In 3C at Vaulen School in Stavanger, the students sit deeply concentrated on a new episode of the news Super series Flaskepost fra havet. Video during lunch breaks is common in many Norwegian classrooms. It happens even if health professionals are skeptical. The lunch break lasts for half an hour at this school. Classes at Vaulen often spend around ten minutes of their time watching videos. Public health nurse: – An outing – For the youngest, it is often to repeat professional content. news school has many great programs that focus on maths and Norwegian. Then it gives a sense of community to look at something together, says teacher Ine Saga. Ine Saga is a contact teacher at Vaulen school. Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / news But the school health service at Vaulen does not want TV for meals. – It’s a joke. We see it as not very health-promoting. It takes away the possibility of creating space for social training. Watching a movie while eating is not a break. It’s a distraction, says public health nurse Tonje Fredriksen. Tonje Fredriksen is a health nurse at Vaulen School. Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / news And the screen skepticism applies to health nurses all over the country. Ann Karin Swang is leader of the National Group of Health Nurses in the Norwegian Nurses Association. Photo: Kristin Henriksen / NSF – They forget to eat – We are concerned that the screen will enter all arenas all the time. It is not good for any kind of development, says Ann Karin Swang. She is the leader of the National Group of Health Nurses in the Norwegian Nurses Association. This has been a topic in the school health service for many years. – We believe that teachers must assess what is right for their class. But some children are unable to both eat and watch a film. They get so caught up in what they see that they don’t know satiety or hunger. They forget to eat. The meal is also important for having good conversations, says Swang. Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun (Ap). Here from when she was mayor of Stavanger in the summer of 2023. Photo: Tom Edvindsen / news In an e-mail to news, the minister says this about video during lunch breaks: – Coming home with a full lunch box The students at Vaulen pay close attention to the screen while they eat. – That’s fine, But it’s also fun to read, says Sindre Erland Heggebø. Sindre Erland Heggebø eats and watches TV during the lunch break Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / news Those who work with health at school want the classes to talk together instead of watching a film. – When you watch TV, you get a lot of visual stimuli. You don’t activate your imagination in the same way as you definitely do if you are read to, says health nurse Tonje Fredriksen. She sent out a form to her colleagues in the school health service in the municipality. Eight responded. Only one defended the practice. Here are some of the answers she received: “We health nurses guide parents not to let them look at screens when they eat, and then it’s stupid if it’s okay at school.” “I think it’s sad that the children are losing the meal as a social arena. It saddens me to think that a children’s group cannot function without screen entertainment.” “In conversation with teachers about this topic, I find that they express that it is difficult to manage the class, i.e. to keep calm and control without using a screen. They are often just an adult while eating, so I can understand the teacher’s choice.” The class spends about ten minutes of the half-hour long lunch break watching a film. Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / news Teacher of film In some places in the country, there has been discussion about reducing the use of screens in teaching as well. But the teachers at Vaulen School like to use video during the lunch break, in addition to reading and other activities. During the episode, Ine Saga stops the video to talk to the students about what is happening to the family that has moved to the Pacific Ocean. – What have they learned today? – It created some reflection on the fact that we eat different animals in different countries. – Shouldn’t the lunch break be a breather from screen use? – You can say that. At the same time, we see that if 25–30 students are to sit and talk at the same time in a small classroom, there will be no breathing space or lunch, says the teacher. Teacher Ine Saga with her class at Vaulen school. Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / news Won’t stop with video Among parents there are divided opinions. – FAU decided last year that they want limited screen use in general, but we have not taken a particular position on meal breaks, says FAU leader Fay Veronica Kristensen at Vaulen school. But so far it is not relevant to cut out video during meal breaks at Vaulen, as another school in Stavanger has done, according to Stavanger Aftenblad. – We shouldn’t have a screen every day, but some students need that little break. They need to be allowed to rest their eyes on someone else. It is quite demanding for someone to be in the role of student. It can get a little chaotic sitting with the lunch box for half an hour when everyone is talking, says principal Gunn Reidun Tednes-Aaserød at Vaulen school. Gunn Reidun Tednes-Aaserød is principal at Vaulen School. Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / news Hi! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue Published 10.09.2024, at 05.44
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Health nurses want an end to screens during school lunch breaks – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
