The Joys of Social Democracy

[nirinia]

Why don't I just give up on Norwegian politics? Does anyone have a good answer? It is not politics, so much as a badly directed Ionesco play. Høyre (centre-right party, more or less) now wants to introduce awards for academic achievements in schools. Buttons, diplomas, lists of the best students. Reward the brilliant, knowledgeable, hard-working and clever children. By all means, make it less of a bad thing to be smart. But rewards solve nothing. I have been awarded through my school-years, in more ways than I care to remember (lovingly by teachers, deviously by pupils). If you finish an assignment, your reward is always more of the same.

Just finished ten pages of grammar exercises in record time? Well, jolly good, take another fifteen! Here's to keeping you interested. Rewards have no effect when the teaching is of abysmal quality. I spent a year of English classes, in primary school, playing crap computer games. It was the reward for acquiring a good grasp of rudimentary grammar and vocabulary. Why wasn't I given more advanced books? Why did no one challenge me? Because the Norwegian social democracy frowns upon cleverness. If a child suffers the misfortune of being clever, they must be beaten down at all costs. Do they enjoy learning? Give them piles of mundane tasks to take their minds off it. Let them lead groups of dunderheads; because at ten, these children benefit from being forced to lead. Let them help the others, they benefit from having to answer stupid questions and not being listened to when they try.

What part of bad teachers, bad curriculums, do these people not understand? Why can 'social democracy' not entail teaching at the pupil's level, rather than at the non-existent average?

I am very much to the political right, and in Norway that means I have only one option. If you have the intelligence of more than the average goldfish, you cannot seriously consider voting the far-right joke that is Fremskrittspartiet. But Høyre is no better. The leader is like a jellyfish: huge, flabby, taken to drifting where the current will.

Disclaimer: if I haven't made it clear already, I am very much to the political right. And I despise this country's idiotic play at politics. We can't even surface long enough to join the European Union.

Comments

[leskedrikk.livejournal.com]

Obviously we both aknowledge that we have different wings when it comes to politics. But I think some of the things you are saying here is awesome, but think about the kids that you call "dumb", do they get help to get better in school? They are not aknowledge either, the school-system that we have doesn't help the ones that can't get through the curriculum, and it doesn't challenge those who can. I love the social-democracy, but I don't like the way the schools are run. But the reward-system was the stupidest thing I have heard in ages, I think kids should learn hard-work without getting things for it, after all the achivement is more knowledge and more spare-time.

[nirinia.livejournal.com]

You've got it, our school system caters only to a non-existent average. Meaning, also, that the ones that fall behind will not get help to get back up. And I think that if we could only accept that there is no such thing as 'average' or 'standard', we would all be better off.; people are different, we learn differently, we have different abilities. If we could only divide classes by achievements!

I don't really think this reward system is too bad. Solberg´s disclaimers taken into account. Not if it is in the form of an 'honour roll', as in the US. The problem is that, when you're expected to do well you get nothing for it. 'Oh, she got another 6, surprise!' Teachers deal out good grades by default, and the only attention the receiving students get is if they do not get the expected grades. An honours roll might just make those pupils that have long ago figured that you survive just fine with 5's, and get away without the extra effort, re-think it. It might make them bother.

[kriwik.livejournal.com]

The brighter kids have always been outcasts, and now finally it has become popular to be geekish and wear funny glasses. What Høyre is indirectly trying to do by introducing awards for academic achievements, is to halt this positive development. Why is it not enough that the pupils are being awarded with good grades? You work hard = you get awarded with good grades and a brighter future for your bank account. This has definitely a step backwards for Høyre.

[nirinia.livejournal.com]

The look is popular, the achievements are not. You wear the glasses and look 'geeky', but there is no way throwing big words around and getting good grades will ever be popular. I don't think the awards would have done much about that, really. If anything it would have been another thing for the kids to ignore. Like our French tests, gods, we were so cool when we just sat back in our seats and handed in a huge question-mark.

You know, your bank account might actually be in for a worse future than that of the ones that do not pursue higher education. They work their way up without it, and spend the years wisely – whereas we acquire knowledge and a huge debt.

But, yes, I agree, this was a bad move. They should focus on knowledge, bettering the teaching, getting rid of the twisted notion of 'equality'. When that's done, they might very well introduce an honours roll. Perhaps they should just pick up Britain's discarded system of putting all the pupils through a series of tests to determine what kind of education they were fit for.