Week 4

Week 4 was a short but fruitful week for the four of us. Due to Ascension Day (a sacred day of obligation for Christians), it was a 3-day work week for Norwegians. One of our CT's (Darren and Joseph's) kindly invited us to her warm cozy home for lunch. It was really refreshing to be in a Norwegian home and experience how a typical day would be spent by the locals. 

Relaxation and comfort are vital aspects to a Norwegian's life. They believe that more can be accomplished when they are comfortable, relaxed, and stress-free. And boy, do they know how to relax. 

The afternoon flew right past us as we chatted about differences, but more importantly similarities. Many issues faced in Singapore such as differentiated teaching, special needs students (just to name a few), were faced by the teachers here in Norway as well. We shared what we knew, and learnt from each other with each insight given during the conversation.

We are eternally grateful for her warm hospitality and wish to return it if and when she comes to Singapore.

P.S. Otto, her dog, was equally hospitable and welcoming. A little spoiled though.

Stay tuned for more adventures, beautiful sights, and stories from our final week in this magnificent country!

Week 3

Week 2 came and went quickly with all the excitement and festivity from the Constitution Day on 17 May. Week 3 passed by gracefully and we experienced the true serenity of Norway. The slow-paced curriculum and lifestyle here in Stavanger really contrasts heavily with what we are used to back at home.

We therefore took the opportunity to take up Anne-Marie's (University of Stavanger representative) offer to bring us round the University campus. It was truly beautiful.

Apart from the scenery, the structure of a teacher's education and training was briefly shared with the four of us. For one, teachers in Norway require a Masters degree in order to begin teaching, spanning their course of study over 5 years (3 year degree, 2 year masters). The subjects that the teachers teach is entirely up to them to decide, and cross-discipline is allowed as long as the student-teacher exhibits competency in all subjects interested in.

We also visited a Flora Museum where anything related to the study of plants was found in the museum. This was interesting, because history of Stavanger, art work, books and literature were all found in this said museum.

It was informative, and the best part was we did not have to pay as it is free entry for students :)

Stay tuned for more adventures, beautiful sights and stories!

Week 2

Week 2 in Stavanger was truly a memorable one. We had the privilege of joining Stavanger in one of its most memorable events of the year: Constitution Day. The 17 May is a day of pride and independence for Norway and is celebrated with parading, singing and performances.

There were multiple parades on that day, each catering to a different group within the community of Stavanger. The parade we joined was the one meant for schools and children, which also happened to be the first parade.

The parades here were done with the focus on its people, its community. Stavanger (or Norway) places an exceedingly large emphasis on catering for its people. Unlike Singapore (and most other countries), Norway does not deploy its military in the parades. The parades therefore consists mainly of lighthearted activities such as singing, dancing, and playing of games.

During the parade, different groups of society come to spread their awareness or try to gain an audience. It ranges from organisations, to sport clubs, to political parties. It is no competition, however, they just make full use of this joyous occasion to mingle with the people of Stavanger.

We joined our classes from Kannik Skole during the march, during which they were cheering passionately for both school and nation. It was a truly heartwarming experience when we saw crowds of friends and family gather along the path of the parade, cheering and supporting the children while they march on.

During this festive event, every individual wore a Bunad. This was a traditional costume that was hand-sown and adorned with pure silver. Needless to say, it is very pricey (25,000 NOK - 50,000 NOK; SGD4000 - SGD8000). Despite the high price, almost every Norwegian family invests in at least one of these costumes for the sole purpose that every major city in Norway has a specific design to their Bunad. So wearing your very own bunad serves as a statement, telling others your city of origin, and the age of its culture.

Most of the teachers from Kannik Skole came to the parade in their bunads, it was a truly beautiful spectacle.

Stay tuned for more adventures, beautiful sights and stories!

Week 1

First week in Stavanger, Norway was an interesting one. Many things were different from Singapore. The first thing was clearly the weather. Norway has a single digit temperature everyday with strong winds. These were all expected but what was unexpected was how used the locals were to the weather. The four of us wrapped ourselves comfortably in three to four layers while locals were comfortable with two.



The first week in Kannik school was no less exhilarating. We were greeted with extremely friendly staff of the school who showed us around and introduced us to their classes. The dynamics of the classes here deserve special mention; the students are extremely enthusiastic and participate actively in class discussions. A sea of hands can be seen the moment the teacher asks a question, they are not afraid of making mistakes and are genuinely curious to learn.

The school makes use of technology to a large extent, every student is provided with a laptop owned by the school. Majority of the lessons here are conducted on Google Classroom where documents the teachers upload are accessible to all students.

This comes as no surprise when we were invited to witness one of the many events organised by the lovely teachers here: Rocket Firing Competition. During this mini competition to see which class’s self-constructed paper rocket can be propelled the highest up in the air by stepping on a 1.5 litre plastic bottle, the students crowd around the yard and support one another when their schoolmates took turns to send their rockets up in the air. The winning classes were then rewarded with ice-cream.

Eating out in Norway is an expensive ordeal. We therefore settled for making our own meals at the comfort of our homes. It’s hard work, but we have the incentive to keep it up. The produce so far have been rather fresh and tasty, making whipping up delicious meals at home possible (credit to Ying Rui and Darren).

This is Alma, a student teacher from the University of Stavanger whom we met on Thursday! She, along with some friends (who are not in the picture), brought us around the main town of Stavanger and even introduced us to a cozy cafe that they frequent. There, we had a nice cup of hot chocolate (euphoric in this weather) while we exchanged experiences of our countries with one another. She expressed interest in coming to Asia (Singapore specifically) and we offered to bring her around. We all look forward to having her in Singapore, where we can return her warm hospitality.

Stay tuned for more adventures, beautiful sights and stories!

Introduction

Hallo! We are a group of 4 student teachers who are embarking on our exciting International Practicum journey in Stavanger, Norway at Kannik Skole from 6th of May to 7th of June! We will be jotting down in this webpage, the various novel experiences, our different learning as well as the beautiful places that Norway has to offer over our 5 weeks here.

Before we start, here’s some information about ourselves! We are all Year 2 students in NIE and these are the subjects that we are currently studying:

• Darren - Biology and Chemistry
• Francina - History and Social Studies
• Joseph - Chemistry and Mathematics
• Ying Rui - Chemistry and Mathematics

We will be observing a whole range of subjects in Kannik and sharing some of the interesting experiences we have in Stavanger!

Kannik Skole is a school for students from Grade 8 to 10. This is equivalent to Secondary 2 to Secondary 4 in the Singapore context. Kannik Skole is found in an affluent neighbourhood and hence, most students come from families that are well-to-do. The students are generally of Norwegian nationalities which results in a relatively homogeneous student population.

As seen in the photo above, there is a mural of a man painted on the side of the school wall and behind this is a story about changing our lenses and viewing weaknesses as strengths. The man painted is a person named Helge. As Helge is illiterate, he is unable to take on many types of work. While this is easily seen as a weakness in the eyes of many, Helge managed to find steady employment Attende AS in a job that no one could beat him at - shredding documents containing sensitive information. This mural is a symbol of how everyone, regardless of who they are, can and has a key role to play in our society.

Stay tuned for more adventures, beautiful sights and stories!