Marijke: ‘Every child learns at their own pace’.

Marijke: ‘Every child learns at their own pace’.

In group 3, a child should learn to read, write and count, in group 5, reading comprehension becomes more important and in group 8 all important material is repeated. There is some room for variation in the offer, but it remains a fixed format to complete in 8 years. A standard education track, really nothing tailored about it when you read it like this. Marijke Fix has two children aged 14 and 16 and shares her view on Tailored Education.

Recognition of giftedness

Because how do you organize the education track when you notice that your child needs a different path than the school offers? ‘Both our children are gifted, the youngest is highly gifted. Compared to 10 years ago, a lot has already improved when it comes to Tailored Education. But recognition of gifted students and offering them Tailored Education still seems to be hindered by the current education system and lack of knowledge among leaders,’ says Marijke. ‘Despite continuous talks with school, governing bodies, Partnership Tailored Education and municipalities to facilitate Tailored Education, the path has been difficult so far. Legislation, local policy and protocols do not match what is needed.’

Roles reversed

This situation made Marijke think. ‘Schools now use a standard: children must be able to do things at a certain age. When children do not meet that standard, they quickly look at what is wrong with the children. While I wonder what is wrong with the system. The roles are reversed. Why do you have to finish secondary school within a certain number of years and not do it at your own pace?’

Brain development

Every child and every adult is ready to learn or do certain things at a different time. For one, it is earlier than for another or maybe never. ‘This all relates to the biological development of the brain and where you are in that process. But also to having a neurodivergent brain where the brain processes information differently. This is common among children with giftedness, adhd, autism and dyslexia. To make it more complicated, (physical) trauma and stress can also play a role. You see a case of asynchronous development in people and no one fits the standard.’

Asynchronous development

From her own experience, knowledge and interest, Marijke recognizes much asynchronous development. ‘Gifted children who are far ahead of their peers in some areas, understand material quickly but may be socially behind their age. This can be confusing for these children and their environment and makes them vulnerable. What is often seen in gifted children is that a part of the brain responsible for automatisation is not fully functioning yet. This shows, for example, in an eight-year-old child who masters material of vwo class 2 but can not yet memorize multiplication tables so making an assignment is harder or takes longer.’ The development moment is often later in life. We just need to recognize it. These are things education takes too little account of. The focus is mainly on what a child cannot do. As a result, there is no time and space to see which great talents these children do have.’

Own learning path

Both of Marijke’s children went to the full-time giftedness school and started with personalized learning. ‘The students were in groups x, y and z with children about the same age and everyone has their own learning path. The teacher monitors that path. Where is the child in development? And what do they need? Next to developing their cognitive knowledge, they also work on getting to know themselves. Who am I? And how do you interact? More the social aspect then.’

Montessori education

According to Marijke, Montessori education could be a nice addition. ‘This type of education encourages children to develop themselves in many ways, not just with knowledge. This is already fairly common in primary schools, but to my view, there is too little attention for this in secondary education. Do other things with children: start a fictional company for example and give everyone a task. They learn to develop things together and find out what they are good at.’

Part-time school

For her youngest son, there is currently no Tailored Education to be found. ‘He goes to school part-time via an education care arrangement called Heart for IQ in Papendrecht. There they try to bring children and young adults to a starting position where they can go back to school or work. They focus a lot on self-image and interaction with other children. They also find out what they are good at and what they most want. Our youngest has been there for about half a year and it is going well. He is just a happy child whose eyes sparkle again. That is what you want to see most as a parent.’

Back to basics

What do we want with our education? And what do we want as parents and society for our children? ‘There is a belief from education and care that school is the best place for children to learn. But opinions are still divided on this. Because when education is not tailored to a child, the child also does not enjoy school. We must go back to basics and offer education in the broadest sense so everyone benefits. And let children grow up to be resilient people with a positive self-image. That they become happy and motivated and thus contribute to society. And at what pace? That is different for everyone.’