«A day school is like an extended family»

Primary school teacher Philipp Muchenberger, 46, has been teaching at the day school in Zug for 14 years. For the father of three, the job is more of a vocation than a profession.

«I know them all: the lively first-graders who have yet to find their place with us, the "old hands» from the fifth and sixth, the wild children and the shy ones, the trusting ones and the cautious ones. Although as a class teacher I am responsible for one group, all the others are somehow also my pupils. This is definitely different at the day school than at a normal neighbourhood school, where the teachers usually only have «their» children on their radar.

«The holistic concept that we implement here is much more my thing.»

Philipp Muchenberger, primary school teacher at the Zug day school.

At the beginning of my career, I also learnt about the traditional system. I have now been at the day school for 14 years and can say that the holistic concept that we implement here is much more my thing. The advantages of all-day care outweigh the disadvantages. I like to compare our day school to an extended family where everyone looks after each other. The teachers and carers are always in the middle of the action. Logically, this is sometimes quite exhausting. As a rule, two thirds of my working time is spent in the classroom and one third on childcare tasks.

Philipp Muchenberger: "At lunch or in one of the leisure courses, I often discover a new side of a child that was previously unknown to me.
Philipp Muchenberger: "At lunch or in one of the leisure courses, I often discover a new side of a child that was previously unknown to me.

As the childcare time is weighted differently in terms of effort, I am usually at the day school from 8 am to 6 pm. Anyone who is virtually always present, as I am, needs a strategy to be able to work professionally. My most important principle: I have to be clear with the pupils and define the boundaries precisely. I often involve the children in everyday decisions. This makes it all the more important to take the lead. Although I'm a nice person, I'm not their buddy, I'm clearly the teacher. At lunch or in one of the leisure classes, I often discover a new side of a child that I didn't know before.
From an educational point of view, this is very exciting. Sometimes this knowledge helps us to intervene better and in a more targeted way when someone is experiencing problems at school or socially. Sometimes it also turns out that day school is simply not the right thing for a child. As a father of three, I know from my own experience how different children can be. It is important not only to recognise this, but also to react when necessary. If a pupil doesn't feel comfortable with us, we have to look for another solution together with the parents. Co-operation with the families usually works without any problems. We rarely find that parents see us purely as a service provider and, to a certain extent, demand a guarantee of success. A child is not a car that you can take to the garage and pick up again just before the end of the day."

Read more:

  • Which day school is the right one?
  • Interview: «Day schools offer better learning conditions»