Comment Maybe it is America.... (Score 1) 563
I'm from Holland. and although high school by no means was paradise to me, what helps is that we have a progressive school system. That is, there are different levels of high school; there are low-level technical and agricultural ones, medium-level for various non-academic jobs and high-level ones for access to university. Kids get into these schools based on school results at the age of 12, but can switch or stack schools if they want and are able to.
The result? As you progress, you more and more enter a world of similar geeks. Although there are still jocks, they're about as smart as you are, so there's no reason for hostility. For me, it meant that while my glasses were broken about once a month in kindergarden, the rate went considerably down over the years (to once a year in high school, mostly due to sporting accidents :)
Although this might strike people used to a one-school system as strange, it actually has a lot of advantages, of which the educational ones are the most obvious. Is Holland alone in this approach or do other countries have similar systems?
The result? As you progress, you more and more enter a world of similar geeks. Although there are still jocks, they're about as smart as you are, so there's no reason for hostility. For me, it meant that while my glasses were broken about once a month in kindergarden, the rate went considerably down over the years (to once a year in high school, mostly due to sporting accidents
Although this might strike people used to a one-school system as strange, it actually has a lot of advantages, of which the educational ones are the most obvious. Is Holland alone in this approach or do other countries have similar systems?
