This is an email I just sent to my grandfather in Hilton Head. Some parts, of personal meaning, have been edited. But I thought that it might be a good email to post as it goes into a little detail on some of the things I have been thinking about the danish vs. american school system. I think I would like to go into more depth on this topic if you with to discuss it, but... I will warn you. I lose passion in what I am talking about if I think it serves no purpose. :)
Hejsa Bop Bop!
"Hejsa" is a slang way to say hello in danish. Thank you for your email the other day. I really like getting emails from you. Did you have fun playing golf? How is your score? Kasper is dying to get out and play, but as of this evening, we have more snow. Big time bummer. I think it will melt tomorrow though, as most of our days are above freezing now. I am really ready for warm weather. The sun HAS been shining more and the temperature is creeping up, but it is nothing like what I am used to in South Carolina. I miss the sun touching my cheeks and making them warm, even though the temperature is low. That doesn't happen here and I'm sure you could tell me all about the earth's tilt and why the sun feels different here. I wish I could have some of your smarts in my brain. Just 1/4 of your smarts would satisfy me. I think if you'd put much more in me, I'd explode.... I don't know how you get and keep all of that information in your head!
The children are doing great. We talked to Samuel's preschool and to Joseph and Emma's school about moving him up a year so that he can attend kindergarten in the fall. They all agreed and he has been moved up to the older class in preschool. He is ecstatic. He is the youngest by over a year, but no longer does he cry when we drop him off at school. He wakes up in the morning and asks if it's a weekend or not. When we tell him that it is a week DAY he says, "YAY!!" So, this is a really good thing. He is adding two digit numbers now on paper. Smart kid. He must take after you. I can't believe my baby will be 5 next week. How the time flies!
Joseph and Emma have a special week at school this week. They are studying other countries. They have been divided (classes K-3) into separate groups and each group is focused on a different country. Joseph's group is studying Pakistan and Emma's group is studying the USA. They learn about history, scientists, culture, food, and the children that live there. I think it's a neat concept. They have been very excited about it and have SO much to talk about when they get home. I think it connects them to the rest of the world and gives them a bigger picture. At Lake Murray Elementary, a week like this would have consisted of one class period talking about it... but here it's an entire week of hands on! They do the experiments with their own hands and they get to play the games that the children in other countries play. And today, Joseph was going on and on about how they were in the kitchen making Pakistani food! Emma told us at dinner about making dream catchers just like the American Indians and what they believed them to do. It is so nice to hear them actually excited about school and learning. I have a feeling that you would fit right in with these teachers.... other than the discipline... :)
The discipline is less than extraordinary here. There is much that could be said about that. Emma and Joseph's teachers are, from what I can tell, really good at handling their classrooms.
I think a lot of the problems with discipline lie in the fact that parents try to be their children's best friends. They feel guilty that they work full time and want to make every moment enjoyable when they get home... forget adult time. Forget manners... just make it go smoothly... and that's what they think, so a "little rascal" is what they get. I mean, teach nothing, gain nothing... what do they expect?
That's happened in the states too... the parents are stretched beyond belief with desires to "beat the Joneses." I have seen it up close and personally as of late.
BACK TO DISCIPLINE! I really need to find a focus with these emails...
The children here are allowed to be just that... children. This has pros and cons. (Pros for Emma, cons for Joseph and Samuel) They are allowed to jump and wiggle and be silly. That is definitely not so in the states. Our sweet Emma got in a lot of trouble for things such as, "singing in the bathroom," and "singing her responses in class," even if they were right. Now, I'm not sure exactly how these things transpired, but I can absolutely guarantee you, she was not hurting anyone and she was not jumping off of, nor climbing the walls. Here, they are not allowed to hurt each other, but they are allowed to jump off of furniture and climb things. I find Emma, many a day, sitting on top of a table playing a game with a teacher. On top of a table? Yes.
They also are allowed to climb trees at recess (no worry of lawsuits here) and use their sleds at, what I would consider, crazy angles! They are allowed the time to wiggle and shake, jump and yell... many times a day. Not just one recess time, but two. Not just one free time, but three. So, the children learn at a slower rate here (not learning how to read until they are 7 or 8), but they are also completely prepared to sit still when the time comes to learn something real. Now, our 3 American children are not like that, well the boys for the most part... They started in the American school system and have learned how to read, write, and count according to "American" standards. I don't think there is anything wrong with that... as long as it fits the child. Samuel reads better than Emma. She doesn't care! and doesn't want to... she hates it. But here in Denmark, that's okay. She'll get to it when she has to. Now is just not the time. To her teachers, she is learning so much more! She is learning culture, language, social skills, and when it is time and she is ready, she will read.
In the states, we had already had a meeting, with her at 5 years... that she was not reading and had "behavioral problems." There was something wrong with her, is what they said. What exactly? They could not say. I think her only problem is desire. You cannot make someone desire something no matter what you say or do. It has to come from within. Here, the education systems allow time for that. Here, they allow for her to look at her peers and see what they are doing... "hmm, maybe I could do that too." She does not have a learning disability! She is not a problem child! She just develops at her own pace! The "No child left behind program," was maybe created, by God love him, George W. Bush, for an "Emma type" child, but it has become the bane of every teacher's existance and has become the hot iron in my poor Emma's side. She's not ADD. She is not impaired. She has no disorders. And by gosh, that does not mean she is stupid! She is not stupid! She is "American system deficiant." What can we do to improve our system? What can we say to the public that says, earlier is not necessarily better? What can we do to broaden the world view of American students? What can we do to stop the labeling of children with various disabilities just because they don't meet "standards?"
I am grateful for the Danish educational system for Emma's sake. I am also grateful for it for the boys' sake, in a lot of respects. They listen to the parent and that is why Joseph has stayed in the first grade (emotionally not ready for the next level, even though he is smart as heck!), and why Samuel was allowed to move up (emotinally and brain ready).
They also find the child's individual emotional health of great importance!
The first parent teacher conferance we had about Joseph focused mostly on his emotional well being. They made it clear that he did not make mistakes on classwork, homework, or tests. But they also had no fear in saying that he was lacking in other areas. That, because he was so smart and "with it" in the class room, he was distracted and therefore distracting other students while still giving the right answers in class. He was also having a very hard time fitting in with the boys in the class. In America, they are not allowed to "be boys." They are harnessed. In Denmark, they are allowed to fight and wrestle and "be boys." It was and is intimidating for our poor, little sweet Joseph. So, instead of only focusing on academic acheivement, like they do in the states, they focused on his emotional development. He was leaps and bounds ahead in smarts, but not so in the emotional realm. So, they focused on that and gave practical solutions. Brilliant!
Samuel has the best of both worlds... thank the good Lord! He is smart, incredibly good looking like you, and tough as nails. Lucky kid! So, with a little pushing from us, his needs are met too.
In America, that wouldn't happen. All 3 of my kids would NOT have their needs met, with their 3 very different needs and talents.
Maybe it was just South Carolina....
I believe, although I am not entirely sure that it is true, that the government has too much influence in the public school system. What do you think?
Tough question if you look at all of the various parts.
Wow! Sorry for the long-winded email!
