Hanneke de Groot

I would like a classroom that smells of fresh coffee, that’s colored with posters, flags and maps, with students that come to class inspired to make the world a better place.

Wishful thinking? Maybe.

I grew up in an idealistic world, where my father managed drinking water projects in developing countries and my mother worked at schools teaching children the joys of life (mostly through songs in the wrong key). My parents thought my younger brother, sister and I to love nature and different cultures, but also to recognize inequalities and injustices. I was raised in Yemen, Philippines, India, Ghana and Bangladesh. Then I grew up a little and moved to the Netherlands, the motherland. There I first studied International Development Studies and then worked in the NGO sector a few years. In those early twenties, I discovered that development work wasn’t so ideal. It’s bureaucratic and just like so much else – all about the money. I grew up a little more when I started working at an elementary school in Beijing. Four years later, I find myself a little more idealistic again – now about teaching, specifically teaching Social Studies.

I am 29, studying and teaching at Rijnlands Lyceum in Oegstgeest. I teach Dutch Social Studies to students in their last year of school (in Dutch, which is very challenging). We call that the 6 year of secondary. I also teach History to students in their 4 year (thankfully in English). Learning is all about language development, so I do not believe one can teach without integrating language. That said, I see the value, especially in a bilingual context, in explicitly teaching language within a subject context. I look forward to sharing all of our experiences!

Although being a teacher defines most of who I am, I am also a, want-to-be but regularly fail, tree-hugging-hippie who hikes and cycles up mountains. Because “home” has changed so often, home is when I am with my family or friends who come close (or hopefully, one day, a classroom that smells of coffee and is decorated in maps).