After two weeks of practice: The report.

Our practice took place at Realskole in Haderslev. Lynn and I observed Lisbeth Thompson for twelve hours. Lisbeth is an English and music teacher in the school.

About the English lessons.
Lisbeth uses a lot of songs when she’s teaching. The expressive aspect is looked up to a lot in Denmark. Even in the English lessons.
In the third year, the year where they start learning English, she uses a three or four songs to start the day. This way, they learn to say hello, their name, the name of their body parts,… The basic is taught in this grade. At the end of the year, the students know all the colors, all of the body parts and how to name their relatives.
The content is taught in a playful manner. The pupils don’t have to write anything down. They practice the speaking of the language first, by playing a lot of games. That way, they learn, without them even knowing.

In the fifth year, they know how to write in the English language too. Even here and in the years to come, they use a lot of expressive aspects to get the message across.
The lessons are all build up into a theme. The theme these pupils were working on was: ‘The wild west.’ Again, every time before starting the class, they sang the song: ‘Ooh, Susannah’. The new vocabulary is integrated in the song, so the children practice it every time they sing it.
The children learned how to describe a person and made a WANTED-poster.

The sixth year shocked me the most. These pupils are hitting puberty, and it shows. I was shocked by the lack of respect towards their teacher and towards each other. In Belgium, the pupils are taught to respect one another, no matter how different they are.
Lisbeth told us that she has had this class for a few years now, and that it will be her last year teaching them. She feels exhausted by them, and has tried everything.
Even with those feelings towards this class, she gives them fun and exciting projects to work with. Their theme of the English lessons was Scotland. They all read stories about Camelot, King Arthur,… and presented them in groups.
For the last week and a half, they were divided into clans. Each clan had to design a crest and a tartan, come up with a motto and write a story about their history. Because this is a difficult class, it’s hard for them to work together as a group. In Belgium, I wouldn’t give a fun project like this in a difficult class. They would just get the theory in a dry matter. If they prove to me that they can behave, respect me and each other, I would give them another chance.
In the end, it all came together and they each had a beautiful result.


About the music lessons
‘Wauw’, was my first thought when I walked into the music room. I saw a drum set, guitars, a piano, three keyboards, djembes. In Belgium, we don’t have a special room to teach music.

The students were practicing for their spring concert, which takes place in the week of the 26th of april. The theme of the concert is Kim Larsen. Each class has prepared a song, written by him.
They play all of the instruments themselves. I’m really impressed by that! In Belgium, we couldn’t realize this in our classes, because we don’t have any real education in music. That’s why having a music teacher is an advantage!


About my experience in general.
In my opinion, the Danish school system has got it pro’s and con’s.
I think that in Belgium, our focus is too much on the cognitive skills of our student. We don’t really let them be kids. On the other hand, our children are more mature then the Danes in their behavior, when they have to be. I know it sounds contradicting, but our pupils know the value of respect, which most pupils in Denmark lack. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I would enjoy teaching in Denmark.

Another topic that I want to discuss, is the amount of teachers for each class. In Belgium, from the age of 2,5 until the age of 12, the pupils have one teacher each year. This teacher is responsible for every subject in that classroom (except for P.E.). A good thing about that is that the teacher becomes a confidant for his or her pupils. They know the kinds trough and trough, and can respond to their special needs.
One teacher gives the students some stability too. Especially in the lower grades, the children need consistency. They need to know what is expected from them and where the boundaries are. If one class has different teachers, and each teacher has different expectances from them, they don’t know the difference between night and day anymore.
On the other hand, a disadvantage of our system is that the teacher isn’t specialized in one subject. For instance, I could never teach music like Lisbeth does. My knowledge doesn’t reach that far. I don’t enjoy teaching music, so therefore, it is the first subject to drop when another lesson isn’t finished. That’s a pity because the young children are still very musical and it needs to be nourished.

I love the way the expressive aspect is integrated in each subject. It helps the students to be more creative and expressive in their own being. They have more courage to perform something in front of a group, even learn how to speak in front of a large group.
I got some new ideas of how I can use this aspect in my own teaching, and I will certainly do so.


