A School Visit

            Do you know those days where your brain feels all foggy and you just can’t seem to concentrate on anything, and no amount of coffee or caffeine or sugar or food seems to help! I had a wonderful weekend, and it was such fun on Sunday to play tourist around Copenhagen (although I got a little sunburnt and my feet were very, very sore this morning!). However, this morning I just didn’t feel like I could focus as much as I would normally be able to.

            We had a really interesting day planned, going out to a school on Ejbyvej in Ballerup of approximately 920 students (most of whom were absent because of the lockout) from grade 1-9 (where students are about 15 years old and take their final exams to graduate). The principal, Martin, was kind enough to take some time out of his day to talk to us about his dreams for the school and give us a problem that we can discuss in groups throughout the week. Martin is new to the school (having been there since January), and is very much inspired by Sir Ken Robinson’s innovations on how we can revolutionize the educational system to better suit the needs of a new century. I think that Martin is also feeling pressure from the local government, who has a new aim to maximize student’s learning by 2020. This all combined for Martin to emphasize five goals or ideas that he would like his school to achieve and embody:

1.     Natural motivation is fundamental for learning

2.     Acknowledge children’s differences

3.     Build a bridge between leisure and school (meaningful learning)

4.     Focus on collaboration

5.     Focus on the development of creativity

Martin would like his school to motivate the students to learn intrinsically and be responsible for their own learning. He would also like what they learn to be practical in their real lives, bridging the gap from the community to the school. In our pre-determined groups we are to ideate and try to come up with a practical, realisable solution for Martin’s questions.

            We are going to spend the next couple days working on ideas. What I really enjoy about this process is the idea that being radical is a good thing, and that no idea should be thrown out immediately. At the end of the day we watched a short video on Ideo, which I found really inspiring. I particularly enjoyed the eclectic group of people that the company brought together, and how they interacted with every idea, every drawing, putting it on the board and actively using them rather than letting them lie on the table, ignored. I am looking forward to tomorrow, and what innovative ideas my group and I can find!