School in the Netherlands - Part 2

For some reason, I became very interested in the secondary education system a few weeks ago.  I read as much as I could find about it, asked my neighbors and coworkers about their experiences with it, and wandered around the city looking for the schools themselves.

If you read my first post about education here, you'll hopefully remember that everything is open enrollment.  As an American, this idea seems pretty self-explanatory at the primary education level, but the process is drastically more interesting at the secondary level.

The biggest thing that I think will be difficult for American minds to understand is that the expectation here is for the students themselves to pick their high school.  I know, how amazing is it to live in a society that believes minors are their own people capable of understanding enough about who they are to make their own choices and understand how those choices could affect their future?  Anyway, from around age 11 students will begin their own research, not only into the schools and what they have to offer but also into themselves and what they want from their future school.  What kind of a setting do they want?  What kinds of things might they enjoy learning about?  How do they learn best?  After talking with several people, I found it interesting to learn that picking a school based on where their friends are going does not seem to be a huge factor to consider.

There are, of course, other pieces of the process that help students narrow down their choices.  First of all, there is standardized testing starting around age 7.  Now, I know this term can be triggering for some folks in the US so please let me say that the pressure and overbearing culture around testing that's present in the US doesn't seem to be the same here.  There will be some students who take them more seriously than others, some parents who have more strict expectations than others, but overall the vibe I'm getting is that the idea of these tests doesn't rule everyone's lives.  The idea seems to genuinely be to get a better feel for who the student is and to use the data to help them make the most of the choices they face for their future.

I do not know, however, the details of how the data from these tests is used to determine rankings or funding or what have you for the schools.  I suspect that they are largely irrelevant based on my understanding of the culture surrounding education here.

So, students take these tests periodically through the years and they culminate in their last year of primary school, age 11-12.  Their results and the recommendation of their teacher are both determining factors in which level of secondary education may be the best fit for the student.  Yes, there are different tiers of secondary education, which brings me to the second thing that may be difficult for American minds to grasp...  

Rather than setting the same standard and expectation for every student in the country, the Netherlands uses a system where students can be met at their own level and where success can be defined in different ways.  There are 3 broader levels of diplomas that students can earn, each with a different graduation age tied to it.  Within those 3 levels, there are specialties and specific programs that students can elect to pursue.  For example, at the more professional level a student may choose to major in agriculture or hospitality while at the more academic level a student may choose a program that includes the study of Latin.

My first instinct with this is that some kids are going to feel like they're dumb and that the choices for their future are limited if they don't test well and their teachers don't see a lot of motivation for them to succeed at a higher diploma level.  One person did even tell me "I was one of the stupid kids, so I graduated at 14 and started working."  (Side thoughts, one is that this person still graduated, unlike the options in the US, and two is that working at age 14 is an option for everyone in NL regardless of diploma).  It makes me really sad to think that this system ends up with some students feeling that way.  

On the other hand, my understanding is that test scores and the opinions of teachers are not the exclusive considerations for which of the 3 levels a student can pursue.  The student's own wishes and the advocacy of their parents are considered.  It seems to be more of a conversation rather than a blanket categorization of people.  If the student struggles with testing or was going through a hard time but really wants to strive for a higher level, they will likely be able to do so.  And the path they choose at age 12 can change at age 13 or 14 as well - they're not locked in for good.

Once all of these factors have been considered, students then start looking at which schools offer what they're looking for.  Most schools offer a combination of diploma levels, which is great for students who aren't as sure of what they want or who change their course mid-way through.  It's also, of course, good to diversify the student population itself so that society doesn't end up in little clusters of adults who don't know how to work together.  There are some schools that are more specialized by program or teaching style, some schools that have larger or smaller student populations, some schools that cater to specifc language learning (bilingual education), and more.  

By the way, all students will have already studied Dutch and English in depth by the time they're 12 and will be picking up at least one additional language, usually German or French.  Also, the school schedule can vary for secondary students as well.  I often walk the dogs past schools around 8pm - 9pm and see classes being held, sometimes even on Sundays.  I look forward to learning more about how this part of the system works, likely not until Miles gets there in a few years.

For those students who graduate from one of the higher diploma tracks, they may choose to go on to university.  I don't know as much about the Dutch higher education system yet, but I do know it's vastly more affordable than schools in the US.  I hope to learn more about this as well, for myself as well as for my kids.  They will have so many opportunities if we succeed in our plan for them to be dual citizens by the time they reach college, but I am so glad that they'll be in a culture where "opportunity" and "success" are defined differently than the rat race I lived through myself.