From havo/vwo, to havo, to pre-vocational secondary education, to the vocational guidance pathway (bbl) next year. The school career of 16-year-old Finn is not exactly the career you see a lot on LinkedIn. But his mother, Tanja Schollen, calls it a ‘success story’. ‘My son follows his heart and chooses what suits him. You can’t make me more proud as a mother.’
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He said, Mom, I can, but I don’t want to. I hate learning
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After primary school, Finn ends up in a roof tile class at havo/vwo, so that he only has to choose between those two directions after a year. It is the logical step that follows from his Cito score. But already in the second grade, the fun is gone for the teenager. “He was really very unhappy,” says his mother Tanja. “At first we, as parents, did not necessarily link that to the level. We thought: it must be puberty.”
But even when Finn changes schools and opts for HAVO before the end of that school year, things don’t get any better. “It was not his ability, according to the school. So you start a conversation with your child. Then the monkey came out of the sleeve. He said, Mom, I can, but I don’t want to. I hate learning. I was born to work and not to sit with my head in textbooks. Every day at school is hell for me.”
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Also read at intermediary: Does it make sense to apply without suitable work experience?
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From havo/vwo to vmbo
Long and emotional conversations followed at the kitchen table in the Schollen house. “Of course we asked questions. Questions such as: you can do it, why not get the most out of it? And: don’t you just throw your ass against the crib?” But Finn’s answers are always the same: he doesn’t want to learn, he wants to work. ,,Yes, who are we as parents to say: you have to do havo? Havo may be ‘higher’ than VMBO, but not ‘better’”, says his mother. “Once we let go of those levels, it brought peace to both us and him.”
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Once we let go of those levels, it brought peace to both us and him
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Finn makes the switch to vmbo-tl. He also gets a part-time job at a bicycle repair shop. Especially because of the latter, his parents see him fully blossom. “Then we knew for sure that it wasn’t a whim. When he came home from school, it was often one hell of a mess. But when he comes home from work, he is full of stories.” In addition, his employer takes on a mentoring role for Finn. ,,He teaches him everything: repairing bicycles, helping customers and soon he will also be able to watch the purchases. And perhaps best of all, he encourages Finn to keep following his heart, even if this means he wants to do something other than become a bicycle mechanic.”
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Learning versus working
Finn has now completed his pre-vocational secondary education diploma. “Last Thursday he heard that he made it,” his mother says. “With his heels over the ditch.” Although the teenager would like nothing more than to go full throttle at his employer, he is obliged to continue studying for two more years. “He has to go to school until he is 18, otherwise I will have the compulsory education officer on my roof,” says Tanja. ,,We said to Finn: go and see what suits you best. We will hear.”
And that’s what her son did, with the result: the bbl education Retail & Management, for which he only has to go to school one day a week. He can work the other four days. “He is really going to do that training because he has to go to school, otherwise he would have started working full-time.” Meanwhile, his parents continue to talk to the teenager about which way he wants to go. “But he says he just wants to see where life takes him. He goes after his luck. I like that, I’m sure he’ll get there.”
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Release levels
By sharing her son’s story on LinkedIn, Tanja hopes that people will look at school levels differently. ,,I think that today’s society is quite disdainful of VMBO and MBO courses. If you just look at the Cito results, we unconsciously send out a signal: pre-vocational secondary education framework is indicated by the color red, vmbo-tl by the color orange, havo has yellow and vwo green. I think we should all look at those levels differently, and maybe not even see them as levels anymore.”
Tanja believes that the school system needs to change. Whether you do VWO or VMBO: the current system is fully geared to learning from textbooks. “But why not let children – including those in pre-university education – make a conscious choice? Do they want to learn from books, or from practice? There are now practical schools, but not for HAVO/VWO students. While you may also need it if you can learn well.”
She will not have a direct influence on the Dutch school system with her post, Tanja realizes that all too well. But with more than 26,000 likes on the counter, she has reached a lot of Dutch people. Finn’s mother hopes that with the story about her son, she has at least planted a seed with parents of school-age children. “That I showed: look what happens when you let go of your expectations.”
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