Our ‘zesjes-mentaliteit’ (literally six mentality, but your description works great) surely is very different as the vibe of ‘second best is not good enough’, but it has it’s own flaws as well. I think both can be considered two extremes where it might be best to find a healthy middle ground: the desire to perform well does lead to results to be proud of. I think social media is really changing the mindset of our youth because online ‘just passing by’ isn’t a recipe for “succes”. Great to hear your kid is happy (again), glad you were able to offer him that.
We’re academic oriented American parents, so our instinct is to encourage academic success.
Honestly, the Dutch schools just feel less bureaucratic? I think that plays a big role, too. In American schools, kids feel like a car on an assembly line. Any exceptions or personalization along the way are treated with lota of paperwork and suspicion. The Dutch schools seem to treat kids like… kids? Human beings with individual character. It’s refreshing.
Our ‘zesjes-mentaliteit’ (literally six mentality, but your description works great) surely is very different as the vibe of ‘second best is not good enough’, but it has it’s own flaws as well. I think both can be considered two extremes where it might be best to find a healthy middle ground: the desire to perform well does lead to results to be proud of. I think social media is really changing the mindset of our youth because online ‘just passing by’ isn’t a recipe for “succes”. Great to hear your kid is happy (again), glad you were able to offer him that.
We’re academic oriented American parents, so our instinct is to encourage academic success.
Honestly, the Dutch schools just feel less bureaucratic? I think that plays a big role, too. In American schools, kids feel like a car on an assembly line. Any exceptions or personalization along the way are treated with lota of paperwork and suspicion. The Dutch schools seem to treat kids like… kids? Human beings with individual character. It’s refreshing.