My Erasmus learning experience in Rotterdam

By guest editor Rosemary from Ireland

Although there are clear educational benefits to be gained from going on student Erasmus exchange, it is not the only reason to take part. The course in itself, gave me a different perspective. It was more European and it was interesting to compare two countries. Holland is a very modern and multi-cultural place so you really get to see how they established their state and constitution in a very open minded and liberal manner. We studied subjects such as Global Citizenship and Multiculturalism, which really helped open our minds to modern thinking and understanding of the future’s Education System.

The Erasmus Programme’s origins: Formalised in 1987, the programme was named after the Dutch Renaissance philosopher Desiderius Erasmus, who was a keen proponent of pan-European study as a means to ensure that education did not become dogmatic. By offering European students the opportunity to experience a different education system, the Erasmus programme hopes to encourage a pluralistic approach to learning and, consequently, improve the education available to all EU citizens. I agree that the Erasmus experience certainly improved my understanding of education and has helped me in my approach to my third year of study in Montessori Education with confidence.

Hogeschool Rotterdam is one of the best colleges in Europe, so the standard of teaching and the standard of the students were really great, so I have improved greatly in critical thinking and essay formatting. Nevertheless, it was outside the lecture environment that I felt the biggest gains were made. I feel much more comfortable now than I maybe would have perhaps before X-mas because you really do have no choice but to come out of your shell a bit more and take part in putting yourself outside of your comfort zone. This personal development side of Erasmus is certainly something that I benefited from the programme. I feel I have matured and gained better independence. Basically I have learned how to do things independently for the first time by myself; I didn’t have my normal support structures such as friends and family to rely on. A lot of the students in my class also had some great travel opportunities. While in The Netherlands, you’re only a short train ride away from another country and so a lot of my classmates have gone home with some great travel stories. My fellow student and I visited other Erasmus students from our class to Leuven, Belgium which was so much fun and easy to do.

I cannot express enough how valuable this experience was both for me personally and educationally. I have made some really great friends who have all left me with open invites to come visit them when I would like. I have grown so much in such a short amount of time which leaves me to appreciate that I am capable of so much as a future teacher and Montessorian. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and for believing in me to successfully complete and appreciate the Erasmus Programme. It was really “Prima.!”