The principal of the school must be knowledgeable enough

Article in Harstad Tidende on 04.06.23 Describes a pilot project in Harstad Municipality where starting in the fall average students who are struggling in school receive an offer to teach at the Kilhus Learning Grounds (KLA).

This arena started in 2003 as a show for high school students who, for various reasons, could not go to school. The undersigned helped create this show and had the arena as a workplace until I retired in 2016. With the experience and knowledge I claim to have, I want to show how unwise the so-called pilot project can be.

In recent years, I have become aware of this problem With behavior, school refusal and truancy increased at the mean level. So it’s understandable that one would want to facilitate a show for certain groups of pupils at intermediate level, but it doesn’t seem well thought out to put that show in the same place as a compact and well-done show at the junior level.

Calling it a misleading experimental project too, all of this has been tested elsewhere in the country. By cooperating with Fellesorganisationen Alternative Schools (now SNU), teachers at KLA have always had good information about experiences elsewhere in the country. Attempts to mix these student groups with this school problem in a common arena are not encouraged.

With all due respect to Head of School Chris Tandy, then reveals a lack of knowledge on the subject when he confirms that there is plenty of room in KLA for this project. The term “good space” is directly incorrect to use in this context because space availability has been key to KLA’s success. All the space is already being used for the alternating activities of several groups of middle school students.

The building contains classrooms of approx. 10 students, practice room and music room, both approx. 15m², group room 8-10m², small gym, kitchen and living room. good space?

Key success factors:

• Silence, calmness, well-being and close contact with adults are very important in getting pupils back to school. A prolonged absence from both the academic and social content provided by the school often leaves pupils at great risk. This, in turn, can mean in many cases that the way back becomes difficult. Disturbances can mean someone never comes through the door.
• The stage of youth consists of 3 stages. These must sometimes have a different content in teaching. Then there must be room available. What does Tandy know about Killhoe Village?
• Youth in KLA have very different needs, which in turn require teachers to have opportunities to personalize and differentiate daily school life. From experience this is used all the time and requires accessible rooms. Important for student/teacher relationship building!
• Much of the teaching is done by taking topics from the curriculum for discussion around a communal dining table. A very large age/maturity gap can put an end to this possibility.

Nettavisen iHarstad was at the end of April This year a great report on the KLA on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the arena. This report provided a good picture of the many success factors, which were highlighted by pupils, parents and teachers alike.

It is satisfying to read That the Chairman of the Education and Culture Committee, someone as experienced in education as Edvin Eriksen, shares the same concerns as the undersigned about whether a mediation project at KLA is being properly contemplated. He has extensive experience as a teacher, as a principal at PPD and as a lecturer in municipalities and at UIT Harstad.

He should therefore be the right person to assess whether the planned “pilot project” makes sense for implementation in the KLA.

The intermediate project was in the beginning It is to be carried out in a separate building which was later found to be unsuitable for construction purposes. I assume there is a good description of the project on how physical, educational and social needs will be met, as the committee clearly thinks the scheme makes sense.

For the undersigned, it appears more like a game of chance to put at risk an already well-run school by pushing what is proposed.