School in the Netherlands - Part 1

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 than Dutch, the library contained books in Arabic, Turkish, and English with some Ukrainian and Russian titles starting to come in.

For the first half of 2023, Miles was enrolled in a Dutch language class for new arrivals.  His class was ages 6-11 and was focused first on learning the language with additional subjects being levelled for each student.  Most of Miles' peers were new arrivals from Ukraine, so they had a common language together and he felt extremely lonely.  The school where this program was located wasn't super far away from home, but far enough that we wanted to switch schools whenever he was ready.  Miles' teacher decided that his grasp of the language was strong enough to move to a fully Dutch classroom this school year, so we switched both kids to a school closer to home at the same time.  Being with kids his age who speak a language that he now speaks well enough has been huge for his confidence and wellbeing.  

David has been in a fully Dutch classroom the whole time since children younger than 6 are expected to pick up the language on their own without the need for an immersion class.  This means that many of the students don't speak Dutch and are learning at the same rate as David.  Her best friends at their first school were all from Poland, and her current teacher said that there were 17 languages in the classroom last year.

Tell me some interesting stuff!

Enrollment:  Everything is open enrollment.  Parents can pick any school, anywhere, that they want their kids to go to.  Each school has slightly (or sometimes drastically) different models and philosophy of education, different cultures and different outcomes.  Tuition based schools exist, including international schools, but many specialty schools are public.  The first school our kids went to was Catholic, one school in our neighborhood is based on the Waldorf model, and another nearby is Montessori - all publicly funded.

School Year:  Dutch schools begin earlier and end later, typically late-August to early-July, with more breaks in between.  The summer holiday is only 6 weeks long (and - fun fact - you're actually expected to take a large chunk of this time off from work, even a full month).

Appropriateness:  I'm not sure what to call this section.  Whatever is the opposite of "the sexualization of our children" or whatever nonsense American parents think.  Anyway, David's first class of 4-5 year olds got changed into their gym or dance clothes in the classroom itself, everyone stripping down to their undies and getting dressed at the same time, no shame and no questions about it.  Additionally, both schools our kids have been in have one multi-stalled bathroom in an area and often (not always) the stalls are assigned by gender.  The main door is often left open, one was even made of glass, but the stalls don't usually have that big gap at the bottom either.  So, girls and boys are sharing the bathroom space and no one - regardless of gender - is stuck behind a closed door with their peers.

Field Trips:  Sometimes parents are asked to volunteer on field trips or to pack special items for them, but otherwise we're often informed that they happened after the fact.  There are no permission slips here for anything.  The kids have taken the bus, walked (even as far as 1.5km), or taken these adorable little electric vehicles where the teacher stands at the wheel and around 10 kids ride in a bucket through the bike lanes.  Older kids go on field trips on their own bikes - we see large groups with matching reflective vests moving through the city with a couple adults scattered through the unit.  Our neighbors who are 11 years old just went on a ride to the coast with their class this week, 10km one direction.

Inclusion and Diversity:  One school we toured had a massive rainbow flag hanging in the lobby.  Another school was celebrating Paarse Vrijdag (Purple Friday), a day dedicated to learning and celebrating differences in individuals as part of the community, particularly different genders and sexualities.  There was rainbow art everywhere.  No one in the Netherlands, at school or outside of school, has ever had a problem with my kids' genders.  In terms of race and nationality, there are more students from diverse backgrounds than there are teachers from diverse backgrounds.  Our kids were racial minorities, or a near even split, at their first school.  At their new school, there is a smaller amount of racial diversity, but more international students and diversity in other contexts.

Administration:  There seems to be one office admin and one director for every school, no more.  I saw a sign for a counselor in one school, but haven't heard of counselors actually being there.  It's possible there are more staff at the secondary schools, but my conclusion is that schools run lean on administration.  Sadly, the ratio of genders among staff is similar to how it is in the US with almost all teachers being female.

Extracurriculars:  There are almost no school-driven activities after hours.  Organized sports, music, clubs - most everything exists outside of school with other organizations.  On the one hand, I'm disappointed that there isn't more music in the classroom.  On the other hand, it's also nice that the kids have social lives that exist more fully outside of school and classroom time dedicated to other things.  Part of my concern is that we have the privilege to be able to do these things and it makes me sad to think of how many kids are missing out on these opportunities.  I get the impression, though, that most kids do actually have things going on outside of school.  There are TONS of affordable or free activities for kids of all ages throughout the year - from weekly sports, arts-based, or educational activities to one-time workshops.  Our summer was full of free activities.  This term, David has chosen music and soccer (until her injury) and Miles has chosen rock climbing, each kid getting 2 sessions of after-school activity per week.  

Lunches:  All lunches come from home because there are no kitchens in the school buildings.  Some schools even allow students to be picked up and go home during the lunch period.  Eating at school comes in two designated periods of time - fruit time and bread time.  Yes, that's literally what they're called.  I had to ask if my kids were allowed to eat vegetables during fruit time (yes, they are), and sandwiches during bread time (yes, preferably a healthy one).

Libraries:  The libraries in the schools are very small, definitely not their own designated rooms.  The kids' first school didn't have its own library at all, but the public library system had its own location in their school building.  I'm not certain, but I think the books that are available at school aren't meant to come home.  We use the public library regardless.

This is it for round one of interesting school-related observations.  Let me know if you have particular questions on the subject!