new ideas and new do's

This week we have been getting a lot of expose in our area of work. Today I went to the University of Gavle. It was two blocks from my host family's house. Actually my host mother works there in the Math department, but on this day she was going out of town. I met with the Dean of students who told me a lot about the school, specifically the teaching department. University is free in Sweden, except that you do need to pay for books and accomodation. This University had about 13,000 students with half of them actually attending the campus and the other half doing distance learning. She told me that the school has been changing its teaching program as per the government. Normally education students take 1 1/2 years of general courses, followed by specialty courses based on what area of education they are interested in. This was similiar to the USA. But now they are starting to reorganize the program so that you start off specializing right away. Where before a highschool and a preschool teacher would take similiar classes to begin, now they will be separate. They will separate into 0-5 years, 7-9, 10-13, 13-16, and 16-19. To me this seemed a very small window and I wondered how limiting that would be for getting a job. She said that there is shortage of teachers in this area, but I dont think I personally would like to be that limited in what ages I could teach.



She said that schools do a PISA evaluation which compares them to the rest of the world in education. This gives them direction on what courses to offer students interseted in education. Another difference I found out about in education is that schools here don't do as much testing. So in Sweden there is no WKCE, but she said that it was coming.



After meeting with the Dean, I had a brief tour of the campus, and then met the lady in charge in international relations. She was in charge of helping the international students at the university. She also had two children similiar in ages to that of my students so our conversation really steered towards that. I learned that it is custom in Sweden to have the same teacher for three years (1-3, 4-6, 7-9). She couldn't believe that was not normal and asked me how students adjust to so many teachers. She also told me about how each student at her son's school gets weekly goals which tell which pages they will have to do each night for homework. They have to do some planning on Monday and have to tell what they learned on Friday. I thought that was a very good idea. I asked about homework and it sounds like we have a similiar amount. Her son received 3 pages of Reading homework a few nights a week and the same with Math. He also had his English language homework.

In the afternoon I decided to do like the Swedes do and get my hair dyed blonde. Many people here are blonde haired with blue eyes, so I fit in great. I knew I was blending in when I stopped in H&M afterwards and had a transaction with no English spoken! We finished the night with a symphony performance at the concert hall a short distance from my host family.

A day at Vikingaskolan

Today I was at Vikingaskolan or "the viking school." I spend most of my time in a 6th grade classroom. First I met with the headmaster or principal. I found out that schools in Sweden don't do suspensions or expulsions. However, his school did do detentions, which the community was not always happy about. I found it interesting that again this school didn't allow the children to wear shoes in the school. In talking to the 6th grade teacher I found that this is the norm in Sweden.

I observed a Social Studies class where the students were working with atlases and different maps around the world. During the students morning break I was able to talk more to the teachers. One role that they had in this school that I thought would also be effective in my own school, is the position of student coach. It was a teacher who didn't have a classroom, but instead went around the school assisting teachers with difficult children. It was someone that all students looked to as authority. I saw him walk by the room several times in the hour I was observing and found out that his job is just to help with students when they leave the classroom or when they need encouragement/discipline to do the right thing and ultimately to get them back to working again. This particular guy also helped coach/teach some sports but his main job was just to free up the teachers from having to take class time to work with students who were having difficulty. It was more a work with character than with academic challenges.

After break I observed a textiles class consisting of woodworking, sewing, and weaving. The students had a lot of choice in this class. THey had to make a plan of what they wanted to make in a sketch book...then the teacher would assist them in learning the skills they needed. Students were making everything from wooden shelves and boxes, to placemat on a weaving maching, to bags on a sewing machine, and even one girl was knitting a scarf. I loved the selection and opportunity offered to these students.

I spent the rest of the morning talking to a Grade 5 student. They wanted me to chat with him because he was one of the best English speaking students and really loved learning about the USA. I was so impressed with his English skills. HE didn't have to pause for words..it was like talking to an English speaking native. He was almost more well spoken than most Americans. I really see how much of a priority learning a second lanaguage is in Sweden.

The students had a half day because of a teacher inservice, so I left at lunch time to attend a rotary meeting and presentation. In the evening we had what is known as an "after work." It's a time when working people stay in town and meet out for a drink at a local pub. It was nice to get to talk to all the team members and regroup after our long week. With three days of vocational visits, it almost felt like a work week :).