Once Told Not to Aim High, Son of Moroccan Immigrants Becomes a Teacher

“Don’t aim too high. Don’t be too ambitious.” Karim Amghar still remembers his primary school teacher’s words. At the end of primary school, his score on the Cito test qualified him for the havo/vwo tracks, which lead to higher education. Yet his teacher advised him to choose vmbo-kader, a lower-level vocational track.

Born in the Netherlands to Moroccan parents, Karim grew up in Bleiswijk, near Rotterdam, in a family of eleven children. His parents could neither read nor write. He hoped to continue his education alongside his friends. “It broke my heart,” he said at a conference in Nijmegen on October 15, according to Ey! Daily.

The teenager gradually turned away from school. He says he missed 80% of classes during two vocational courses and considered dropping out altogether. His brother encouraged him to try higher education and got him an entrance test. Karim passed. Meanwhile, Hans, a neighborhood police officer, regularly took the time to talk with him, he told Gers! Rotterdam.

From discouraged student to teacher

His path eventually brought him back to a classroom, but on the other side of the desk. After working in the private sector, he became a vocational teacher, then a writer and television presenter. He strives to take his students seriously, even when their grades or behavior count against them.

At his conference at HAN University of Applied Sciences, he recalled the decisive role played by his brother and the police officer. “I needed someone who believed in me,” HAN University->https://www.han.nl/artikelen/2026/10/gezondheid-begint-bij-gelijke-kansen/ reported in an account published on October 26.

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On October 15, Karim Amghar also proposed reducing class sizes in disadvantaged neighborhoods so teachers could spend more time with each child.