Dutch educators sample college, culture through IVCC exchange program

Two college educators from The Netherlands expected to learn how Illinois does college. Now they can also add Halloween, Walmart and bald eagles to their list of discoveries.

Ryan Smulders and Judith de Kloe are wrapping up two weeks in the Illinois Valley before returning home to Den Bosch and Eindhoven, The Netherlands. They work in two colleges in cities about 30 minutes apart.

On campus, the pair observed classes and labs and met faculty, staff and administration. Smulders, who teaches social sciences for nursing students, spent a day shadowing IVCC nursing students at the Ottawa hospital. De Kloe, who is involved in student services and retention, conferred with counterparts with similar roles.

“They’ll participate in all aspects of college life,” said Amanda Cook Fesperman, coordinator of IVCC’s International and Multicultural Education and Study Abroad program. “They see how we do our work and share how their colleges function similarly or differently. We all have a chance to learn and grow.”

Both visitors were struck by how IVCC faculty and staff support students in classrooms and throughout training. College faculty and programs bridge the leap between school and workforce here, Smulders said.

While observing an adult education class, de Kloe noticed the lesson didn’t start immediately because the instructor took time to talk with students. “He realized students are going through a lot mentally, and he took the time to talk about things happening in their lives,” she said.

Smulders and de Kloe want to bring back examples of campus clubs and their influence. Smulders believes activities help motivate students. By contrast, in Holland, clubs and activities take place off campus.

Both visitors have drawn curiosity and questions in classrooms, and the exchanges have been enlightening for both sides.

Unlike Illinois community colleges where students might range in age from 16 to 60, most college students de Kloe and Smulders work with are in their teens and 20s. While Dutch colleges prohibit cell phone use on campus, American students use theirs as teaching and learning aides, de Kloe and Smulders noticed.

De Kloe was excited to immerse herself in a campus that acknowledges and celebrates learning diversity and “listens to what students need and understands that everybody brings something different.” Her task now is to transmit that understanding and energy to faculty at home.

Smulders and de Kloe also enjoyed off-campus adventures. It’s been hard to miss Americans’ love of Halloween and decorating, which easily outpaces Holland’s, as do fast-food choices. Americans shop at stores with a bewildering array of goods, where hunting supplies are found next to Christmas décor which is next to pharmaceuticals, Smulders observed.

De Kloe looked forward to exploring an Ottawa bookstore, while Smulders tasted Cracker Barrel chicken dinners, warm apple cider and cider donuts – and enjoyed them all.

A riverboat trip down the Illinois River "was marvelous. And we saw eagles!” de Kloe said. In Holland, where 17 million people are packed into an area the size of Maryland, nature isn’t always available right out the back door. But de Kloe says there’s still corn growing, though “not as big as here.” Dairy cows are abundant, and so are tulips.

And Illinois terrain? “People call Illinois flat … well, come to Holland. That’s FLAT!”  de Kloe said.

Smulders and de Kloe are here through the Illinois Consortium for International Studies and Programs, a student and professional study abroad program. Their hosts, Director of Admission Tom Quigley and psychology instructor Rick Mangold, will travel to Holland next spring.