Why TADA is also there now for socially vulnerable kids

ToekomstATELIERdelAvenir usually does quite the contrary of social distancing. TADA brings people together: every Saturday, hundreds of kids go to one of our weekend schools, alumni gather monthly, we organize workshops for teachers and so on. 

The coming weeks we are staying in. All activities are put on hold. Nevertheless, also during these times we want to think solution-focused and continue to work towards an inclusive society. At the moment, our team is working part-time to limit the impact of this period without (weekend) schools on our kids and youngsters. 

Learning gaps are increasing

Poverty expert Wim Van Lancker and professor of educational economics Ides Nicaise warn rightfully so: learning gaps of socially vulnerable children increase in periods without school.

Not every household is able to invest in educational material and laptops. Not every apartment has the space to offer a good learning environment to children. And not every parent has the time or educational skills to stimulate kids even more than usual. 

Digitally close 

The past few days we have been working hard to stay digitally close: 

• Pedagogical coordinators and assistants stay in touch with their class as much as possible via social media and chat apps. They share information about the coronavirus and challenge the kids with home assignments and quizzes. 
• The bilingual website www.ilovetada.be has recently been launched and is accessible to everyone. The goal? To inform kids and their families, to motivate them and to incite their curiosity with different learning apps. At the same time, we want to encourage exemplary behaviour in ‘dealing with corona’. 

Besides that, we are preparing for the period after this crisis. From the moment everyday life resumes, we want to pick up where we left off, together with more than 1.000 teenagers already. 

#FlattenTheCurve

The hasthag #FlattenTheCurve actually goes for TADA as well: we do what we can to flatten the Belgian curve of educational inequality. Do you want to give us a hand in these challenging times? You are as welcome as ever to do so. Thank you very much!