Students allowed to choose their classmates

Primary school De Biekorf in Houthalen-Helchteren, Limburg province, lets children determine with whom they definitely don’t want to be in class in the next school year. “This way, we get a better view on the relationships in the class, and this results in a better atmosphere,” management of the school told Het Nieuwsblad.

In several other schools, this “negative choice” is only accepted if it is deemed really necessary. “People can request it, but we also ask for the reason,” said the director of secondary school Kindsheid Jesu in Hasselt. 

Many education experts are not very enthusiastic about this form of joint decision making. “Determining with whom you don’t want to be in class is a step too far,” said Bert Smits of the platform for education innovation Het Mysterie van Onderwijs (The Mystery of Education). “We cannot individualise everything. However, if there is a big inter-personal problem, the option must be negotiable, and the school should take its responsibility. But these are very exceptional cases.”

Marc Hermans, head of the teacher education programme at PXL University College in Hasselt, also has his doubts about the value of the system. “We should teach children how to deal with conflicts,” he told Het Belang Van Limburg. “If they don’t encounter them in class, they will come into contact with them outside the class. This system rather creates problems than solving them.”