As I sat down at the computer today with the intention of informing you all what mischief I've been up to (just kidding, probably more like what I've ate, where I've been) I got the idea of just elaborating on the education system of Denmark, more specifically the high school level. Here, high school starts around the tenth grade at a school called gymnasium, but not everyone joins right after folkeskole, or grade school. The students have the option of after ninth grade to either go straight to gymnasium or they can go for another year at folkeskole if they don't feel ready yet for gymnasium, no pressure. That's not the only option, though. Students can also choose to go to an efterskole for a year or two after folkeskole. At efterskole, (usually these schools are called hojskole), students can choose a particular area of study they want to focus on, such as art, music, sports, languages and stick to these subjects. They usually live at the school in dorms and can spend up to two years there. Introcamp actually took place at one of these schools, and l have to admit that it would be pretty neat to spend a whole year there. Also, just the whole idea that the Danish education system gives the kids options so they can choose themselves and pursue interests that may not be available at normal gymnasiums allows these students to not feel liked they're just being pushed through a school system onto high school.
Now, onto the more specifics of gymnasiums. My first impression of gymnasium here was nothing like my first impression of high school in America. My freshman year, I was a nervous wreck the first week of school and going to school on the first day honestly felt like I was entering into some type of prison. (it's brutally honest, but when your high school has limited windows, bland lockers, and a no-leaving-the-campus policy it does feel like you're in prison). Entering into gymnasium about six weeks ago, I definitely got the feeling that people actually wanted to be here. There were a ton of windows and artwork around the school, making it brighter, happier place. Also, when teachers are sick or can't make it to their lesson, they just cancel the class instead of calling in a sub. I like this idea because first of all, this means I get to sleep in a lot more and second of all, it prepares students better for University when classes just get randomly canceled. Like I said before, we're allowed to leave the campus during the school hours. For example, I walked to the supermarket down the road with a few friends during lunch hour a few times, and no one really cared. There weren't any administration running after me and no one called my parents wondering if I was purposefully skipping school. During class breaks, I'm also allowed to walk around outside which is nice because I don't feel so confined mentally. This said, you are allowed to leave campus any time which means people do skip classes. This isn't a real problem though because here, it appears students are given that responsibility and respect it. Students here are then much more responsible because they have to check their schedule daily (since classes do get cancelled) and show up to class by free will which will prepare them well for university. One thing here I'm not so sure about though is that although you do change classes, the people in your class don't change. This means you're with the same 20ish students all day. I like this idea because I get to know my classmates better, but at the same time it's hard to wrap my head around the small class size. Another random thing is that we call teachers by their first name here. That threw me off a little the first week, but I got used to it.
This brings me to my final point of the Danish school system which is that at the gymnasium level, dress codes don't exist. At first, I could hardly believe this, instead relying on some moral code of how students should dress, but I soon realized that as gymnasium students, we know how to dress appropriately. People here are able to express themselves through fashion and the best part is, no one is distracted. This made me realize that the Carroll-style dress code almost distracts students more because they worry about what to wear more or can spend the day worrying getting caught because their skirt is four (not three) inches above the knee. And when students get "dress coded" back in the U.S. they could spend the rest of the day humiliated and just wanting to go home instead of focusing on school work (which is the real reason why we are at school!). Without a dress code, we can focus on school and administration can focus on other things and no one feels humiliated, scared, worried, or objectified.
I know this sounds like a rant (especially towards the end, when I get quite passionate about the harshness of dress codes) but I would just like to bring to light how different the Danish education system can be. The United State's education system is going through some rough times and many places are looking for reform, so maybe they could observe and learn from the Danish education system a bit to be able to carry out these reforms. That's it for now, I think I'll just stick to normal blog posts from now on :)
Hej hej,
Sophie
Now, onto the more specifics of gymnasiums. My first impression of gymnasium here was nothing like my first impression of high school in America. My freshman year, I was a nervous wreck the first week of school and going to school on the first day honestly felt like I was entering into some type of prison. (it's brutally honest, but when your high school has limited windows, bland lockers, and a no-leaving-the-campus policy it does feel like you're in prison). Entering into gymnasium about six weeks ago, I definitely got the feeling that people actually wanted to be here. There were a ton of windows and artwork around the school, making it brighter, happier place. Also, when teachers are sick or can't make it to their lesson, they just cancel the class instead of calling in a sub. I like this idea because first of all, this means I get to sleep in a lot more and second of all, it prepares students better for University when classes just get randomly canceled. Like I said before, we're allowed to leave the campus during the school hours. For example, I walked to the supermarket down the road with a few friends during lunch hour a few times, and no one really cared. There weren't any administration running after me and no one called my parents wondering if I was purposefully skipping school. During class breaks, I'm also allowed to walk around outside which is nice because I don't feel so confined mentally. This said, you are allowed to leave campus any time which means people do skip classes. This isn't a real problem though because here, it appears students are given that responsibility and respect it. Students here are then much more responsible because they have to check their schedule daily (since classes do get cancelled) and show up to class by free will which will prepare them well for university. One thing here I'm not so sure about though is that although you do change classes, the people in your class don't change. This means you're with the same 20ish students all day. I like this idea because I get to know my classmates better, but at the same time it's hard to wrap my head around the small class size. Another random thing is that we call teachers by their first name here. That threw me off a little the first week, but I got used to it.
This brings me to my final point of the Danish school system which is that at the gymnasium level, dress codes don't exist. At first, I could hardly believe this, instead relying on some moral code of how students should dress, but I soon realized that as gymnasium students, we know how to dress appropriately. People here are able to express themselves through fashion and the best part is, no one is distracted. This made me realize that the Carroll-style dress code almost distracts students more because they worry about what to wear more or can spend the day worrying getting caught because their skirt is four (not three) inches above the knee. And when students get "dress coded" back in the U.S. they could spend the rest of the day humiliated and just wanting to go home instead of focusing on school work (which is the real reason why we are at school!). Without a dress code, we can focus on school and administration can focus on other things and no one feels humiliated, scared, worried, or objectified.
I know this sounds like a rant (especially towards the end, when I get quite passionate about the harshness of dress codes) but I would just like to bring to light how different the Danish education system can be. The United State's education system is going through some rough times and many places are looking for reform, so maybe they could observe and learn from the Danish education system a bit to be able to carry out these reforms. That's it for now, I think I'll just stick to normal blog posts from now on :)
Hej hej,
Sophie