Hadsten for the First Days of School!

So much has happened since my last post!  I apologize, but I am afraid this will be a very long post.  There is so much I want to make sure to remember, so I don't want to leave anything out!  Scan it and pick out the pieces that interest you and don't worry about reading the rest.  :)

My first day... On Monday morning, Jane and I drove to school (Østervangskolen) at 7:30am.  Usually Jane bikes (like a Dane) if the weather is okay but she only has one bike, so she's driving while I'm here.  School begins at 8:05am, but it takes less than 10 minutes to drive there (even though it's on the complete opposite side of Hadsten - this is a small town with only one traffic light), so when we arrived we had a good length of time to meet people and get comfortable before everything began.

The first thing I noticed when I got out of the car is just how dark it is.  It is DARK, like middle-of-the-night dark.  When I arrived at school around the same time at home the sun would be rising, so I wouldn't have described it as light out, but it's easy to forget about how significant the difference is between a little light peeking up and no light at all.  I felt like I was arriving at school late at night for an event or something.  

Once inside all of the lights are on, which wakes you up a bit.  We first went to hang up our coats (I'm sure this is a part of schools in other parts of the country too, but it would be a very strange sight at home).  Then, I was introduced to the principal and vice principal (who were both very welcoming) and we walked into the staff lounge.  The staff lounge is huge and has lockers all along one wall (you'll soon find out why these two facts are so important).  It also has: a fancy coffee machine that even makes hot chocolate at the press of a button, an endless supply of mugs, a dishwasher, a stove, and a screen with constant updates with announcements for the teachers.  

Every teacher I met was very friendly and welcoming to Allison, Michael, and me as we waited in the staff lounge for our first day to begin.  Shortly before 8am, Kirsten (a science teacher at Østervangskolen) picked Michael and me up and took us to the lab where we would observe her teaching today.  Kirsten teaches Physics (Fysik) which is actually a combination of physics and chemistry (Kemi) sort of like our "Physical Science" course for 8th graders.  There was a bit of confusion because I had expressed interest in working in a Biology/Life Science course and they had set this up, but hadn't told me and that class was doing an exam all day, so I decided to observe Kirsten's class today and switch to the biology class for next time, which won't be until next week, because of the interesting schedule they have set up.

On the Schedule...
Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth graders all take Physics, Biology, and Geography (all at once).  However, they only take about 1.5 hours of each subject a week.  Before I can explain how that works, I have to explain how the schedule works in general.  Unlike our traditional school day, here every day is completely different and so far I have not seen any pattern to the order of classes.  For example, a student may have English on Tuesday during the first "period" and on Friday during the second.  The same student may have history on Tuesday and Thursday.    

I'm sure the schedule was determined very carefully and specifically, but it was not placed in a clear order or pattern, so it definitely keeps you on your toes.  This even means that some days students get out earlier than other days.  This also means the teachers have schedules that to an American teacher would feel a little unnerving.  For example, a teacher may teach science all Monday with no prep, but on Tuesday that teacher may have the entire morning off before teaching one math class.  If you remember my post about substitute teaching, you can start to see how this system would help support the substituting system I described.        

As far as I can tell, none of the classes are for more than a few hours a week, which is also why this system is possible (because no class is every day).  Instead, students are taking many courses for only a few hours a week, like their science courses.  Science is different from every other subject in a few ways (I will get to the other ways shortly) but first because the teachers have decided to combine the 1.5 hours into one block and to further combine the three sciences into one block day.  Therefore, each grade has a "science day."  For example, all 7th graders have physics, biology, and geography on Monday and then no science for the rest of the week.  This science set up is unique to Østervangskolen, but I believe the rest of the schedule I have described is common to schools throughout Denmark.

Below I have put a breakdown of the school day.  I have used the word "period" purely for clarity purposes (it is not the word they use to describe it when speaking in English).

BELL
Period 1: 8:05-8:50am (45 minutes)
Period 2: 8:50-9:35am (45 minutes)
BELL
Break: 9:35-9:50am (15 minutes)
BELL
Period 3: 9:50-10:35am (45 minutes)
Period 4: 10:35-11:20am (45 minutes)
BELL
Lunch: 11:20-11:50am (30 minutes)
BELL
Period 5: 11:50-12:35pm (45 minutes)
Period 6: 12:35-1:20pm (45 minutes) 
BELL
This seems to be the end of the school day for most students and teachers, but there is one more period for some.  Look at how early school ends (but, as I will describe in a later blog post - this is about to change).

