Reverie (Hans Christian Andersen Paper)

Hans Christian Andersen writes,

“At this Christmas, I bring together what remains of my wealth: 156 fairy tales and stories. Let my last words be the violinist’s remark in THE PEN AND THE INKWELL: If what I have accomplished has any value, ‘The honor is God’s alone!’” (HCA, p. 1096).

Now, before reading any more of this paper take a moment to think about your life and the person you are now. What characteristics define you? How do you differ from other people walking down the street? Now ask yourself what makes you that person. Is it your clothes, your thoughts, your experiences, the image you give off to others? Perhaps it is numerous things combined. Are you sure about who you are, or have you never questioned it before?
The real question is - Who is the mastermind behind everything that exists? Sometimes it seems the world is based on this domino effect where each and every event that happens in one way or another shapes the next event. Perhaps this effect is what creates the person we become. In this essay, I will reflect on three of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytales to illustrate the lessons we should all learn from our communities and from life in general.
Let us first examine Andersen’s fairytale, The Shadow. Andersen creates two characters in this tale to display the relations between good and evil through imagination, humanism and materialism. To begin with, you have a young man, a philosopher whose ideas are expressed through his books. He seeks to write about the true, the good and the beautiful in life and sets aside other people’s judgments to seek his own path. He is able to see others’ opinions and prevent them from halting his own ambitions. He has learned to question and seek the simple things in life in hopes of uncovering something much more complex. The scholar spotted a light, a healthy flower, and heard the sounds of music, which he found “exquisite”, and taught us that things we see or hear leave impressions on us and capture our attention, drawing us to explore them further. The end effect of this curiosity to explore is sometimes very positive; in other cases, it leads to problems. For example, our willingness to learn may teach us things that we may not expect. It is not always good that triumphs over evil, and further, if we never learn to balance the two, we may, in the end, destroy ourselves. The scholar learned both lessons a bit too late. He wanted so badly to learn more that he gave up everything he had and lost sight of who he truly was, an innocent man whose thoughts intrigued him to open his mind and seek more than that which he saw with his eyes. His shadow, on the other hand, rather than seeking this good in life, sought society’s materialism. After leaving the man for years, the Shadow returns only to accuse him of lacking the ability to understand the world. He thought of himself as very well educated and claimed to be able see the world as it truly is, an ability the man lacked. This teaches us it is important to identify the evils of life and the evils within ourselves. We must learn to accept our shortcomings and know how far to push ourselves, as we are only capable of so much.

When applied to life, this story can teach us many lessons. This innocent man had such a strong desire and interest for life that he gave up his shadow - everything he had - in hopes of educating himself and following his dream. The tale touches upon aspects of life, all of which shape the characters in it, just as we as humans are shaped. Each of us has a unique Shadow which is part of us, and which is an integral part of who we are. As a story presenting the relation between good and evil, Andersen seems understand things in a somewhat different way than most. Perhaps he is trying to tell society that both good and evil lie within us and together they must balance each other out. When the two are separate, often times you will see that evil does indeed have a powerful grip over what is good and just. Andersen presents this through the actions and decisions of the scholar and the Shadow and how, years later, he triumphs over the innocent man.

The Emperor’s New Clothes, another of Andersen’s tales, and perhaps one of his most read children’s fairy tales, is clearly about greed, though it has a deeper meaning many readers will not even pick up on. It is the lesson of innocence and honesty and where they lie within children as opposed to adults. In the fairy tale, the emperor is completely driven by materialism, as he shows little care for his kingdom; never attending theater plays, enjoying walks in the park, or even giving the slightest attention to his soldiers. When he hears of this new magic cloth that could be used to robe him, he immediately accepts the offer and shows a great interest throughout the story when anything regarding the making of his new clothes is dealt with. He is a prime example of how far some people’s greed extends.

