School education in Norway has its own characteristics, sometimes even very unusual ones. One of these features is walking on the street in any weather. Children must spend all school breaks in the yard in any weather. Rain, heavy rain, wind or snow – it doesn’t matter at all. It is believed that by running, jumping and “ventilating the brain”, the child rests, hardens, stocks up on health and tunes in to the next lesson. In the morning, on the streets of Norway, you can watch how children in waterproof overalls and rubber boots rush to school. Norwegians say: if a person is wearing rubber boots, then he is a local. They leave the house ready for any weather. They are taught this from childhood.
Even more attention is paid to sports training at school than to other disciplines. In autumn and spring, this is swimming, in winter, of course, skiing. And there are hikes all year round. Children from the age of nine, together with teachers, go on three-day trips where they spend the night in tents, light fires and cook food in a pot. Moreover, once a week a special bus takes them to the forest or mountains for a three-hour walk.
“Don’t think you’re special. Do not think that you are more important than us” – these theses of the so-called Jante’s law were stated by the writer Axel Sandemuse in the novel “The Fugitive Crosses His Trail” back in 1933. He described a society where the right to individuality is not recognized. The idea of social equality still influences the mentality of the Norwegians.
No one should stand out from the team. You can in sports, but there are no winners in studies. Norwegian students do not have diaries. On Monday, children are given a lesson plan for the week. Up to grade 7, no grades are given at all. This is explained by the fact that bad grades traumatize children. The education system is built in such a way that strong students help the weak. You will not be like everyone else, then you will be left without friends. You will be ignored and even bullied. Psychological pressure is not uncommon in Norwegian schools.
A measured life is broken only once a year. From late April to mid-May, school leavers celebrate their entry into adulthood. Noisy crowds of young people have fun, sing songs, drink and shower passers-by with confetti.
