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Spaces
The Gunningschool was a Christian primary school in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in one of Amsterdam’s western garden cities. The school profiled itself in its school guide as a ‘meeting place’ where ‘equivalence’ was a central value. The emphasis on difference was further reflected in the school’s motto ‘Colourful with an eye for difference’. The school indeed had a colourful, yet homogeneous population. In 8th form, all but two pupils were of non-Western descent (one Dutch, one Portuguese). All Turkish and Moroccan pupils indicated they were Muslim, making seventy percent of the class Muslim. The advertised eye for difference was missing in the school’s other communications. For instance, the monthly newsletters did not feature news about the pupils or multicultural holidays such as Suikerfeest [Eid ul-Fitr]. Instead, the teachers expressed their annoyance over the varying dates of it. The arrival of the new moon marks the end of Ramadan, and therefore the exact date differs in different countries of origin. This meant teachers did not know when pupils would be home for celebrations. Their annoyance signals a loss of strategic power.
The second school, the Kantlijn, was a public school in one of the late nineteenth century neighbourhoods. Although considered a black school up until about ten years ago, by now the school, like the neighbourhood, has whitened. Only five pupils in 8th form were of non-Western descent (two Turkish, three Indian/Surinamese-Indian). The Kantlijn profiled itself in its school guide as a neighbourhood school that emphasizes children’s own experience. The school believed this was important ‘because the world pupils learn about, is their own world, which means family – neighbourhood – school’. The school collaborated with organisations in the neighbourhood, such as after-school care clubs and the library, and in September 2006, it officially became a Brede School (Community School). In the Kantlijn’s communications, pupils and parents played an active and central role, and community was highlighted.
Buildings and classrooms
The two buildings and respective classrooms had distinct looks and feels. The Gunningschool stood in a quiet, residential area. The school shared the grounds and the gymnasium with a special education secondary school. The school grounds were fenced, and only opened when school started or ended. There was one large playground with a sandbox. The school installed a slide at the end of the 2005-2006 year. Steps led up to the main entrance, providing a podium overlooking the playground. The building had two levels: the younger children were upstairs, and the older pupils downstairs. Downstairs was also a larger, open area known as de ruimte (the space) that functioned as an auditorium. Staff members not responsible for teaching a form had their own small offices throughout the school.
The Kantlijn’s original building was renovated in my fieldwork year. The temporary building was located at ten minutes walking distance from the original location, in the same neighbourhood. Both buildings were just off busy streets, bustling with traffic and shoppers. The temporary building was an old-fashioned school building, with a small playground at the back of the school. The renovated building, attached to a public library, gymnasium, and after-school facilities, had two unfenced playgrounds. The largest playground had football nets, a sandbox and a playhouse. In both buildings, older years were upstairs. The new building had several small spaces, where pupils could work in groups outside the classroom. Non-teaching staff members also had their own offices throughout the school.
At the Gunningschool, the 8th form teacher Thomas’s classroom had clearly been in use for a while. Every inch was occupied and many items in the room appeared to have been there for some time. The posters’ duct tape was coming off the walls; bookshelves had boxes with never used booklets; the linoleum was worn-out; at the back of the room was a table with four stacked computers, of which not even Thomas knew whether they worked; dusty, wooden games rested on top of the cupboards; one of the TL-lights was broken; and along one side of the room were stacks of old paper. The tables and chairs were old and used, and none were alike. Some were light brown, others almost black. Each table had a sticker with the pupils’ name on it. Chairs were numbered, and lists with corresponding names hung on both sides of the room. Pupils always found their own chair and refused to use someone else’s. Each table had two plastic drawers that held pens, paper and other small things. Next to the pupils’ own tables, two tables stood at the back where they could sit to correct their work. There was another corner with three functioning computers. At the front was a washbasin, and at the back an aquarium. Girls and boys did not sit together. Tables were grouped in three rows of two tables each, facing the three-pane blackboard. One pane had been made into a week schedule with red tape, and Thomas wrote down homework assignments here. On the back wall were two large, hanging cupboards where all text and notebooks were kept. Nine printouts hung on the inner windows, featuring the ‘golden rules’ of the Gunningschool. A sign by the blackboard instructed pupils to ‘stop the bullying’. There were two series of self-made artwork.
At the Kantlijn,[7] tables were grouped in sets of five or six and these groups were positioned around the teacher’s central desk. Boys and girls sat together and pupils faced each other rather than the teacher. At the back was a corner with a bookcase and pillows on the floor. The room had a small blackboard upon which pupils drew and teacher Luck seldom wrote. The room had a stereo set, a television with DVD-player and one computer. Around the blackboard on the wall was a drawing of two candles and a Christmas wreath. There were three large frames with photomontages of Luck’s former pupils. One wall featured professional photographs of this year’s pupils, framed in yellow cardboard. Pupils used the walls near to their tables to put up notes. Tables did not belong to pupils, instead pupils ‘owned’ their drawers.