. Khoesial
M. Koemar
W. Koster
O. Kotzebue
M. Kramp
S. Lall
I. Landolf-Robinson
E. Lang
S. Linger-Refos
H. Melcherts
R. Morroy
A. Naipal-Soerjbalie
L. Niamat
T. Oedit-Ramlal
O. Philip
N. Pinas
O. Process
D. Ramharakh
H. Ramnewash-Ashruf
E. Rellum-Gummels
R. Riedewald
A. Ritfeld
C. Sandvliet
Sanmoeradja-Kromosemito
K. Sardjoe
K. Sardjoe
B. Sariredjo
H. Sarodjeniedewie
S. Simons
L. Slengard-Gravenberch
S. Lioe-Anjie
M. Somedjo-Goedar
S. Spier
E. Strang
C. de Switt
M. Telgt
G. Thijn
L. Tjen-A-Tak
R. Tjou-Tam-Sim
H. Tonawi
M. Top
Van Samson
M. Vreeswijk-van Bosse
A. Vroom
V. Warning
D. Wong-A-Pian
D. Yflaar
District Commissioners
I. Esajas, Coronie
M. Ghisaidoobe, Saramacca
R. Landburg, Sipaliwini
H. Pinas, Para
V. Prijor, Brokopondo
B. Shankar, Nickerie
R. Strijk, Paramaribo
R. Soekarnsingh, Wanica
H. Soekimo, Commewijne
Th. Sondrejoe, Marowijne
Participants from the district of Saramacca
O. Alberg
M. Amatdarso
G. Baidjnath-Panday
S. Bhugoea
I. Chotkan
Kolf Defares
J.Duijm
M. Gajadien
I. Goedhoop
S. Gopal
K. Kromokario
M. Mertodikromo
N. Moesafir Hoesein
A. Pawironadi
H. Pawironadi
R. Pawironadi
M. Purperhart
V. Rambarran
F. Resodikromo
W. Römer
H. Rusland
W. Soewarto
H. Timmer
S. Varranah
R. Wongsokarijo
119

Participants from the district of Coronie
C. Biffe
M. Blackson
M. Cruden
A. Djopawiro
D. Doorson
R. Hasselbaink
M. Khodabaks
C. Lord
S. Luckson
G. Plak
N. Sylvester
G. Udenhout
L. Vriesde
J. Wielzen
G. Windzak
Participants from the district of Nickerie
E. Altenberg
Tjen A Tak
K. Chatta
K. Chotoe-Sanchit
R. Edwards
J. Emanuelson
Esseboom
L. Faverus
C. Ferreira
N. Gokoel
P. Gokoel
R. Jairam
K. Jairam-Kalipersad
A. Jainullak
Jeffrery-Mie
U. Jiawan
J. Kartoinangoen
M. Lynch-Lafour
D. Marleze
L. Pelswijk
Premchand
R. Ramgoelam
S. Ramsaran
P. Rambhadjan- Premcharan
H. Ramdien
S. Ramdin
K. Soemoredjo-Abdul
L. Tjin A Ton
F. Wongsonadi
Kurt Nahar
120
Participants from the district of Wanica
U. Bardan
A. Bhageloe
Beeldsnijder-Van Windt
M. Blijd
I. Boetius
J. De Bruin
M. Dompig
A. Grant
R. Jubithana
J. Koorndijk
M. Liefden
D. Martin
C. Tjon A Meeuw-Mahangi
J. Nandpersad
M Pinas
W. Ramsodit-Sitaram
J. Samson
J. Scheuer
S. Sitaram
M. Sjak Shie
D. Soraya
M. Tirtopawiro
M. Warso
B. Zegelaar
Participants from the district of Marowijne
V. Alwanahi-Arichero
S. Atmopawiro
R. Clenem
M. Doelkamid-Wirokarso
O. Dominie, leerkracht
S. Fernand, leerkracht
H. Hariwanare
S. Hupsel
M. Kakie
B. Koina
M. Martodikromo
O. Mersing
N. Saudain- Rensch
G. Pane-Kiba
L. Poeloedja
R. Ronowidjojo
U. Rozenhout-Hoop
A.Toka
M. Oberg-Boetius
B. Venloo
A. Victoriashoop
O. Weze
Participants from the district of
Brokopondo
M. Aboikoni
E. Bodoe
S. Bonte
F. Van Cooten
L. Hofwijk
M. Jozefzoon
G. Jozefzoon
T. Kastiel
B. Klassie
J. Lugard
E. Markus
F. Nelzon
P. Pansa
A. Paulus
M. Rensch
H. Schmidt
R. Schalkwijk
E. Vrede
R. Weimans
O. With

Participants from the district of Para
I. Baasaron
D. Baisie
P. Blagrove
H. Cronie
S. Dors
B. Fer-Hardy
W. Fris
R. Ghisaidoobe
M. Hardjodikromo
R. Hart
W. Hoeseni
O. Kensenhuis
A. Linger
E. Martodikro
C. Martosatiman
S. Mohan
N. Neus
M. Overman
R. Panka
K. Redjopawiro
E. Roseval
L. Ruimwijk
N. Tan A Kiam
P. Tay
L. Todirijo-Veux
G. Tweeling
P. Valpoort
M. Van Ravenswaay
A. Wesenhagen
Participants from the district of Commewijne
Participants from the district of Sipaliwini
D. Asalobi
A. Alleyne
A. Bansie
K. Beckles
S. Burnet
T. Chotkan
E. Claver
C. Diran
S. Djokart
A. Doerga-Soekhai
J. Dogodoe
S. Emid
H. Frijde
A. van Hekelen
R. van Hekelen
B. Jubitane
L. Jubitana-Bergtop
M. Kantodikromo
J. Karijoredjo
I. Karta-Bink
T. Kartoikromo-Badroen
A. Kasiman
L. Leter
A. Lingers
S. Lum Chou
M.Overman
N. Overman
W. Pawiroastro
M. Pawirodimedjo
M. Ramlochan
M. Ramsahai
H. Reigman
A. Sadi
S. Sadloe
R. Sanches
W. Sanohar-Gharbharan
R. Singh
J. Soekarnsingh
S. Soekhnandan
J. Soeroredjo-Djojodikromo
I. Sokarijo
M. Tamsiran
H. Tsie-A-Foeng
C. Vincke
N. Wazirali
A. Aboikoni
W. Adjaiso
A. Bappa
H. Betian
M. Bloemrijk
C. Eduards
H. Eduards
M. Eduards
F. Emanuels
A. Jabini
D. Jeroe
K. Wachter
C. Linga
G. Lugard
M. Petrusi
M. Poeketie
R. Seedo
Vrouwen Org. Saamaka Bia, Futunakaba
B. Wens
R. Zeeman
121

122
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123

Explanation of the flower symbol
Management team
• School leader (64-65)
• Care coordinator (66-69)
• Reform coordinator (70-71)
Head teacher
• Didactical approach (47-49)
• Education approach (40-41)
• Class management (45-46)
• Motivation (18-20)
• Background Knowledge (22-24)
• Home environment (84-85)
Teacher
Pupil
Learning
power
Team
Powerful learning
environment
Parents
124
• Managing and drawing up
programmes (20-24)
• Collegiality and
professionalism (70-71)
• Involvement of parents
and environment (86-87)
• Practicability and sound programme (43-44)
• Challenging targets and effective feedback (44)
• Safe and orderly environment (44)
Pupil monitoring system (25-26)