It is lovely to see the summer weather finally
arrive in Copenhagen and this week it has been beautiful which was perfect as I
had a friend from home to visit. We had
a great time enjoying the sights in the sun but unfortunately when she left the
work began for me.
 |
| Enjoying the sun with Jenni. |
As this is our final
month and half the group has gone home, we have no classes for the rest of our
time here. However this ‘free time’ is
mainly taken up with work on an Individual Assignment. This assignment can be based on any topic of
your choice but must be comparative with your home country. You also have to complete field visits,
observations and interviews. I have
decided to base my project upon an investigation into the Primary School
starting age in Denmark compared with the starting age in the UK as this is
something which I have questioned numerous times since my arrival here and I
have begun to wonder whether starting children in school at age four in
Northern Ireland really is the right thing to do. Therefore this seemed like a great
opportunity to investigate not only my questions but the idea of childhood in
Denmark and why they do things the way they do.
This week I began making school visits, observing and conducting
interviews and so far it has been extremely interesting.
My first visit was to a
1st Grade class – the equivalent of our Year 1, only in Denmark the
children are seven/eight years old instead of four. Here I learnt a lot through observing and
speaking with the teacher. She told me
that this was her class now until they were in 5th Grade and that
she taught them most subjects but sometimes a different teacher came in to
teach them Maths for example. I was very
surprised by the behaviour as in a lot of the classes I have been in there
appears to be no discipline, however, this class was the complete
opposite. The atmosphere was still very
free and relaxed but the children knew how to behave and what was expected of
them. It was interesting to watch what
activities they were completing and I couldn’t help but think how children in
Northern Ireland are doing the same work only three years earlier. Another interesting idea the school had was
that after the children had worked for 45 minutes they got a 5 minute break
outside to run about and burn off energy before the next lesson began. This seemed to work well and is definitely something
I would like to look into at home. However,
it made me think about how children in Northern Irish schools only got breaks
twice a day and this sometimes does seem to restrict their learning as they
become restless and agitated when sitting still for too long.
My first visit was to a
1st Grade class – the equivalent of our Year 1, only in Denmark the
children are seven/eight years old instead of four. Here I learnt a lot through observing and
speaking with the teacher. She told me
that this was her class now until they were in 5th Grade and that
she taught them most subjects but sometimes a different teacher came in to
teach them Maths for example. I was very
surprised by the behaviour as in a lot of the classes I have been in there
appears to be no discipline, however, this class was the complete
opposite. The atmosphere was still very
free and relaxed but the children knew how to behave and what was expected of
them. It was interesting to watch what
activities they were completing and I couldn’t help but think how children in
Northern Ireland are doing the same work only three years earlier. Another interesting idea the school had was
that after the children had worked for 45 minutes they got a 5 minute break
outside to run about and burn off energy before the next lesson began. This seemed to work well and is definitely something
I would like to look into at home. However,
it made me think about how children in Northern Irish schools only got breaks
twice a day and this sometimes does seem to restrict their learning as they
become restless and agitated when sitting still for too long.
Although I am only
beginning my investigation I am finding the interviews and observations
insightful and it is helping me to reflect on our school system in Northern
Ireland. I hope to learn more about the Danish
system through visiting kindergartens and also looking into research and
history which I’m sure will only interest me further and prompt more questions
in regards to the school system and starting age in Northern Ireland.
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