However, along with greed, the lesson behind this story is that society needs to become aware of is this lesson of truth and lies. Each of the council members the emperor chooses to peek in on the weavers and see how his clothes look so far claimed them to be the most magnificent things they had ever seen; while in fact unable to see the fabric. Even in the end, when the emperor himself dressed in the “robes” he exclaimed how lovely and beautiful they were even though he was not able to see anything there himself. How could he claim not to see them though, for fear of being stupid or even unfit to be the Emperor? Of course, there was not one person out of the entire kingdom who spoke out either declaring could not see fabric.
Why is that? Why did everyone lie? Or perhaps the better question is-why wasn’t someone honest? For they all knew he was standing there naked. Is it not better to be honest than deceitful? The problem with society is that sometimes lies are a way of covering up the truth, and many times that truth is what we are afraid to face. The Emperor was unfit, but not because he could not see this robe he was given. The robe merely served as an insight into reality; some might refer to as a “wake up” call. No one was willing to admit that they had not seen a thing for they would be unfit for their positions, even the people of the town. However, once one innocent little child shouted out “But he doesn’t have anything on!” the whole crowd began to agree. Out of every adult there, the child was the first to admit the truth and then, because there was a little child who said he had nothing on, the crowd felt safe to shout it out themselves. Perhaps this is because we so often grow out of our innocence and put materialism and status before what it right - truth. We cannot live life buried in lies, hiding from the truth for if we do, we will be conquered by ignorance.

Life Lesson Number Three: There is always more to a story than what appears black and white and often understanding what it is can only come through reading between the lines. In The Pen and the Inkwell, Hans Christian Andersen wrote, “Even the violin and the bow appeared to perform independently of their master who guided them; it was as if soul and spirit had been breathed into the instrument, so the audience forgot the performer in the beautiful sounds he produced.” But still, the inkwell claims that it is the mastermind, the thinker, the brain behind every idea and the seed from which all poetry springs and calls the pen a servant. The pen argues the inkwell is merely just liquid existing only so the pen is able to express its ideas upon paper. Does this sound familiar? When the poet returns after a concert and takes out a piece of paper to write he describes how “the musician had enticed such marvelous sounds out of his instrument.” He explains that it was the whole instrument that played and not just the strings. The violin he said sang by itself and the bow moved by itself, regardless of who the musician behind it was. Yet, still the pen and the inkwell argued.

This story of The Pen and the Inkwell is written creatively and is similar to The Shadow because it investigates relationships among individuals and society, and character within individuals. It is interesting to see the characters and the art Hans Christian Andersen selects to base this tale on. By choosing a pen and inkwell rather than a paintbrush and palate, Andersen was able to personally relate to this work while still making it possible for readers of all different social, economic and professional backgrounds to relate to the work as well. After the poet had left, the pen and the inkwell once again began to quarrel with no end. This leads to the end conclusion of the story, where they still fail to recognize the relationship between the two of them and the work itself. Unlike the poet, they failed to identify a key concept: you yourself are not the flame of success; you are merely a single spark that lights it.
Could Andersen be right? Do we in society claim credit for that which we do not deserve? Is your shadow a reflection of who you really are? Do you take credit for every accomplishment you have made or do you remember everyone who helped you along the way? Society is full of pens and inkwells. The poet in this tale states, “How absurd it would seem if the bow and the violin should be proud and haughty about their accomplishments. Yet we, human beings, often are; the poets, the artists, the scientists and even the generals often boast in vain pride. Yet they are all but instruments upon which God plays. To Him alone belongs all honor. We have nothing to pride ourselves upon!” This lesson was very clear to Andersen. He recognized where talent comes from and worked hard to get to where he did. In both the Shadow and the Pen and the Inkwell, he then invites us to read between the lines of our lives, to look beyond first appearances, to appreciate all knowledge we are given, and to recognize those who have given us the ability to be who we are now. We must do this to help ourselves become more honest with ourselves at the same time. Then, when we can make distinctions where need be, we can live a truly good life.

Stop and ask yourself once again before putting this paper down and walking away - What has shaped your life and defines you, and how does that make you different from other people? Hans Christian Andersen gives credit where credit is due in his fairytale and states so at the end of his collection of stories. He tries to portray sorrow, intelligence, greed for materialism, and wit through all three of these fairytales. In the end though, he shows us that we must all work together to survive.

