E9-Alt from Norge

Velkommen fra i Norge: [Happy Halloween!]

I am on Day 12 of 14 of my Norwegian trip. I have visited Mysen VEG in Mysen and Hadeland VEG in Gran. While in Mysen, I got a much better opportunity to talk with teachers and administrators than I did at Hadeland. However, Hadeland looks like a school that has more familiarity with me at this time due to their emphasis on School to Work transitions. Both schools have good work transition programs, and way more people assigned to them, but Hadeland appears to be a big more advanced.As I do more research, I may interweave some of these ideas into future references. At no level am I stating this as a summary of Norwegian schools, just a taste of what I observed on this trip.  I have a Norwegian Schools photo album to share with you from my visit. 

Facilities 

Norwegian schools appear to be built much like American high schools. You have the entry/atrium, kind of a commons area for socialization and eating, classrooms much of the day, etc. Their food system is much more cafe-like and it is really common for kids to have multiple places to get kaffe, it seems. Looking at students while they were eating looked quite common to us. Classrooms looked very similar with desks and rows. Teachers were not located at their classrooms, however. They were housed in groups of 4-6 teachers and offices completely set away from their peers. This seemed to foster a very collegial relationship in their offices, as they shared coffee, food and a refrigerator in each office. These offices were pretty generous. We tried this in Hutchinson. It is still going, to some extent. Alexandria did the same. I am not sure how it is working. There did seem to be some collegiality built that may otherwise not be evident. 

There are some really different types of ideas in the trades and professions like electrical, health professions, food service and sales and marketing. They have truly tried to replicate industry in both of these schools. The Hadeland school has some great learning spaces, particularly in culinary. Both schools talked about previous staffing levels that gave them better programs. 

 It is not uncommon to see adults in the building with students. Two cousins came with me to the Hadeland visit. They are 69 and 73 years old. We all just walked in, no ID's and walked right up to the immaculately sourced library above. One interesting note is that there was a US History / Emigration area set up in the Bibliotek that had a book about Spring Grove, MN in there. The entire Bibliotek area had different zones, almost like a Barnes & Noble store (do we still have those?) And, there were lots of people there, just not many students. My cousins raved about the Bibliotek. They go there, get some kaffe, read some books and just hang out, much like the students. They stay for a while and then go home. They spent the duration of my time at school hanging out in the media center. They waved at their grandchildren in "The Cantina". 

School Systems / Taxation

Their overall school system is a bit more cradle-to-grave.Their facilities are paid for by national government taxation. Teachers are paid equally throughout the country, but also have a cost-of living adjustment. A few teachers were pretty clear to me that there is always a lack of funding to support new classes. Funding for the school is determined by the number of "classes" that the state supports, even considering the numbers of students in there. I'm guessing this may have something to do with the "play" in their funding system. 

Their system starts with a Barnahagen, which is equivalent to a Kids-garten. These may even look like a small house that resemble more daycare units, but range to larger units as well. Students attend the barnahagen from ages 1-6 culminating in Kindergarten classes. 

Students then go to a barnaskole or a grundskole (ground), where they attend from grades 1-7. They are somewhat equivalent to our elementary schools. Students take a range of similar subjects while they focus on reading, writing and mathematical concepts like we do. What is different is the focus on a second language and religion. 

Norwegian schools include Foreign Language and Religion as required subjects at multiple levels. This class is taught more from a historical, ethical construct than what we would perceive as religion. English (2nd language) is a required subject at all levels from Grade 2 through Grade 10 usually. With what we know about language acquisition, it doesn't make sense that this has never become the norm in American schools. It seems like this would be helpful for students to learn their own language better, as well as to improve their global perspective. 

Staffing 

The main part of the staffing was secure. There are a number of people that are working in schools that have aide positions. I believe this is a bit the work of a socialist government. Actually, I have run into several relatives that are working at school in some undefined capacity, or at least some less defined capacity. One of my cousins reported that on Wednesday it was a nice day, so they went out into the woods and cooked stuff on the fire. Marshmallows, hot dogs, etc. He seems to like his job. I'm not knocking it, just stating that this is what he told me. 

In Mysen, I was given a tour by a team teacher from the US. He taught Social and had some knowledge of both systems. He was educated in a lot of US Military schools, went to college in the US, got a law degree, practiced for a time and then married a Norwegian woman. At Hadeland, I was toured with their Director of Business & Marketing, Electrical & Food Service. He was a kind of curriculum head without being the principal. 

Curriculum

Norwegian schools have subjects at every grade level consistent with American high schools. The first class I attended was a 1st hour Math class with 25 bored and tired 11th graders. The teacher had a program of instruction, much like we do. The students have a bit more skin in the game as they need to have certain grades for them to advance to the university system, or the type of university they want to attend. Yet, the two VEG schools I went to, there were students of all types there. If students were going through an academic track, they would need Grades 11-13 up to age 19 before attending a university. They do have a focus on their GPA in my few discussions. Students who are going into industry or the apprenticeship route actually quit regular school after Grade 12, and then serve a two-year apprenticeship, as a cook or a carpenter or an electrician, where they acquire hours and 50% of their pay for two years. They are under the supervision of school or state personnel when they do these certified apprenticeship tracks. 

I am on my way back to Minnesota shortly. I may get a school visit in tomorrow. We will see. People are a bit strange when people ask to observe their practice, no? Take care, Patrick

This is list of future futureNewTech podcasts: 

November 5, 4:30pm                 William Grube, Gruvy Education

November 12, 4:30pm               Matt Townsley, Standards-Based Grading

November 19, 9:00am               Randy Fielding, Classrooms Reimagined