I decided to add a new category: Useless Dutch sayings.
In Dutch language, just like in any other, we have a lot of saying that are past on by generations. They tell you a lot about the culture and atmosphere in a country. This category of Useless Dutch sayings will be my place to tell you why i donīt like them and how they influence living in The Netherlands.
Todayīs saying is: "Wanting to be the best kid in class.".
This saying is very typical for the Dutch. Being the best kid in class is considered something bad. Very bad. Nobody wants to be the best kid in class! Donīt do evertyhing by the rules, rules are there to be broken. Or at least bent. Dutch accuse eachother of trying to be the best kid in class. This saying is meant to pull you back down, where you belong! Donīt you dare try to be the best kid in class! And it works. In school you are graded on a one to ten scale, ten being to best. Nobody tries to score above seven or eight. You classmates will kick you and throw you out of the group if you do. Iīve made that mistake a couple of times. Studying hard and then score an nine or ten on a test. Nobody talked to my for a whole week, not even the teacher. He would have just loved to see me fail!
Here it's teached to be "mediocre". Mediocre is a good thing. I don't agree with that at all.
Your story is somewhat skewed.
It is simply way harder to get a Dutch "A", than to get one in an American High School where it is expected to get them.
That could very well be, do you have experience with both? Maybe my example isn't that strong :) The point still remains that there's more a winners and wanting to win attitude in the US than in The Netherlands.
"there's more a winners and wanting to win attitude in the US than in The Netherlands"
haha, i like you. you're funny.
The story is a bit more complicated. There is the expression 'het beste jongetje van de klas zijn' as well as the expression 'het braafste jongetje van de klas (willen) zijn'. The first expression is quite often used in a positive context, the second one hardly ever. Which is not surprising, because 'the most obedient kid in class' can be extremely obnoxious at times.
I personally believe your story is wrong, especially about not trying to get higher then a 7 or 8. I am dutch myself and i am 21 now, but i never in my life would agree with the things you are telling because they are wrong. The netherlands always had a high standard of education, for example, in america the students have 3 times more vacation than the students in the netherlands. Also it is very hard to score points above an 8. I do agree with the fact that the rules could be bent a lot,and that people here try that a lot, but people who do that succesfully have a change of scoring higher.