Society is like a domino effect. Without one thing, you cannot have another; your shadow will always be a part of you at times and shows the genuine difference between you and others; for no two shadows are alike. Your thoughts are not yours and yours alone, but are based on many different things: they come from religious figures, life-altering events, past experiences, and even conversations with friends. We must accept who we are and continue to strive to be the best we can be, while being careful not to loose ourselves as each of the characters in these three stories had. So, I leave you with one last question for you to think about before I end this essay. Are you living a fairy tale?

Self Evaluation (reflection on practicum experience)

When the semester started I set out to learn about another culture, society, and educational upbringing of young children so I could take what I learn and apply it to next semester’s program, as well as the work I will do in my future. Now, at the end of this semester I have found just about all of my goals fulfilled, and even achieved some goals along the way that I did not originally set.

At first I did not think the pedagogues at my daycare were interested in sharing knowledge, experiences, and ideas with me, however over the semester they have opened up and taught me so much about the children I work with each day, as well as the backgrounds of the families at the daycare and the relationships amongst the community. Sharing cultural background with the pedagogues gave me an opportunity to learn about cultures from different perspectives because many of them came from all around the world. They truly believe it is important for the children to be immersed in this multicultural atmosphere so the children have the opportunity to learn about other parts of the world; other foods, customs and traditions.

Personal contact and interaction with children is incredibly important to their development, and though sometimes I felt like a “playmate” for the children at my daycare, there was never once I wanted or wished for something different. As I predicted, communicating with the children was difficult for there was a great language barrier not only within my practicum daycare, but also in many of schools we visited during our study tours. Now, looking back on my first day at the daycare I remember staring blankly at the children when they asked me questions, basically because they spoke Danish and none of which I understood. However, as my days at the daycare increased I found myself progressing tremendously from asking pedagogues to help translate to more closely observing the children’s body language. From interacting with the children and working through this language barrier I have learned that it is easy to cope with language problems by use other means of communicating: body language, physical interaction, facial expressions, dances, etc.

My last few visits at my daycare have been my most memorable times spent with the children because our relationships have developed in unique individual ways. I have learned there will always be those children who are quiet and held back, such as one little girl in my group who loves to sit on my lap and follow me around, insisting on holding my hand when we go on trips, but who will only whisper sometimes in her responses; if and when there actually are any. On a different note I will remember Matias who would laugh shouting “Nej” when I would insist that I too speak Danish. Line has taught me that it is possible to communicate through visual recognition. She would take me over to things and point them out when trying to capture my attention. She would sit on my lap and tell me the story of the characters in books by pointing to them each; naming the colors of the clothes, what they were wearing and describing their actions. Then there will always be Nikolai, and I know we were not really supposed to pick favorites, but this boy is by far the one boy I always looked forward to seeing each week. My contact with him was much different than with the other children and through him I learned so much that I could not from the others. He loved to grab my attention, then run away expecting me to run after him and catch him, but taught me through this that children’s moods can change in a split second. After playing the same game over and over again for weeks on end, one week I caught him and swung him in the air causing him to get very angry with me.
Through working one on one with the children I have learned more than books themselves can explain. Having the opportunity to be immersed in a child’s play activity has given me a chance to not only learn about the ages in which children develop, but the different steps each child takes in doing so. You really do learn a great deal more when actively participating in the activities with the children rather than simply observing them. It gives you first hand knowledge you would otherwise not have and allows you to gain a frame of reference and observe the child’s experience from the position they are in. For example, during my Smore’s Sandwich making experience I learned no two children have the same capabilities. From working with them in a group I watched as some relied on me for help while others tried to make it completely all on their own. I was able to see how they attempted different tasks and understand why they took the steps they did. It is very difficult to allow a child to take responsibility to do things on their own, but when given the chance it can be very rewarding.
I would like to touch upon the receiving school in The Netherlands, for the impression it left on me was so life-fulfilling. Sometimes I think it is hard to learn Danish, but when you think about it I have the ability to choose whether or not to learn it. I can still get around and survive without speaking it here because Denmark speaks my mother-tongue language as well. However, the children at the receiving school in the Netherlands were a prime example of how necessary it is to learn the majority’s language because none of them spoke Dutch of English. To teach the children Dutch, the staff there spoke only Dutch to the children, not only because that was the language they needed to learn, but also because that was the only language the faculty spoke. Through the experience of spending a day at that school, I have seen how difficult it is for children to come into another country, but how essential these schools are because of the opportunities they offer. Looking beyond the language stimulation program, the school has much more to offer; perhaps things that are a bit more difficult to see. The benefits for children to grow and learn in a multicultural atmosphere are innumerable. The children at the receiving school were so friendly and accepting of each other. I watched children from Somalia, Syria, Pakistan, China and various other countries all playing with each other. Watching all of the children interact really just made me think a lot about the nonjudgmental nature of children. There is a world out there, where people do get along and have learned how to accept those who are different. Perhaps this is the world more people need to see, the world more people need to learn from; a school that looks beyond race and ethnicity and sees what each child has uniquely to offer.

