– You cannot divide children in this way. In a nursery, all children should know each other and all parents about each other’s health. Because we are part of a larger community. That’s what Mona Skanke, director of Bærtua kindergarten in Porsanger municipality in Finnmark, says. Skanke is a member of the Porsanger Labor Party, which has gone to great lengths to build a new municipal trilingual kindergarten in the village. The aim of the new kindergarten is to strengthen the minority languages. But when the drawings are now in front, the educator cannot support the plans wholeheartedly. High and tight fence Skanke reacts to the fact that the three closest departments must be hermetically sealed. Indoors, the children must not be able to walk between the wards. Outside, the three play areas will be fenced in, so that the children are kept separated. A high fence between the playground for Sami, Kven and Norwegian children will prevent everyone from speaking Norwegian. Illustration: Haldde Arkitekter In a consultation note for the planned kindergarten, a Sami parent group requests that the fence must be “high and dense”. They want to avoid that the Sami language has to give way if Norwegian or Kven children are mixed up in the play of the Sami children. – I understand the parents’ fear, says Kristine Bentzen, linguist at UIT – Norway’s Arctic University in Tromsø. Linguist at the Arctic University of Norway, Kristine Bentzen. Photo: Mathias Sommerseth Kjellmo / news When children play together, they quickly find out which language is most suitable so that as many as possible can participate. – This often means that the majority language Norwegian wins, says Bentzen. At the same time, she sees that it can cause problems if the children are separated to a large extent. – Getting “we” and “dyck” like that can stigmatize the language in a way. Afraid of the game The private kindergarten Bærtua is also trilingual. But unlike the new one, it does not have a fence between the outdoor areas. There is also a low threshold for being able to play with the children across the Sami, Kven and Norwegian departments. – You can take care of the language and the experience, and convey the Sami, without creating visible divisions. We have major challenges in managing the game, and it is not actually the case that there are necessarily five four-year-olds in the Sami or Kven department, says Mona Skanke. She says that the nursery has a large common room. – And God be praised for that. Here, the Sami children have visions in line with their Sami identity, which they convey to the other children. The Kven and Norwegian children have the same. Here we go around the Christmas tree, and here we all sing carols as a team, she says. The mayor’s dream Although the order for the shared kindergarten came from the politicians themselves, it seems that several people have gotten cold feet now that a decision is approaching. This week, the chairmanship in Porsanger will decide whether to go ahead with the plans for the new kindergarten, which is estimated to cost 60 million. The kindergarten will replace the Sami-language kindergarten Ájanas and Lakselv kindergarten. The building is planned to be erected on the site of the municipal Sami kindergarten. Mayor of Porsanger Jo Inge Hesjevik (H). Photo: Jonas Løken Estenstad / news Jo Inge Hesjevik is a new mayor in Porsanger municipality. He is not going to agree to the plan as he is in charge. In any case, the municipality cannot afford to build new, and the private trilingual nursery works well, he believes. At the same time, he believes the state should finance the minority kindergartens in Sami municipalities. In that case, they should build separate kindergartens. It is not possible to divide the children into a nursery with a fence, he says. Stig-Ronny Nilsen in Porsanger Frp does not share the dream. On the contrary, Nilsen fears a more polarized society if the children in the village are separated from their childhood. – I am completely against dividing people into booths based on ethnicity. Especially that small children should get this with their mother’s milk, says Nilsen. He says that the ideal in Norway is integration across ethnic groups and cultures, but that this is the exact opposite. – Is this what we want in 2023, he asks. Stig-Ronny Nilsen in the FRP is strongly against dividing children according to their background. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news Deputy Mayor Mariell Haugli from the Labor Party understands the need for the children to use their own languages in peace, but at the same time believes that they cannot be separated all the time. – The cultural understanding that the children build up in the kindergarten, I think it is important that you get across the three languages that are established in the municipality. Mariell Haugli (Ap) wants children from different backgrounds to also meet. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news Up to the grown-ups Hilde Skanke is chairman of the Porsanger Labor Party and sister of Mona Skanke. She thinks there is no reason to blackmail the case. – I can’t see that it should be a problem that needs to be dealt with. It is the attitudes of us adults that will shape how this will turn out, she says. Porsanger municipality, like many other municipalities in Finnmark, wants to be influenced by the harsh Norwegianization policy of the Norwegian authorities. Many in the municipality have lost their Sami or Kven language. Now more and more people want to take back their mother tongue. Hilde Skanke, chairman of the Porsanger Labor Party and day-to-day manager of Kvensk Institute. Photo: Laila Lanes / news – Especially with regard to the Kven language, efforts must be made from kindergarten onwards for it to be successful, Mayor Hesjevik believes. Kindergarten director Skanke agrees that language is important. She still believes that one must not forget that for children it is more than just language that matters. – I think it is hugely enriching that all four-year-olds know each other from the age of one. That they know who they will go to school with, and never need to have their identity questioned. Precisely because they are confident in their relationships and their friends.
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A trilingual kindergarten in Finnmark will separate the children according to ethnicity – news Troms and Finnmark
