TADA youngsters explore the future of education

During a recent project, TADA youngsters explored with politicians and teachers what is important to them in education and its future. The project, which took place in Sint-Joost-Ten-Node and Schaarbeek, gave the young people the opportunity to make their voices heard and actively participate in thinking about the future of education.

Avec l’aide d’enseignants, de directeurs d’école et d’autres professionnels de l’éducation, tels que des intervenants, les jeunes de TADA ont pu explorer la profession d’enseignant et l’école d’une manière positive. Ils ont discuté du type d’enseignant dont ils ont besoin, de leur vision de la profession d’enseignant et de ce qu’ils aimeraient voir changer dans l’enseignement. L’accent a été mis sur la motivation des jeunes à entrer eux-mêmes dans le secteur de l’enseignement et à leur faire sentir qu’ils peuvent faire partie d’un changement.
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Working groups and real professionals‍

The project consisted of 8 groups working on different themes, including the role of teacher, the playground, the school building and the teaching week/school day. Working together with education professionals and politicians, including Benjamin Dalle, Lotte Stoops, Arno Verstraeten, Els Rochet, Cieltje Van Achter and Hilde Sabbe, the youngsters brainstormed, made collages and videos, held class discussions and asked questions of the professionals present.
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The youngsters's findings were turned into posters and compiled into a short report. Notable politicians, such as Benjamin Dalle, were interviewed on the young people's topics. In addition, the young people had the chance to present their own bills in the Brussels Parliament. The other children then got to vote on the bills.

The highlight of the project was a plenary session in the parliament, to which all the guest teachers were invited. During this session, the final results of the previous weeks were presented and discussed. The posters and reports of the TADA youth were also displayed during TADA's graduation ceremony of the 2022-2023 school year.

Not only had the project introduced young people to the teaching profession, but also teachers and education professionals to Brussels youth and different teaching methods. This can make the teaching profession more attractive and address the teacher shortage.

The participation of teachers as guest teachers led to an active exchange between TADA's pedagogical coordinators and teachers from traditional education, where both sides were able to learn from each other.

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