I am excited to go back to Alfred University and sharing my experiences with my fellow students, but more importantly with my professors. At Alfred I am studying child and clinical psychology. More than anything, I am eager to share with my professors the amount of responsibilities adults put on these four year olds I work with. I have learned that children are capable of much more than we can conceive and when given the opportunity the things children may really surprise us. Watching four year olds cut potatoes with knives, climb trees without help (or supervision), run around in the pen with the goats (even while some of them knock their horns with each other) are just some things I observed at my daycare that intrigued me. I look forward to to taking these experiences and passing them on in hopes that the world of child development will grow and expand more than ever because from what I have learned it already has seemed to.

Theory (research paper)

Question to be researched
To understand why it is important for schools to be ethnically diverse, it is critical to focus on a more specific area: While dealing with cultural barriers how should educational atmospheres be structured to educate children on the culture they are living in, as well as the different cultures that exist in the world and how is it this reflected in Denmark’s daycare, Børnehuset Mågebo?

Behind the scenes
Theory allows us to examine certain things, by focusing in on specific points that relate within a broader topic, while leaving others outs. This paints a clearer picture for the reader and helps them to understand which assumptions you are basing your thoughts on and what aspects you are building on when discussing a particular topic. For the past three months I have read articles discussing many different theories regarding children in a multicultural context. Along with several academic field studies, I have had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a Danish børnehuset where I have observed similar and different cultural aspects, teaching styles, placement of responsibilities, and structural atmospheres.

A culture is the sharing of customs, beliefs, and traditions among many individuals. From the readings and class discussions, we have examined the different perspectives some schools take and how important it is for schools to be ethnically diverse. These classroom lectures, academic visits, and hours spent in a Danish daycare have motivated me to examine this issue in more detail and not only ask why this is, but also how it is sustained: the approaches to teaching minority children and the importance of educating all children about the cultural diversity. However, the issue is derives from a broader subject, the study of minority children in a multicultural context, it draws upon many different factors that have a great influence on its development.

For this paper I will focus specifically on how centers work with a multicultural group of children using their diversity and cultural knowledge of the world to educate young children and help them grow. My intent is to draw upon the knowledge I have gained through my experiences this semester, as well as to reflect on class readings and class discussions, to review different teaching styles and structures. Though they will not be discussed, numerous other factors can also influence the success of cultural diversity programs, including religious backgrounds, the transition of ethnic diversity from pre-schools and daycare to later schooling, the different placements of multiculturalism programs within a curriculum, and the barriers children face outside the classroom.

