The van Putten Diaries

If you ask a Dutch person, they would say to not expect too much from the medical system here.  It's known for not taking concerns very seriously and suggesting paracetamol for just about everything.  They'll say it's too bureaucratic, that it takes too long to navigate the procedural steps, and that there's not enough choice. But. In my opinion, the Dutch (just like everyone else) also really like to complain.  And when you tell them how much it costs to simply exist in the American healthcare system without even having seen a doctor yet ($15k per year for 3 of the 4 members of our family, just in monthly premiums), they will relent and say something like "That's absolutely absurd.  Yes, I suppose our system is worth it for what you pay." And what do we pay in medical premiums here in the Netherlands?  Well... our kids are free... because all minors, regardless of their family's income level, are covered by the government here for any and all medical ...

So far, we have spent 7 months in the Dutch school system.  The kids have attended 2 different schools and we have toured 3 others, all of which are in one city.  This is, of course, a very limited scope, but enough to observe the differences from our experiences in US schools.  In this post, I'm going to talk about our direct experiences rather than the full detail of how the system works, start to finish.  I found this post extremely helpful to help wrap my head around the overarching ideas behind the system itself:   https://www.expatica.com/nl/education/children-education/dutch-education-system-100816/ What have these 7 months in school looked like, logistically? The first school the kids attended was in a diverse, working-class neighborhood with what appeared to be mostly second or third generation students - fully Dutch speaking students with backgrounds from Turkey, Morocco, Poland, and elsewhere that I didn't hear direct reference to.  Other th...