Building robots and equal opportunities: how are they related?

From Syria to Ede

Most of the children in Remie’s class were born in the Netherlands, but the school has pupils from a wide variety of cultural and social backgrounds. Some of them came to the Netherlands from conflict zones, mainly Syria. “These children first end up at what is known inDutch as an ‘opvangschool’. Since that term more or less translates as a ‘school for emergency measures’, we prefer to use the term ‘schakelschool’ (transition school) instead. The children aren’t simply placed under emergency measures: they get a good education as you’d expect. There are children joining primary schools in this way all over the country and they progress at their own level. The same goes for my class. We make sure that new pupils quickly catch up with the rest in terms of language, spelling and arithmetic. That gives them a good start before they head off to secondary school.”

Getting creative with electronics

Recently, the class skipped maths for a day and got creative with shoeboxes, empty milk cartons and old toilet paper rolls. The BYOR (Build Your Own Robot) kit contains electronics that can turn household waste into moving toys in no time. It is a fun way to learn aboutrecycling and the impact of technology.

“Everyone gets their own set of sensors that they can use to make their robot turn or light up,” explains Remie. “It’s great fun. But it’s much more than just an arts and crafts activity. It’sreally all about building something step by step. The kids get stuck in with loads of enthusiasm, but just putting things together willy-nilly is a bad idea. You need to think about exactly what it is you want to do and how to go about that. ABN AMRO’s volunteers were a great help in taking the kids through the design, building, testing and modification steps.”

Teaching the youngest generation about sustainability

Prior to the lesson, the volunteers attend a training session with the man behind BYOR, Teun van Roessel. Teun features on the ‘Duurzame Jonge 100’, a list of young people driving sustainability projects. He designed the robot kit because children are growing up in anincreasingly technological world. “The idea behind BYOR is for children to get a better understanding of how the technology all around them works. It’s a robot that they build themselves and that also teaches them all about upcycling, material usage and sustainable energy.”

Personal attention from bank staff

ABN AMRO volunteers would usually help out in the classroom, but that was of course not possible this time. Instead, they used a laptop to go round the class in small groups, which was a great alternative.

Remie really noticed the pupils and bank staff starting to bond during the lesson. “I can see that the children like someone taking time for them. You really don’t need to be a skilled teacher to volunteer. The main thing is to join in because you want to do something for the children and help them learn something.”

Broadening horizons with workshops

Remie feels it is important for children to come across all aspects of today’s world at an early age. “Every child needs to be able to develop on a broad scale. But going to the theatre or looking into technology or programming simply isn’t part of home life for all children. At school, they can try out new things, which they’ll hopefully enjoy. And if they don’t, that’s OK, because that’s an important discovery too.”

“Make no mistake,” emphasises Remie, “it’s not true that migrant children automatically don’t get this sort of enrichment at home. Some children simply need a bit of help to follow theirdreams, and there can be many reasons for that. Schools have a lot to offer themselves of course, but sometimes lack the knowledge or money needed to do so. ABN AMRO is well placed to fill that gap.”

A helping hand from ABN AMRO

This is not the first time Remie’s class has taken part in an ABN AMRO Foundation project. “Two years ago, we all went to see the musical The Lion King, that was brilliant. I think it’s great that ABN AMRO works to help so many different schools, while still looking at specific requirements. Once, we had organised a project about World War II and I wanted to take the children out for the day. There are plenty of impressive historical sites to visit here near Arnhem. The bank arranged for someone to come and give a war-themed tour, with their own coach. We’d never have been able to arrange that on our own.”

Budding engineers

Do the pupils in Remie’s class know what they want to be when they grow up? “They’re eleven or twelve now and they’re getting an increasingly clearer idea of what they want to do in the future. But no one knows exactly what jobs will be around in ten years’ time. I’ve noticed that the kids don’t really have a good idea of that either. Police officer, doctor, lawyer – they’re still coming up with pretty traditional ambitions. That’s why BYOR is important, it helps them realise that something like this is also an option for later.”