School satchels and rucksacks are hanging out on poles from balconies and windows again to celebrate successful secondary school final exam results. But how prepared are our girls and boys to enter the information economy?

Kees Tetteroo is chairman of the board of Eindhoven’s Vocational Training College (ROC) and also sits on the Platform for Innovation, which brings together government, business, universities and colleges. He says things are going well as far as skills such as working in a team and the ability to analyse and solve problems go.

However, he complains that too little attention is being paid to numeracy and literacy. Universities and colleges are increasingly having to do run extra courses to bring these skills up to standard. Too few science students in further education is also a major problem. “We’ve got thriving industry, but it’s getting more difficult to find well qualified people.”
 
Girls
It has always been difficult to interest girls in science subjects. Mr Tetteroo: “We know girls want - if I can put it like this - to make the world a better place. Today’s challenges are all to do with sustainability. New technology will be required to keep the world habitable. That’s why it’s sensible that girls as well as boys get involved with physics, chemistry and biology.”

One good way to interest girls (and boys) in science subjects is to make lessons really practical. Kees Grolleman, a chemistry teacher at the Hofstad Lyceum school in The Hague, regularly takes his students on trips, for example to Shell, and gets them to do projects which involve a mix of subjects.

Birds in flight
Mr Grolleman: “We’re working on a project called ‘Flying’, which involves physics, chemistry, biology, history and arts and crafts. The type of questions dealt with might include: ‘How does fuel work?’ or ‘How do birds remain aloft?’ The students make planes and compete to construct the one which looks the best and the one which stays longest in the air. You should come and see how much fun they have.”

Other secondary schools are also doing this sort of work, but it will be years before the initiative produces enough boys and girls enthusiastic about the sciences.

Photo: Crocusje at Flickr