“You don’t have to become a teacher to help the new generation”

As a teacher passing on knowledge, that was always the dream of corporate lawyer Machteld de Goederen. But education turned out not to suit her. She is now fulfilling her dream as a volunteer atStudy Rooms. There she provides homework assistance to children from vulnerable neighborhoods. “I enjoy the one-on-one contact with young people. It is a great enrichment, also of my own life.”Founder Abdelhamid Idrissi started Studiezalen in 2010, “Because every child needs someone who believes in them and offers a helping hand when needed.” Currently, 1,400 young people in Amsterdam receive homework assistance from teachers, life coaches, and volunteers. Machteld (61) helps on Tuesdays in Zuidoost and on Thursdays in Nieuw-West. “I mainly see children who want to do well in school and sense that they need a little extra support.”

Getting started with holiday German

During the study afternoons, forty children trickle in after school. “Everyone will settle in a bit, and we as volunteers will make rounds. First, I chat a bit with a student, and after that soft landing, I help with homework.”

Each volunteer can decide for themselves which subjects they want to help a student with. “As a lawyer, I am good at social studies, social sciences, and history. English is also easy for me because I have two daughters who live in England. And I speak a bit of holiday German, but I always pretend I can do that too. Plus the first three classes of math.”

Keep it light with the boys

With the girls, Machteld – a mother of three daughters herself – easily makes contact. It’s more difficult with boys. They prefer hanging out and gaming. How does Machteld get them involved? “I keep it light and first listen to the stories about teachers they find annoying. Then I say: shall we see what we can do about it? How great would it be if you get a passing grade later on?”

Machteld gives a “broad interpretation” to her volunteer work. Students can always call her with specific questions. She also advises on how children can address an issue with a teacher. She sometimes accompanies them to a parent-teacher meeting and helps them choose their subjects. “All in all, it sometimes takes up to twenty hours a week. But as a volunteer, you can also just stick to the three hours of the study afternoon. I choose a more intensive approach myself and I get that freedom from Studiezalen.”

Alternative for a career in education

Machteld enjoys the transfer of knowledge a lot, she says. “Actually, ever since I was at the Montessori Lyceum in Rotterdam myself.” However, she initially chose a career as a corporate lawyer.

After intensive jobs in the legal profession and as a corporate lawyer, Machteld stopped working to take care of her family first, and later her seriously ill mother. “When my mother died after a very intensive period, I thought, I have always wanted to do a teaching course and I am not going to let myself be lured back into the legal profession. I am going to do a Dutch teaching course.”

But she didn’t like that course. “All those rules and little things. I prefer a more relaxed role. A friend of mine knew Abdelhamid and told me about Studiezalen. Then one night when I was awake, I thought, ‘Damn, I am completely on the wrong path, I am going to talk to Abdelhamid’.”

Approach big problems in a small way

That was five years ago. Soon, the first student that Machteld has been mentoring since the first grade will take their final exams. “The progress she has made is super fun to see.” Machteld encourages everyone to start as a volunteer. “We all worry about very big and far-reaching problems in the world. But if you want to do something about it, you have to make it very small. I see all those young people at Studiezalen, and then I think: ‘You are the future, you have to do it’. And I have life experience, I am willing to help you. With one-on-one contact, you can be of great significance to young people.”

How do you help a struggling teenager?

Yes, does Machteld have any advice for people who see a teenager struggling at school in their environment? Certainly. “Don’t rush it, take the time to find the creativity to connect with such a child. No hurry, but delay. That’s when it works. Then you will see, like me, that it is successful.”Would you like to do volunteer work at Studiezalen or at another volunteer organization in Nieuw-West? Please contact Jelle Guijt from Vrijwilligers Centrale Amsterdam at [contact information].j.guijt@vca.nuor phone number 06-34030720. Text: Ernst-Jan Pfauth

Image: Kitty de Jong