While I'm on the subject of schedule, I have to mention one of the biggest differences between the school day here and at home: students remain in a classroom while teachers move around from classroom to classroom!  This is another way that science courses are different - because of the importance of lab equipment, science classes are unique and function like our classes at home.  For every other subject, however, each group of students has their own room.

This group of students was randomly formed when the students were in Kindergarden and remains the same until they leave the school (after 9th grade).  For example, the 7th grade class has a total of 61 students, which have been divided into 3 groups of 20, 20, and 21.  Each student has been with the same ~19 other students since Kindergarden for every subject, again with the exception of science.  Since the science classes happen simultaneously they can mix up the groups and do so using a variety of ways to group the students.

This is very special because it means the teachers have the opportunity to create groups of students that they believe will be most beneficial for everyone.  Previous set ups have included grouping by ability/achievement level, grouping by behavior, grouping by language abilities, or intentionally spreading all of these factors as evenly as possible to create three equivalent groupings.  The really wonderful thing is that the teachers are willing to change their method based on the specific needs of that group of students and to change it again as the group changes!  For example, the 9th graders are about to get new groups next week!

Finally, something else that caught my attention was the infrequency of bells.  There are only bells surrounding breaks, but not between classes.  This means that there is no strict passing period and no hurried feeling as everyone rushes from one place to the next (although, as I mentioned, this is usually only teachers switching classrooms).  The teachers and students are, for the most part, very punctual and care about the clock, but somehow time feels to move more slowly.  For example, lunch felt luxuriously long and I thought it was much longer than our lunch breaks at home until I wrote this entry.  I think this feeling is because nearly every teacher somehow finds the time to sit down in the staff room for both the break and lunch.  This is of course partly because they don't have their own rooms, but I think it is also because there is a much more humane feeling here.  Like it is acknowledged that teachers can get sick (see previous blog post), so it is acknowledged that teachers must eat and use the restroom (Gabby - if you're reading this, you'd love it here)!

Back to my first day...
Michael and I followed Kirsten to her lab where she was going to teach 3 sections of Physics to 7th graders that day.  She briefly explained that she was introducing the entire topic of chemistry today and that she would introduce us at the beginning of the lesson.  As soon as she opened the door, nearly all of the students filed in (they had been waiting outside the room).  She began by introducing the agenda for the day (including introducing us) and then indicated that she was ready for us to introduce ourselves.  Of course everything she had been saying to the students was in Danish, so the first time I think it caught us a tiny bit off-guard that, oh - now it's our turn!  However, you'd be amazed how much can you pick up from body language, intonation, and the occasional recognized word.  The past three days have been an epic lesson in that.

We introduced ourselves and explained why we were here (all in English of course) and then she launched into the lesson.  By the end of the day (after seeing it three times) I had a pretty firm grasp on the lesson even though it was in Danish, so I will describe it below, but just to exhibit how language interacts with comprehension, here were my notes from the first time round:

*Introduces vocabulary - what is and isn't "chemistry"    
*I wonder what "stoffer" is?
*Teacher demonstrates - "these are the types of things you can do in chemistry" then mixed chemicals together
*Teacher demonstrates - materials and safety procedures for the first step of the lab

This is what actually happened:

She introduced the definition of chemistry and, using a list, asked students what each one was and whether or not it counted as "kemisk stof" or chemical "matter."  This list included: air "luft," water "vand," werewolves "varulve," and Spiderman.  She then demonstrated a few key examples of chemistry including magnetism, electricity, acids, and bases.  She wow-ed the students by using an indicator to turn a basic solution bright pink, but I don't think she told them what she was combining - it was more theatrical.  Finally, she did indeed demonstrate the first step of the lab and primarily the materials needed.  They were to use a graduated cylinder to meature 10mL of HCl (saltsyre) and then pour it into a test tube (reagensglas).  They were then to add 10cm of a magnesium strip (which I was to hand to them).  Then they were to place a glass plate (glaspladen) over the top of the test tube, light a match, and quickly remove the glass plate and stick the match over the test tube.  This would create a "poof!" which several of the students were quite excited about.  In fact, some described chemistry when she asked at the beginning of the period as simply "bang!"  The lab had more steps, but she only described this first section.