The Foundations along with an Analytical Approach
A theory is a principle formulated to explain specific parts of a larger issue, in an attempt to draw a workable conclusion or hypothesis. One theory discusses how language barriers create challenges for both teachers and children in multicultural and diverse classrooms. This creates obstacles for staff members who are expected to develop a classroom teaching style that best suits all students. If one’s mother tongue is not the official language of the country they are living in, it is crucial they become bilingual in order to get a good education and develop socially (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1988). It is necessary for centers to create common educational experiences for each of the children. This means that centers need to be structured so that children will not become disengaged when interacting with other children just because of a difference in dialect. Therefore, when teaching minority children, one theory suggests that instruction should first be given in the child’s mother-tongue (Bowman, 1990). At the same time, all children should be allowed to choose when they want to use their mother-tongue language (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1988). It is important for the child’s family values to be reinforced in school, and essential for the teachers to educate themselves on the many diverse ethnical groups, different meanings of cultural gestures, and different traditions that stretch across cultures (Bowman, 1990). This is a suggested blue-print for educating minority children from different cultures. However there are other ways of looking at education, ways in which support this blueprint, contradict it, or simple examine the issue from a different angle.

This brings us to the structure of børnehuset in regards to the ways different cultures are viewed. Children learn so much through adults as far as cultural acceptance and cultural rejection is concerned, thus pedagogues need to always set positive examples when working around children. The children do see the differences in their peers and will naturally absorb negative stereotypes they hear about or learn from others. However, caregivers have the ability to change these perceptions through creating activities that incorporate all of the children. Gathering the children in a group can provide them with a group identity where they can all feel equal and yet can each express their uniqueness (Dixon and Fraser, 1986). Through group activities, the instructor has the opportunity to discuss each of the students’ different cultures and have everyone feel accepted.

The principles behind a Danish daycare, Børnehuset Mågebo, are derived from each of the theories discussed here, draw parallels between their approaches, but do differ in certain ways as well. At Børnehuset Mågebo, pedagogues suggest that a common language (Danish) is spoken to the children, and those who do not speak it learn through nonverbal cues such as body language. They believe that children learn through seeing and doing, through repetitive communication, and by taking part in hands-on activities. In working with students from varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds it is also important to educate them about the cultures and traditions of their fellow peers (Mågebo, 2005). The rate of child development varies from child to child, thus making it impossible for a developmentally appropriate standardized curriculum to be developed. Teachers must recognize that children come from different backgrounds and use principles of child development when trying to educate minority children (Mågebo, 2005). They have created programs to help promote social development and understanding within the children to help them understand the world they are living in and accept all of the different people they see.

Closing Comments
Teaching is a critical element in the development of children. The perceptions and attitudes of a caregiver regarding other cultures is easily passed to children, therefore it is extremely important for a child to be able to attend a safe and well-developed educational atmosphere. Language barriers are clearly challenges when working with such diverse groups of children and need actively addressed, because they will always impact work within a multicultural atmosphere. When teaching minority children, it is important to respect their individual mother-tongue, but also to encourage acquisition of the second language. Minority students have the right to identify positively with their culture, their origins, and their mother-tongue while being accepted and respected y others at the same time (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1988). The children are encouraged at Børnehuset Mågebo to continue to speak their mother-tongue in their homes. This allows them to remember that their background is still a part of them and discourages a sense of shame or embarrassment from it.

Børnehuset Mågebo has created programs with hands-on activities that encourage the children to use more than two of their senses, making it easier for them to learn foreign languages. When reading fairytales by Hans Christian Andersen the children have the opportunity to dress the characters in the story and act out the scenes. The staff is instructed to focus on promoting social development and understanding between the children because it is important to provide an understanding of the world they are living in (Mågebo, 2005). By strengthening the children’s independence on a personal level, connections are created between the pedagogues and children, as well as good relationships with the parents. Majebo Bronby reflects other aspects of the theories discussed above as well. The staff at Majebo is ethnically diverse and well-educated on other cultures. Their approaches to teaching and perspective on how a classroom should be run reflect parts of both of the theories presented above (Mågebo, 2005). However, they do not start with a child’s mother tongue when new children come to their facilities. Because some of the staff is from other countries and speak other languages they have the ability to communicate with the children in other languages, but choose to resort to that only when necessary (Mågebo, 2005).

