A Better Tomorrow Starts Small: Rebalance Routine & Intention
Last week I visited the Herman Broerenschool in Roermond. It is a special school for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities. During my tour with principal Nathalie Schotanus, I kept noticing the same pattern: rhythm and structure were everywhere, but always shaped around the individual.
I met twelve-year-olds who cannot yet speak, or who still need help going to the toilet. And still, I saw them engaged in for them meaningful work. Stretching their skills and knowledge. Some were preparing food in the kitchen. Others were serving tea around the school. In the carpentry room, children proudly worked with wood. And above all, there was happiness in the air, a sense of belonging and contribution.
They work in groups, not divided by age but based on their personal development and their future perspective. Every learner has a personal growth plan. You could say: of course this school has to do this, and compared to mainstream education they have more staff to make it possible. That may be true. But just like every other school, they too would love to have even more staff, to offer even better support and services.
What occupied my mind afterwards was not the question of resources, but something else: how can we learn from this school's spirit? How can we make it easier for ourselves to tune in to the growth and development needs of learners and colleagues, while offering just a little more tailor-made support?
The obvious answer would be to make individual growth plans for every child. Map each learner’s motivation and build tomorrow’s lessons from there. But most of you don’t have that time, at least not tonight. So what can we do, starting tomorrow?
This morning, the answer came to me. It is about shifting the balance between working out of routine and working with intention.
Routines are useful. They create rhythm, security, calm. I saw many routines at the Herman Broerenschool: taking breaks with classmates, practising writing in the sand together. And if one thing stood out during my visit, it was the safe and pleasant learning climate these routines created.
But if we are not careful, routines turn into lazy thinking, automatic acting, meaningless repetition.
Intention means something else.
It is choosing consciously what you do. Not because “this is how we always do it,” but because it works now, for this person, because he or she needs it today.
It is pausing to reflect on the purpose behind a lesson, a method, or a meeting structure. Not for the greater good, but for the person this is intended for.
It is letting go of things. Not because they are bad, but because they no longer serve their purpose.
Being intentional requires slowing down, and that pause is what allows you to move forward again.
So today, take a moment to look back at your day. You came in, grabbed your coffee, started your lesson, your meeting, your conversation, just like yesterday. It works. Right? But ask yourself: what else did you do today only because “that’s how it’s always done”?
I once caught myself teaching the exact same maths lesson to five different groups of learners in the same way. You could argue: if it works, it works. But you could also ask: was I still reflecting, or had I slipped into autopilot?
And then the real question:
👉 Which routine are you willing to stop tomorrow, so that space opens up for something better? Better for that one learner. Better for that one colleague. Better for yourself.
Stay intentional,
Rob
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