I’m coming straight from a classroom observation. There have been a few hundred during the twelve years I have worked in the PP service. The observation relates to behavioral difficulties in the first grade, and a phenomenon I call a bit sloppy “boy 8”. Despite the generalizing label, it is not said without great seriousness. Because it is serious. First and foremost for boy 8, and all the students boy 8 represents. The difficulties have been there all along, of course, but it is only in the 2nd or 3rd grade that the teachers run out of measures, or patience. So what did I see in the classroom? One or more pupils, preferably boys, who cannot sit still, who make noise and receive negative feedback from the teacher. And not unexpectedly, the behavior escalates when the student is corrected. But sitting still is an advanced act. It requires a well-developed balance system, which is developed by movement. So, paradoxically enough, one must have been in a lot of movement in order to be able to sit still at all. When arms and legs start rattling down there on the lecterns, it’s not because the students are naughty, or for God’s sake have ADHD. It is a signal from the child’s brainstem that the body must move. I walk closer to their desks. See what today’s 1st – 4th graders are up to. There are long texts, a lot of writing. The sessions are also long, up to 90 minutes for some. Even university lectures have more frequent breaks. Does anyone get excessively restless? Of course. Are there some people who struggle more with reading than others? Yes of course. Because characteristics in the population are normally distributed. This applies to the completely obvious things such as weight, height and IQ. But attention, social abilities and linguistic or mathematical abilities are also normally distributed. But this variation does not seem to be reflected in either the subjects, the learning objectives or the teaching methods. Over 100 years after little Marius in Alexander Kielland’s novel “Gift” dies while reciting Latin, the school is still an academic disciple, where students kneel under theoretical learning objectives. In this way, the school favors the theoretically inclined, and calls it inclusion only if they create tasks at a simpler level. It is a deliberate policy, a desire to prepare the ground for higher education. At the same time, we lack people with a vocational background, and students report increased pressure and stress. A problem the primary school does not seem to want to lend a helping hand to solve. Instead, school is a carpet woven of tripping threads, where the coarsest thread is the expectation that learning only happens through theory. We have come a long way in many ways in our smart, technical society. But could it be that Norway is “the small country that forgot that the body is the foundation for learning?” We have to grasp to understand, it is said. And it’s not accidental. In our hands, we have countless sensory receptors that send signals to the brain and nervous system. In this way, the hands are a learning channel, but also a source of regulation, which the school believes many students struggle with. Then we are back to the body again, which is central to self-regulation. The student can calm down and regain concentration by walking, running or squatting for that matter. By perceiving clearly, one can feel clearly, and finally think clearly. A few years pass, boy 8 has become boy 14. He struggles in class and loses motivation. Teachers and parents believe he should be placed in a workplace. To that extent I also agree – in principle. But the student does not have special education, nor any difficulties that would indicate this. On the other hand, like most of us, he learns easily through practical tasks. But there are hardly any practical subjects in school anymore. There are cuts to the gym, sports, art and music. The Norwegian school is becoming a big-headed academic troll, with weak core muscles and poor hearing. A troll who wants to write both boy 8 and boy 14 out of the community. Pupils who would probably have mastered the school if it had been arranged more practically. Instead, he is labeled a school loser, and the loss already started in the first grade. But if he loses, the school also loses as an educational institution: which should help pupils to “develop knowledge, skills and attitudes in order to be able to master their lives and to be able to participate in work and community in society” as stated in the Education Act. But how do you cope with life, when you realize after ten years that what you have to offer is not valued? It’s nice that you can mech, but you have to solve equations. Funny that you’re really good at drawing, but you have to conjugate verbs. Learning by doing, Dewey said, turning in the grave. It is time to meet the students and use the room for action. Search for practical ways to solve the competence goals. Interdisciplinary, creative and physical learning. Nailing, sawing, gluing, knocking – to make a comparison now in the run-up to Christmas. Instead of giving students individual education plans, special education and diagnoses: Give them practical education. Remember that it is the body that teaches, and not just the hat!
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