Clara Moreno,
Alkistis Stergiani Kartsiou,
Menno Schokker,
Kimberley Roelvink
Introduction to Teach your own:
We are focusing on education and the subsystem we are designing for is called ‘teach your own’. For a self-sustained Texel 2065, Texel needs people who are willing to contribute to local projects, as well as informed and educated about them. Currently, most of the students leave the island for secondary school already and there is a rumor that the current high-school will close in the future. For this reason, we are designing a future system which uses ICT and on-line learning to allow youngsters to stay in the island. Moreover, we want to educate students in sustainability, entrepreneurship and local projects to engage them with sustainable practices in Texel as a future employment opportunity. For secondary students, we are planning to reinforce hands-on activities and interactive learning. In January we will go for one week to the Island and then we can interact with people and we will finally present our proposal.
Questions:
Personal experience & opinion:
- At which age did you leave the island for studying?
I left the island at the age of 20, and after that went to study in Delft. At this moment I lived on Texel from 1992.
- If there would be a university on the island, would you stay there? Why yes/no?
I would not stay on Texel, it is a really nice island, but it is also really closed off of the more interesting city life. Thats also a reason why many people leave. To actually experience the living on them selves. I think not many people would stay on texel anyway if there would be a university. Living alone on texel can be quite expensive also.
Future vision & plans:
- Are you involved in any (sustainable) local project inside the island? Would you?
I dont think I have ever been involved in something sustainable, maybe some times during high school. If I would live there I would like to participate in a local project, only if it wouldnt take to much time. If there was some kind on incentive more people would join i guess.
- Do you plan to go back to Texel after you graduation or in a long-term future? What about other young students from Texel you might know? Why yes/no?
I am not sure, since texel is not a big community there is also almost no chance to really grow your carreer. Maybe I would go back when i reach the age of 40-50. But before that I would rather try to live on more interesting places in the world with more opportunities. There are two groups, a group which returns and a group which will never return, however i think the group which never returns is the biggest.
Living in an Island:
- How different do you feel to live in an island vs. in the main land? How different is the education and is the education in the mainland useful for working in an island?
The highschool education is actually quite nice, with around 900 - 1000 students. I can then also not imagine that they will move highschool to the main land. We dont have anything higher than highschool, so for every degree you at least need to take the ferry. I feel a bit different having lived on texel, since it is a bit like living under a rock. As soon as I started studying I experienced 'city' life which most people already had experienced.
- Do you think that it is positive for a student to complete both high-school and university levels inside the Island?
No I dont think so, the people who actually want to stay on texel, will return anyway as soon as they get a degree. The other people really just want to get out of the boring life, and experience a bit more. And especially in case of students I think getting out of your comfort zone and see something of the worlds will help them the most.
Learning method:
- Did you have hands-on activities during your education in Texel?
Yes I did, quite a lot actually.
- Were the topics particularized for Texel or about Texel local projects?
Often project which were particularized for Texel. Like in the nature and such.
- Did you use on-line learning methods at all?
No I never used any on-line methods at highschool, however I think they do now.
Advices:
- Is there any particular person in the Island (e.g. teacher, parents, student, municipality) that you would recommend us to talk to regarding our research topic?
You could try some of the teachers on this Highschool I went to, some of them dont even live on texel but are travelling every day towards it. I dont know any contact information of them though. Maybe you can try out their website: http://dehogeberg.nl/