Although it’s been a subject in the media for a long time now, to me it’s actually Elizabeth who started blogging about this in my circle of friends, and I want to finish it. We have almost the same experiences from the School of Unity*, which is in fact what politicians in this country like to call the public school system here. The word alone give me the chills. No one is better or worse than the other, we are all the same. Except that we’re not.
In Norway it’s expected that all students learn the same things at the same time, which is also why our high school exams are the same all over the country, on the same day – to prove that all students in Norway spend 13 years learning the same, and writing the same, no matter what background you have. Sounds perfect doesn’t it? But let’s have a look on the other side of the coin, shall we? To make sure that all students in Norway learn the same you have to make sure that they’re all on the same level. No one should go above the state drawn line of knowledge. You can of course score below that line, and then you’ll receive special education, tutoring, or other help to make sure you get on level with the rest again. But if you score above the rest, the teachers and your fellow students need to beak you down until you level out with the rest.
One of my Facebook friends said something the other day and it made me so angry that I closed my whole Facebook profile in protest. I respect this man, as a politician from my own party, and as a friend. But I couldn’t take it any more. The debate about the school system here in Norway needs a shift of focus. From focusing only on the students who don’t perform as well as the other, to focus on all the students. My friend said something in the lines of: ”we need to get more special trained teachers into the schools, already in elementary school to help the students who lag behind. The good students will make it no matter what”. Well, do they?
I spent 11 of my school years in the Norwegian school system being bullied by my teachers because I was better than the students in my class, better than some of them at times. My class mates didn’t like me either, no one likes a smart kid. Which is a problem in the Norwegian school system. There is one thing we can’t deny, and that is that we’re all different. Some are good at maths, some are good at drawing, some are good at languages, some excel in history or science, some run fast, some run long, some don’t run at all. There is nothing wrong about that. We’re taught from kindergarten onwards to celebrate the diversities in the class room when it comes to race, cultural and religious backgrounds, and still we’re all supposed to be all the same? It’s so wrong, it’s so backwards.
There is nothing wrong with the theory behind the school of unity, everyone should after the compulsory 10 years in school know the same things. But is it really so bad if someone manages to learn it all in 8 years? Or 12? Why do we have to stick to the idea that students only learn in an age-equal environment? I don’t think I would have done much better if I had been in a class with students who were a year or two older than myself, if we were all on the same level. What if I had been allowed to explore my talents, be challenged a bit in school, would I still look back on all the years of schooling with dread? Maybe I would have had at least one good memory from the institution I spent my youth in.
If you’re lucky today, and you’re good at maths in elementary school, you might be allowed to take maths in middle school, and if you’re good in middle school, you can follow maths classes in high school. A handful of high schools have a special agreement with a local college or university that good math students can take some classes on a higher level. But this is only for the good math students. If you’re good at languages no such arrangement applies. Good at geography? Well, stay in your class with kids who are the same age but on a lower level.
At the end of middle school I could have gone to any school and any program in Oslo, my grades were good enough to get me accepted at the most popular schools in the city. But I chose the art program at a local high school. A school that is not really known for its outstanding academical record, but a good arts program. I didn’t choose arts because I’m particularly good at it, but because it’s more practical than theoretical, less homework, more group work. I didn’t enjoy it very much, I missed science, social science, history, English and French, ethics, geography, in fact I missed more academical work. Practical is fun, but I didn’t learn anything from it.
By the time I went to high school I had learned how to dumb down, and I pretended that I was on the same level as my class mates, it works until you get your first assignments back. It was better that way, I didn’t get exploited as much as in middle school, the teachers didn’t ask me to go and sit in the back of the class room and not raise my hand until the other students had been given a chance to think, my work wasn’t compared to the rest of the class before it was graded, my work got valued more, and I got good feedback from my teachers. People stopped saying ‘this is what we expected from you’.
It’s not always about being smart, sometimes it’s just about motivation. Some students are more motivated than others, and they might learn faster. But should they be punished for that? Why can’t we try to acknowledge that all students have different needs and build our school system in a way that will make all kids find somewhere to fit in, instead of focusing only on the weaker or less motivated students? I think that all students should be given the same opportunities to learn. Some need more help, some need bigger challenges. And all students should be seen, not as one, but as the diversity they bring to the class.
Thank you for your attention.
*The English equivalent of the Norwegian ‘enhetsskole’ is actually ‘comprehensive school’ but the Norwegian name ‘school of unity’ shows what this actually is about.
