July 6
I found Utrecht to be a very charming city, with both the liveliness of Amsterdam and the pleasant street vibe we found throughout Haarlem. It struck a nice, approachable balance between the first two cities we visited. Additionally, Utrecht features one of the premier universities of the Netherlands in Utrecht University. We were welcomed by the Dean of Humanities, a very warm welcome. One thing I’m beginning to notice is that guests are treated far more kindly here than back in the United States.
View from desk in Utrecht University.
For this post, I would like to focus on the Dutch education system, particularly on the pros/cons that the system creates. The strength of it is in the idea of equality, where the three separate high school tracts are regarded in the same manner. There is no air of arrogance when a university tract runs into a vocational/technical school tract. Everyone is treated with the same respect, based on making the best of their abilities.
On the other hand, these tracts are assigned far too early in the lives of students. Many students have not fully matured by the time they are tested into these separate schools, basing a life altering decision on an underdeveloped level of intelligence and work ethic. Additionally, this tract system proves much more difficult to get a second chance or third chance; career options are severely limited, although not completely constrained.
At the same time, the United States system suffers from issues of vast inequality between schools, in instruction quality, student-teacher ratio, and programs offered. In the US, there are also problems with constraints, such as the notion that university education is the only means of upward mobility. In the Dutch system, there are several accessible paths to success that are encouraged. These are made readily available to everybody, as schools are all publicly funded and free for Dutch citizens. In essence, the Dutch system streamlines education, which comes with a few key sacrifices.
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