School of Happiness: why UNICEF recognized Dutch children as the happiest in the world

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Dutch schools provide students with comfort, freedom and peace. This is despite the fact that children go to study at the age of four, and some programs do not have the usual chemistry and physics. But students and their parents always have a choice of what and how exactly to study at school.

“We put our feet on the table and smoked (cigarettes) with the teachers. There was a feeling of absolute freedom,”says a Dutch friend of her school days. Her daughter is now 14, and she is glad that the system has changed. It was a period of turbulence and kinks in education. It's different now.

In 2013, UNICEF recognized Dutch children as the happiest in the world. By comparison, the UK was in 16th place, and the USA - in 26th. The level of happiness was assessed in five categories: well-being, health and safety, education, behavior and risks, home and environment. One of the indicators was the desire of Dutch children to go to school.

The Daily Telegraph called the Dutch education system Stress-free schooling. And foreigners often say that she brings up "middle peasants". What is so special about it?

1. In Holland, almost all schools are public and funded by the state. There are practically no private schools. The few that do exist are mostly religious. But even there, the child has the right to choose. You can go to a Jewish school and remain Catholic. Holland is a land of freedom. When the child is over three years old, parents must apply to school. You can apply to a maximum of five schools in your area. Dutch people may be trying to get to school outside the area, but the chances of success are slim.

2. Children go to school from the age of four. Nobody is waiting for the next academic year. If a child turns four years old on March 25, then on the 26th he is already expected at school. Children 4-6 years old are mixed in the same class. The main task at this time is to teach children to interact with each other, negotiate, develop motor skills, prepare for writing and reading. Everything happens in a playful way. If a child has a desire to study some subjects more deeply, he is given tools for independent development. I can't read or write, no one will force. It is believed that by the age of seven, the level of children levels off.

3. Until the age of 10 in Dutch schools, no homework is given at all. For the Dutch, it is important that children spend their time after school playing, so there are no exams and tests before the age of 12. Therefore, children are not afraid of bad grades and school. This approach excludes competition with each other. The essence of the Dutch education system is to give the child the opportunity to enjoy the process and reveal himself. Dutch parents do not hire tutors if the child is not able to handle it. They believe that achievements do not always lead to happiness, but happiness can lead a person to achievements; that a person and his individuality should never be broken, and a child needs the right to choose to feel happy.

4. Adult life in Holland begins at the age of 12. At the end of high school, children take an exam that determines their future development. On the exam, they watch how the child passes mathematics, understands the text, how quickly he can read and knows spelling. To these indicators is added the opinion of the teachers, so that the assessment is subjective in any case. For example, a teacher can revise the test results, explain them by the child's emotion and the specifics of his character. Parents usually trust this expertise and listen to the school's advice. Thus, the school determines how the curriculum of a particular child will look for the next year based on his potential in the future profession.

5. There is a choice of different models and systems of teaching at school. The child is guided through one of three learning systems: VMBO, HAVO or VWO. These letters define the scope and depth of the curriculum. If desired by the family and the child's capabilities, the level can be revised upwards. At the same time, the school can send the child to a lower level if it sees that he is not doing well. If simplified as much as possible, the system looks like this: VMBO (the simplest plan) - you will graduate from school and university at 19 and be a worker, HAVO - graduate at 21 and become a school teacher, VWO - graduate at 22 and be a professor in the future.

6. 60% go to VMBO and go to school until the age of 16. This is an average mark, so the family does not expect any special achievements from the child. It is because of this that the Dutch system is considered middle-class oriented. One teacher said that the school management asked him to review works that did not receive a passing grade in order to overestimate this point. So even those who failed the year got into the "average".

7. It is compulsory to study at school until the age of 16, and then you can attend lessons only twice a week. At the age of 17 you can go to a gymnasium if you want to go to university later. And if you are tired of doing economics, philosophy or biology, you should get a berup. Berup is a profession. For example, if you want to work in the beauty industry, then you go to college in this particular profession and get this particular specialty. As practice shows, those children who choose a berup get better in life faster. And those who go further to university and learn six languages, then face difficulties in finding a job, because in Holland people are needed who do the work with their hands. These people will always have a job: locksmiths, builders, and so on. And their salaries are often higher than those of teachers with six languages.

Even if we accept the version of the “country of middlemen”, the average level of knowledge of the Dutch is higher than the average level of knowledge in other countries. In the ranking of the 200 best universities in the world in terms of the number of educational institutions, the Netherlands ranks third after the UK and the USA.

The Dutch education system sets itself the task of graduating people with secondary education and profession, and gives more ambitious children a wide range of university choices. The Dutch admit the obvious: the majority really go to work in the applied field. And they support the functioning of the country. While science is a very narrow layer. If you look at any class in a Russian high school, there will be five excellent students, three poor students, and the rest are interrupted from three to four. This scheme reflects the Dutch VMBO, HAVO or VWO. While the former may not have chemistry at all, the latter may have three lessons per week. So from the age of 12 it becomes clear whether it makes sense to expect a breakthrough in the field of medicine from a child or not.

It is believed that the Dutch system does not stimulate, setting very low expectations from the outset. I believe that it gives the child the understanding that the more he works at school, the higher his chances. And this, first of all, fosters responsibility for their own future.