Despite the busy days before the national meeting, Lan Marie Berg treats herself to a playtime now that the temperatures in Oslo give a taste of summer. – This must be Oslo’s happiest square meter on a fine spring day, says the representative and deputy leader from the top of a play stand on the lush, spring-green Kirsebærlunden playground on Tøyen in Oslo. – But then you sit and look down at your mobile phone, laughs deputy manager colleague Ingrid Liland. Lan Marie Berg laughs after colleague Ingrid Liland pointed out that she was looking down on her mobile phone a bit too much as they sat enjoying the spring sun on top of a play stand. Photo: Tommy Iversen / news Even in the Green Party, the sight of green signs of spring often has to give way to the screen and its many distractions. Screen is in – going out And that applies to a large extent to the youngest among us. According to the EU Kids Online 2020 report, Norwegian children come out on top in screen use – on average, they spend almost four hours every day. – Young people need to be in places like this where they can unfold themselves, and be physically active, says Liland. Ho, Berg and parliamentary representative Une Bastholm look with great concern at many children’s everyday life, which they believe has become more monotonous and inactive as screens in the form of mobile phones and tablets have become more widespread. Ingrid Liland, in an unfocused moment, between party colleagues Lan Marie Berg and Une Bastholm. Photo: Tommy Iversen / news In several municipalities, children under the age of 5 are given a personal tablet when they start school. – Many of us adults know how easy it is to lose concentration, and maintain concentration over time when there is a screen in the picture. I think that development is unfortunate, says Berg. The three MDG summits will do something about that. They want to make 1st to 4th grade screen-free, and limit screen use in older grades until a better understanding of the value and disadvantages of screen time in school. If the MDG trio goes their way, the personal tablet will be off the desk and into the cupboard. Photo: Jonas Otneim / news The ball is rolling In April, the government will set up a committee which will precisely summarize the knowledge base and propose measures related to the use of screens by children and young people. Furthermore, the government will allow money to be used for books in the school. This should help to discourage screen use, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) during his national assembly speech last week. – In an extraordinary grant this May, I will give the schools NOK 120 million in fresh funds for the purchase of textbooks, especially for the youngest children in all languages, including Sami, said Støre. But for the three MDG years, the precautionary principle applies. – It is not about being negative about technology, but we must make arrangements to teach children sensible and controlled screen use. In addition, giving children more rooms where the screen is not present is a value in itself, says Bastholm. – And then we must not forget other, tactile ways to learn in a technological society, such as reading a book, looking each other in the eye, and touching and doing things, she adds. – Creates school losers Precisely learning through play is an important part of the resolution the trio will lift at the national meeting. They will move away from the six-year reform when the first major research report, carried out by Oslo Met in 2022, shows that there is less and less play in Norwegian schools. – We have to take seriously the fact that it creates early school losers, believes Bastholm. The plan for the six-year reform when it was introduced was a kind of pre-school year with a lot of play. But with the knowledge boost a few years later, there was an even greater focus on learning. Lan Marie Berg swings down from the play stand. Photo: Tommy Iversen / news – Instead of a smooth transition between kindergarten and school, the reality is in many places that you are met with a screen and homework from the first week. As a parent, you feel powerless when you see that the child is not ready, says Bastholm. Their aim is therefore to postpone the start of school until the year children turn seven. Then a school year will give way to an extra year in kindergarten. – The essential thing is that we get a policy that takes care of children’s childhood, says Bastholm, who, like his colleagues, will soon have children of school age. Their hope is that the resolution “Give children play back”, which will only be voted on at the national board meeting in June, will be part of Norwegian school policy at that time. “Give the children the toy back” Children’s everyday life has changed dramatically in a few decades. Despite knowledge of how important free play, physical activity and variety are for children’s development, many feel that children’s everyday lives have become more monotonous and inactive. This is linked to several aspects of social development and does not have just one solution. It is particularly important that nurseries and schools provide the very best conditions for our children. The Green Party looks with concern at a school where the youngest experience less physical activity and free play, more screens and at the same time more performance focus and testing. The six-year reform, which meant starting school a year earlier, was intended at the time to equalize differences through an extra school year with lots of free play. Instead, five- and six-year-old children start a school with less free play than promised. According to OsloMet, the classrooms have fewer facilities for practical activities than before. Many children are not at all ready for this everyday life in the year they turn 6, and they get an early experience of low coping skills and a destroyed desire to learn. Parallel to this, screens have almost taken over many children’s everyday lives, both at school and in their free time. MDG is not against the use of digital tools in teaching, but believes that the extent of especially tablets at the lowest levels is a huge social experiment of which we do not know the consequences. Both nurseries, schools and parents have an important role in helping children to learn good screen use, prevent screen addiction and create physical and social mastery. MDG wants to: Postpone the start of school until the year children turn 7 Make 1.-4. class screen-free, and in older grade levels limit the use of tablets and mobile phones until there is a knowledge base for how the tools provide educational value. Prioritize resources for equipment parks, workshops, outdoor areas, school gardens and other things that provide room for practical and varied learning styles throughout primary school Ensure that all parents receive guidance on screen hygiene for parents and children as part of the follow-up from the health centre, and that screen use is a topic in parent-home cooperation throughout basic education Introduce a national activity card as a digital activity and leisure card for all children and young people between the ages of 6 and 18 (already adopted)
ttn-69
MDG leaders look backwards – want a nine-year and almost screen-free school – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
