After a very relaxing and enjoyable Easter holiday, Kerri-Ann, Geraldine and myself made our way back to the West coast of Denmark. Before returning to the efterskole in Rejsby we knew that this coming week was a strange one for the students as they had no classes to attend but instead a project to work on along with a partner that had to be fully completed by Friday at the end of the week. Unfortunately, all the projects were presented in Danish and with having very little knowledge of the language, I could offer minimal help to the students. A small amount of the pupils chose education or integration in Europe as the subjects they wished to focus on and so interviewed me in order to gain some information about the educational system in Ireland.
Cultural Differences
In schools in Ireland, the relationship between teacher and pupil has very definite borders. However, whilst visiting numerous schools in Denmark, I find these borders very difficult to find. It seems that teachers have a very friendly and easy going attitude towards their pupils whereas I am used to an authoritarian figure as a teacher. I do not wish to judge the Danish educational system and in particular this school, but I can not help but wonder where exactly should the line be drawn with regards to a teacher being a friend? Is it the role of a teacher to comfort, console and socialise with? Should the relationship not involve calling the teacher only by their title and surname? It is my opinion that a teacher should always have a certain amount of respect and a definite sense of control over a class in order for them to learn, but does this control slip through the fingers of a teacher when they have little to no authority over their students. However then the arguement of equality and student dependence comes into practice. This is by no means a compare and contrast exercise to study which system is best, but instead just a thought from my own personal experience of being taught and how I define my relationship with my teachers in the past. Nonetheless, I will repeat what I said in the entry for my first week of teaching practice. This unique type of school they call efterskole is one Denmark should be proud of, and inparticular Rejsby Europæiske Efterskole. A chance to experience eduacation in this form and a place where they are exposed to many different nationalities from all corners of Europe is one that I think every child in Europe should be able to avail of, and it would be to my delight to see this type of school in Ireland.
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