Emotioneel afscheid van de meester op de basisschool

What do Dutch kids call their teachers — “meester” and “juf”?

In Dutch primary schools, kids don’t address teachers by surname. A male teacher is meester (“Mr. Teacher”), a female teacher is juf (“Miss Teacher”), and that’s the title. Meester Tim, juf Sanne, or just meester and juf on their own. The system runs from groep 1 through groep 8, switching only at middle school, where students suddenly start using meneer and mevrouw with surnames. Many Dutch adults still remember their meester or juf by first name decades later.

In this clip, a child is leaving primary school and refuses to accept it: “Ik wil geen nieuwe meester.” The repeated “doei” at the door says the rest.