The students then set about the lab.  They got into groups of their own choosing (this was new to this year - previously she had selected their groups) and found their materials.  Once I finished handing out the magnesium strips I began circling the room, trying to get to know the students, and trying to figure out what was going on (at this point I didn't even know what the liquid was they were pouring into the test tube - everyone kept calling it "saltsyre").  Luckily, the lab procedure they were following had some pretty clear pictures, so I was able to decipher the steps and communicate with the students using the cognates, the few words I knew, the pictures, and the students' English skills.  Their English is phenomenal and they can communicate, but some are shy and science has a whole new set of vocabulary that they are not familiar with in Danish, let alone English, so communication can be challenging.  However, they are for the most part, happy to make an attempt!

What I didn't realize at the time was that this was the first time the students had used test tubes and I think the second time they had ever used bunsen burners.  However, they were left mostly to their own devices to deal with this equipment safely.  Students had matches, lighters, bunsen burners, HCl, and very hot items yet somehow no one got hurt.  There was some fooling around (they are teenagers after all) and a few "ooh - ouch!" but nothing terrible, just what I might do in my own kitchen at home.  It was suggested that students wear safety goggles and some did, but not all.  Essentially, students were expected to have responsibility for themselves (and lawsuits didn't seem to be on anyone's mind).  Student self-responsibility has been a recurring theme of the past three days.  It definitely seems to play a key role in Danish education.  Of course, it must be acknowledged that small class size is crucial to this (these classes ranged from 18-25 students).      

This is already a long post, so I won't dwell on the specifics of the lab (for those of you in the science cohort it was definitely a "cookbook lab") but the point was for them to see that you put in HCl and a Magnesium strip (so Hydrogen, Chloride, and Magnesium), so you have to get out the same three ingredients.  This means that since the Hydrogen escaped as a gas, the salt that they are eventually left with must be Magnesium Chloride (by process of elimination).  This was truly their introduction to chemistry, so most of them missed a lot of this, but they did get their first exposure to chemistry laboratory techniques and to the general concepts, and I think that was the point.  It was difficult for me to fully assess their learning, because that was definitely lost in translation.

As each group finished the lab, they cleaned up their station (most groups cleaned up without prompting) and returned to their seats.  Kirsten then explained what they did and the central concepts (since many had of course gone through the steps without understanding).  After this the students had the remainder of class to read a few pages of the textbook and write three questions (spørgsmål - rapidly becoming one of my favorite words) down about the material.  

Students were allowed to leave the room during this reading period to work in the hall.  At first this surprised me, but already by today (my third day) this is beginning to feel normal.  The students do this in every class whenever they have independent or group work (which is nearly every class).  

My second day was spent following Jane to her classes.  This was three English classes and one Danish class.  In each of the English classes, Michael and I gave a presentation on ourselves, where we come from, why we're here, and on the American education system.  If you want to check it out, you can view it online here.  After each time we did the presentation, Jane had the students come up and introduce themselves to us one by one as an English exercise (and also so we can get to know our students for the next month on a more personal level).  

These were mostly 9th graders and some 8th graders.  Their English is much stronger than the 7th graders (it's pretty incredible what can happen in a year or two) and it was incredible what they were willing (and able) to share about themselves.  I was very touched by their trust; it is clear that there is a strong community of respect here and that the trust they feel for Jane transfers over to us.  This is very special and would not be easy to find at home.  The closest thing I found to it was the AVID 12 class I worked with.  It was similar in that they had been with the same group and the same teacher for 4 years, so there was a strong community and a strong sense of mutual respect and trust between the teacher and students.  However, this did not automatically transfer over to me as it seemed to here.  To the contrary, I felt it was even more challenging to earn their respect.  I look forward to working with the 9th grade English class more (which is good because I'll be working with them a lot over the next 3 weeks).

