Transcript school - Integrationsnet

SCHOOL
Most children in Denmark attend ‘folkeskole’. A free
offer of education for all children after kindergarten.
The child starts in ‘børnehaveklasse’ at the age of 5-6
years. Also called ‘class 0’. Børnehaveklasse prepares
the child for schooling. There is room for learning
numbers and letters, playing, singing, short trips
outside the school, and learning to be quiet and sit
quietly during lessons.
It is emphasized that it must be fun to attend to school
and that children find joy in learning new skills.
Otherwise 10 years in school can be an awful long time!
Typically, the lessons will vary a lot and the teachers
will experiment with different methods of learning, new
technology, group work, interdisciplinary themes etc.
more about SCHOOLS ….
Education is compulsory in Denmak for everyone between ages 6
and 16 - from grade 0 to grade 9 (0. – 9. ‘klasse’). An extra year
(10. klasse) is possible – to strengthen either skills or maturity.
Another possibililty during the last years is ‘efterskole’, a boarding
school. It is education itself that is compulsory, not school. So
whether the education is received in a public school, a private school
or at home is a matter of choice, as long as the standards are met.
The child belongs to the same class all years. It is very rare to fail
and repeat one level. However, it is the responsibility of the parents
to ensure that the child is mature for schooling and not attend school
too early. It is important to have a dialogue with the kindergarten
about the issue.
Thus, when your child enter the school, you will be included in a
‘class community’ together with other children and parents that will
last for 10 years. This community feeling is given a high priority and
all parents have a responsibility to maintain it.
Reception class
Some schools place minority children with poor
Danish language skills in a reception class for a
shorter period of time to prepare for ordinary
schooling.
No later than three months after arrival, the child will
be presented with the class she or he belongs to.
THE ROLE OF PARENTS
It is expected that parents actively take part in
schooling:
• Participate in parents’ consultation once or twice a
year. Typically, it lasts for 20 minutes and sometimes
your child also participates.
• Participate in a couple of parents meetings every year
• Take part in social gatherings together with the
children, trips outside the school, sleepovers, theater
etc. It is a nice way of socializing with other parents
and children.
• And you are always welcome to take part in lessons at
school. Just make an appointment with the teacher in
advance.
More expectations towards parents…..
Support the education of your child. Even if your own
Danish language skills are limited, there are important
ways:
- Your child has got a good nights sleep. Small children
need 10-11 hours.
- Carries a healthy lunch box
- Keeps the school bag tidy
- Remember clothes and towel for sports
- Plan your vacation together with the vacation periods of
the school, to avoid to much absence
(Integrationsnet has a list of inspiration with more issues)
Possibilities for influence
Every class has a parents’ council or contact parents. They have
regular contact with the head teacher and represent the other
parents of the class. The council discuss day-to-day issues and
problems like bullying, use of mobiles, birthday celebrations,
parties, use of alcohol, smoking etc. The council also prepares
social events of the class to strengthen the community feeling.
The earlier good connections are established among the parents,
the easier it is to solve problems among the children.
Participating in the council is a good way of extending your
network in Denmark and get much more information about the
school and life of children and parents in Denmark in general.
Have any of you already that kind of experience from your home
countries?
More about influence ….
At every school the head master refers to a board of
elected members. Most of them are parents and the
head of the board is a parent.
You can also engage in the board of the SFO or club,
both of them are paid after school activities for your
child.
Which possibilities of influence do you know of from
your home countries?
CHOICE OF SCHOOL
Automatically, your child
belongs to a school in your
neighborhood. Thus, your child
will have playmates nearby
and transport time will be
limited.
It is possible to choose another
‘folkeskole’, but you might be
put on a waiting list, if it is a
popular school.
Private schools is another
option, but here you have to
pay a monthly fee.
More about choice of school ….
You need to consider leisure time possibilities after school
hours. Most schools have ‘SFO’ (skolefritidsordning) for
children from grade 0 to grade 3. From grade 4 the child
can attend club. Usually, the activities close at 5 p.m.
