– I’m a banana. Sitting in a tree. Never falls down, sings Henning Lad in a steady voice. 28 students repeat the stanza. It’s only 9.45am, but class 5B is awake and paying close attention when music teacher Henning divides the class into two. Soon they are singing in canon where one group is the rhythm section and the other sings “Jeg er en banan (…)” Henning Lad is a trained music teacher. At Abildsø School in Oslo, he IS the music teacher. He has 14 classes and around 350 students. Only 50 per cent have an education. Now in September, the government presented the parliamentary report A more practical school. They will invest more in the practical-aesthetic subjects, which include music, arts and crafts, food and health, physical education, guts, and more. At the same time, figures from Statistics Norway show that only half of those who teach these subjects have a degree in them. – There are far too few and we have to raise that proportion, says Minister for Knowledge Kari Nessa Nordtun (Ap). Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun (Ap) Photo: Remi Sagen / news In the report to the Storting, the government makes several proposals on how to strengthen the practical aesthetic subjects: Focus on further education in these subjects Encourage the municipalities to make better use of the skills in the cultural school Try out the exam in practical and aesthetic subjects The Government is proposing a trial scheme with exams in practical and aesthetic subjects. What do you think about it? Yes, that’s a good idea. Yes, but only if it is a practical exam. No, the practical-aesthetic subjects should be without exams. Show result The government has also created an interest compensation scheme. In short, it will make the municipalities invest more in special rooms and equipment for practical and aesthetic subjects. Every year, 6–7,000 teachers take further training, last year only 560 took it in the practical and aesthetic subjects. Nessa Nordtun believes that the municipalities are a bottleneck. – Unfortunately, we see that there are a little too many municipalities that say no when their employees apply for further and further education related to the practical and aesthetic subjects. So we hope that even more municipalities will say yes when the teachers want this, she says to news. Norwegian, English and maths prioritized The Education Association is positive about a more practical school, but calls for more further education in the subjects. – If we are to manage to make the school more practical and varied, we must have teachers with expertise in the subjects they will be teaching, says Geir Røsvoll, head of the Education Association. Geir Røsvoll is head of the Swedish Education Association Photo: Eva Marie Bulai / news He also believes that the need for competence in these subjects should be just as important as competence in the so-called basic subjects. – I think it is probably easier to put in a teacher without expertise in the practical-aesthetic subjects than in, for example, Norwegian, English and maths. – Why is it like that? – It is difficult to say, but it is connected with what has been the highest priority in recent years. What has been given the highest priority are basic skills such as reading, arithmetic and maths, says Røsvoll. – A bit like a vocation Music teacher Henning Lad at Abildsø School is trained in classical singing from the Norwegian Academy of Music, in addition he has taken practical pedagogical training (PPU) in order to be able to teach. At school, he thus has no professional music environment. He himself is quite satisfied with being able to shape the music lessons all by himself. – I am very motivated by being able to create and shape music education for an entire generation here at Abildsø. It’s almost a calling, to put it in a slightly stilted way, he says to news. If music teacher Henning Lad at Abildsø School falls ill, it is difficult to find qualified music teachers to substitute. Published 30.09.2024, at 15.56
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Henning teaches music in 14 classes:
