Chapter 12: The Netherlands: On Crossing The Big Pond

Before I immigrated to the United States, I knew that New Amsterdam, founded in 1625 by the Dutch, had become New York in 1664. However, I was clueless when it came to Hans Brinker and The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge published in 1865, the very same year the American Civil War came to an end. My mother-in-law recommended that I read this classic. So, I did. Having grown up in The Netherlands, little did I know that Hans Brinker actually saved my country by sticking his finger in a leak in one of the many dikes that protect our country from the sea. As a recent immigrant, I soon realized that stereotypical images of The Netherlands as a country of wooden shoes, windmills, and tulips remained alive and well. As a teacher and teacher educator, it became my never-ending mission to instill a sense of global awareness in my students.