The Danish class (as in Danish literature) was incredibly challenging to observe (much harder than the Physics class).  One positive to observing a class where you cannot understand any of the content is that it makes you look that much closer and think that much harder about everything else.  Here are a few of those thoughts in list form:

1. All but three students had a personal laptop (and those three borrowed one from the library).  This seems to be the norm and the expectation by 9th grade here.  I think it is also true of most 8th graders.
2. There are lockers and bookshelves in the classroom - since this is the students' classroom, this is where they put all of their stuff.  There are even hooks for coats along the wall.  
3. Use of Google Docs is very common.  Most students use Google Docs for everything and they collaborate a lot - just like we do in our TEP classes.
4. There is a lot of independent/group work time in classes.  This gives teachers the opportunity to circle and check in with each student and/or group and they take full advantage of this.  
5. There are skylights in the classroom, along with big windows along the wall.  This is nice because otherwise we'd all miss most of the day's sunlight.    
6. Remarkably, students seem mostly very on-task. 

There are also a few things that seem to be somewhat universal:

1. Teenagers here are just like teenagers at home.  They have acne, they have braces, they are often tired and sleepy, there are shy teenagers and class clowns, there are crushes, and tight friend groups...
2. Some students work excellently in groups and some students sit in a group and, even when asked to work together, continue to sit side-by-side working independently.
3. Students always want to leave early for lunch.
4. Teachers use the same "checks for understanding" we use.
5. When teachers ask "Spørgsmål?" all anyone hears are crickets.

After school that night I learned all about handball, which is not what you probably think it is.  It is a very big deal here and was actually invented by two Danish teachers at the end of the 19th century!  Many of my students are on handball teams, so when I asked Jane what it was (because it didn't sound like the game we used to play in elementary school) she laughed and exclaimed that I had to see, so we watched about half of a game on TV.  She's also going to take me to see some of our students play, which will be fun.  She would disagree, but my oversimplified description of it is soccer with your hands.  

The first half of my third day was spent observing two 9th grade Biology classes.  It is late and this is a long post, so I will discuss more about the differences between how biology is taught here vs. at home later, but it was very interesting to observe this class and, like with the science classes on Monday, it was rewarding to see the same lesson twice and learn some Danish vocabulary along the way (biology folks can you guess what a "grønkorn" is?  Hint: it's found in the "plantecelle").

Michael and I also went to a 7th grade English class with Jane and did our presentation again.  This time we had to speak much more slowly, since the 7th graders are not as far along with their English.  I was very happy to hear from Jane that we did a good job with this and the students really did seem to follow along with what we were saying.  We got to talk with them individually afterwards as well, which I really enjoyed.

A few closing thoughts about the Danish education system thus far:

1. Student responsibility is huge.  Students are expected to be accountable for themselves and for their actions.  They are given a lot of choice and a lot of time to use as they like.  They are allowed to use their phones during class between tasks (just like I might at an average job).  They are allowed to leave the classroom and work in the hall unsupervised.  Obviously, when things seem to be headed in the wrong direction, teachers step in and it is clear that they are not unaware of what is going on, but they do truly let students make their own choices.

2. Class size plays a big role in all of this.  I don't just mean each group, I also mean total grade level.  I also think that, while there are a few immigrants, most students have very similar backgrounds and this helps with the creating the positive and tight-knit classroom community I am observing.  I am sure that some of the differences I am seeing are exaggerated because they are representative of differences between a city and a town in addition to differences between the US and Denmark.

3. Teachers have a lot of responsibility, power, and influence.  I observed two meetings in the past 3 days about various planning topics and have spoken to Jane about more, and I spoke to Kirsten about how the science groupings were decided.  These teachers really know the students and they are really allowed to have a big say in many things about their students' education.  This includes a wide range of topics including: determining additional help for those with language barriers or special needs, creating class groupings, creating the schedule, and more!  This even means that teachers are in charge of keeping track of attendance (there is no such thing as an "attendance secretary") and keeping updated on their students' personal concerns!

My final note is on the phrase: rødgrød med fløde

This is a Danish phrase that people ask you to say, mostly to taunt and make fun of you because it's impossible to pronounce.  Philip says it's legitimate because it tests your accent.  Hmph.

Anyway, I have, predictably, been asked to say this phrase many times over the past 2 days (these are teenagers, after all), BUT I feel very proud of myself because after the most recent time the student who had asked me to say it just dropped her jaw and stared at me in astonishment because she couldn't believe I hadn't sounded completely stupid.  Thanks Philip for making me say it a million times.  ;-) 

Despite how this sounds, the students are actually really nice about us learning Danish and they are quite impressed any time we can decipher or say anything.