What am I definitely going to take back with me to Belgium?
I will certainly use of the my experiences and knowledge of the Danish system back to Belgium. For example:
o put the child first
o try to integrate expressive aspects in as many subjects as possible
o challenge the children to think for themselves
o respect the children’s ability to think for themselves (within boundaries)
o demand respect, but give it back
o your own school system isn’t that bad ;-)

Comparative studies

The biggest chunk in our schedule must have been the comparative studies with Iben.
I must say I really enjoyed these lessons! I love it when people dare you to be critical about what’s happening around you and challenge you to think for yourself. Iben did that in almost every lesson.

The lessons within comparative studies have a wide range.
It started with the comparison between the Danish school system and the system in your own country, and ended with looking at pictures from a teacher’s point of view and telling what you saw in it. It is not surprising that these lessons were different for every person. Every experience leaves a different impression in each person. By listening to other people’s opinions, you start to look at your own from a critical point of view. Why is it that I think this, but another one doesn’t share my opinion? I love it when people challenge me to look at my opinion differently.

I just want to say this last thing: Keep the comparative studies for the Erasmus years to come!

The Danish school systems and my vision upon them..

On Thursday, the 4th of February, we visited a primary school in Haderslev. Together with five other students, we visited Realskole, a private school.
After a short introduction, we observed a few lessons in year zero. The children are 6 years old.
What surprised me the most, was that the children don’t get a lot of lessons during the day. They only have four hours. In Belgium, children of that age have lessons between 08.30 and 15.30. The transition between preschool and primary school is smoother here in Denmark. In Belgium, when children finish preschool and enter primary school, they only get 1,5 hours of playtime in-between the lessons. In Denmark, there is a lot of time for them to play. I think that’s better.

The classes in Denmark are similar to the ones in Belgium. A lot of theory is visualized, so it’s easier for the pupils to remember it. I did notice that the pace is slower here. In Belgium, we have learning plans with everything a child needs to learn is written down. I think that’s why the pace is higher in Belgium.



In the comparative studies with Iben, I’ve learned a lot! I learned why the pace in Danish schools is much lower than in Belgian schools. In Scandinavian countries, they focus more on the total development of the child, rather than the cognitive development. They have built up their entire school system around the visions of Rousseau, Montesorri, … The child is more important than the adult, the individual is more important than society. The children are challenged to make their own choices, to chose their own path in life. Cognitive knowledge comes second.
This is the total opposite in Belgium. In our country, we put cognitive knowledge first. Children are tested all the time. The outcome of these tests, may have consequences for the child. If a child from the first grade can’t read or write the way he or she should, they are held back and have to do the year again.

What is my opinion about this subject?
I think that both school systems have got their pro’s and con’s. I think the child should be a teachers first priority. If a child isn’t stimulated in the right way, or if he or she doesn’t feel safe with you and in the classroom, it will never come to a good learning process. Still, I place cognitive abilities of a child at a higher place than they do in Denmark.
The school system in Belgium is built in a way that a child will not be able to learn if they don’t have the knowledge of the lower grade. That’s why I still think that the children have to be tested. On the other hand, Danish children get their motivation from within. In Belgium, children learn to please their parents, their teacher,… This might be one of the reasons children don’t like to go to school in Belgium. A lot of children in their puberty are ‘school tired’. They just sit there without learning anything and sabotage the others.

What can we learn from this?
I know for certain, when I go back to Belgium, I’ll try to implement what I’ve learned here. Some teachers are focused on the cognitive abilities of the children, and forget that they are little people, who have to learn from their mistakes. I don’t want to be a teacher that the children are afraid of. I want to be their confidant, their mentor. Children learn from example. As their teacher, you can teach them more from your actions than books ever will. Some teachers forget about this important aspect of the job. They’re only there to transfer knowledge. I don’t want to be that type of teacher. I want to challenge them, appreciate them as they are and give them the ability to grow. Sounds great, doesn’t it? =)
(We are a 4-star class!)