You have to pay a monthly fee for SFO and club, but if you
have a low income or more children attending, you can
receive subsidies from the municipality.
The SFO and club is an extra possibility for playing and
learning, getting new friends and practicing the Danish
language. It stimulates social and creative competences.
In some of the larger cities you will find ‘all day schooling’.
A special offer which also includes doing homework.
Danish as a second language
Schools with many minority children have teachers that
have specialized in teaching children who have Danish as
their second language.
Talk with the school if your child has a special need for
language- training or support.
Be aware that Danish as a second language has an
influence in all subjects at school, not only language
lessons. It can be hard to understand the wording of maths
if you are not fluent in Danish.
Thus, ask the school how they deal with Danish as a second
language.
More about Danish as a second language…
Danish as a second language as a dimension in
all subjects means that the teacher consciously
tries to use a lot of words and create dialogue
around a subject. E.g. in sports, cooking and
creative subjects it is not necessary to use a lot
of words – BUT a lot of words can be hidden in
the subject and it is a great support for
minority children to speak out and write down
those words.
As an example, in the music lesson the children
can prepare in groups a small presentation
about an instrument or in art explain the
techniques used and how the colors were
mixed.
Mother-tongue education
According to EC legislation citizens from other EC
countries and Greenland, Faroe Islands, Norway,
Iceland and Liechtenstein have the right to
receive mother-tongue education.
For other nationalities the municipality can
choose, but are not obliged to offer mothertongue education.
It is a problem in Denmark that a large number
of minority children have two ‘half languages’
which is a major obstacle when continuing in the
educational system after ‘folkeskole’.
Common subjects
These subjects are taught at school:
Danish
Arts
Sports
Cooking
English
Social studies
Maths
Music
Woodwork
History
German
Physics / Chemistry
Biology
Christianity
Needlecraft
Geography
French
The ministry of education has norms for the number of lessons in
each subject, but the individual schools are free to choose their
own learning and teaching methods.
Camp school is a compulsory part of the curriculum.
Do you know all the subjects from your own childhood?
Christianity
Christianity teaching is a part of the Danish ‘folkeskole’.
However, it is important to notice that the teacher is not
allowed to preach and teaching about other religions and
ethics in general is a part of the curriculum.
A good teacher includes the religion of all children in the
class and respect that some teaching methods are not
acceptable to all e.g. Muslim children are not allowed to
draw their God. A typical task for a Christian child.
It is possible to be exempted from Christianity, but be
aware that you child will loose this knowledge and the
language training included, and often the school do not
offer alternative teaching.
Sports
It is expected that all children
shower after sports. In
Denmark, the children have
common bathrooms. One for
the boys and one for the
girls.
If your child finds it difficult
to shower together with other
children, then talk to the
teacher to find a practical
solution, e.g. a shower
curtain.
Special support
If your children has special needs, e.g. dyslexia, a
consultation with the school psychologist is typically
required. The psychologist can test your child and obtain
the documentation needed to get the municipality to pay
the costs for special support.
Be aware that an important role of the head teacher is to
secure the wellbeing of your child. Thus, it is important that
you have a dialogue with the teacher, if your child is not
happy, experience bullying or if you have serious issues
affecting the family like divorce, death or illness.
If you feel that the head teacher is not willing to listen then
contact the head master of the school.
Interdisciplinary subjects
The school also teach general education such as:
-
healthy living
traffic
environment
sex education
avoiding bullying
Parents are expected to back up and talk with the children about
the issues.
The school does not allow bullying: ‘A girl is not bullied because
she has red hair and glasses, but because the class has developed
a culture of intolerance’. Thus, it is the responsibility of the class
and all parents to solve the problem.
ASK ALWAYS if you do not understand the purpose of activities at
school.
Do you want to know more ?
Contact the pedagogical consultant of your municipality
or
Watch the movie: ’Welcome to the Danish folkeskole’
www.uvm.dk/service/publikationer/publikationer/folkesk
olen/2010/velkommen-til-den-danskefolkeskole/engelsk. It is uploaded in different
languages.