Children should be given opportunities to develop socially and should feel comfortable while doing so (Bowman, 1991). Børnehuset Mågebo recognizes this and creates settings where the children can share their different cultures with each other. The faculty helps promote the diversity amongst their school by accepting each child as an individual and setting expectations individually for each by gathering the children into groups each morning and allowing them pick a song to sing. While singing songs they use body language to communicate as well. Touching their heads, jumping up and down, spinning, and pointing to things in the room are just some ways the pedagogues at Børnehuset Mågebo help to teach minority children songs (Mågebo, 2005). These group projects and activities help the children develop socially within a multicultural context and teach children to accept everyone and provide them with an atmosphere where they can feel equal and open to share their individual traditions, beliefs, and customs (Dixon and Fraser, 1986). Børnehuset Mågebo creates these groups for opportunities to discuss the different traditions and holidays that each child in the class might celebrate. Through cooking activities throughout the day, the children are then able to show their peers the different foods they have in their countries and enjoy the different tastes while they eat together. They understand the importance that børnehuset and other child programs to be ethnically diverse, and have accepted several theories as a basis for their structure and instruction. Perhaps we all need to educated ourselves more and reflect these same understandings.

References

Bowman, Barbara T. (1990). Educating Language-Minority Children. ERIC
Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, ED317273.

Børnehuset Mågebo. (2005) Mågebo.

Dixon, G.T. & Fraser, S. (1986). Teaching Preschoolers in a Multilingual Classroom.
CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, 62, 4, 272-275.

Skuttnabb-Kangas, T. & Cummins, J.: Minority Education: From Shame to Struggle.
Multilingual Matters LTD. Clevedon, Philadephia, Chapter 1: Multilungualism
and the education of minority children. P. 9-44.

City Life in Holland...

The city of Groningen was pretty cool and definitely a good time. It was similar to Copenhagen in the sense that you could walk around it and not get lost. We arrived on Monday afternoon, but all kinda crashed Monday night cause we were tired from all the travelling. Tuesday night we decided was the night we were going to go out. Unfortunately though, Tuesday night in Groningen is the one night basically noone goes out. Bridget and I ended up wandering around trying to find someplace, anyplace that was "hopping" and ended up at McDonalds. Did you know they ahve Rolo McFlurry's here in Europe. They are SO good and the US needs to get them and start selling them. I think i might have to write a letter to McDonalds when I get home and tell them about it...seriously, they are that worth it. Anyways, so yeah we ended up at McDonalds with about 10 other guys who were obviously speaking Dutch. Sometimes when you are around another language for so long you wanna be able to speak another language, any language as long as it isn't your mother-tongue. So, Bridget and I decided we would pretend we talked Danish. However, the languages are similiar enough that I think the guys might have just thought we were stupid... which is fine, we were just having fun haha. Anyhow after mcdonald's we found ourselves at this one bar where there were about 30 guys and only our American Girls. It might have been somehting like a frat group or something, or a gay bar... either way it was good time for us. The guy were soo funny-loved to dance and chat and dance some more. They would compete with each other and bust out these crazy moves, it was so funny. One of the guys randomly lifted me in the air and was swinging me around, seriously i thought i was going to hit the ceiling.... it was a cue to move on haha. We headed down the block to this other bar that supposively was a pretty good dance club. When we walked in everyone was gathered around the bar and noone was on the dance floor. So there Bridget and I go, sober, out into the middle of this dancefloor and start dancing. everyone was looking at us and some of the girls at the bar were mocking us and our dance moves. We figured.. if worse came to worse and someone came up to us... we could just pretend to be completely drunk that way if we were dancing bad we wouldnt be looking too much like fools, but we figured we just stay tehre and keep dancing. afterall they were playing almost ALL american songs. After about 40 minutes of us up there dancing all alone in the middle of the bar, the rest of our girls showed up, which of course got more people out on the dance floor. That night, that Tuesday night will go down in history as the night Bridget and Melissa "got the party started" in Groningen! --On our way home we met these two Dutch guys who wanted to bring us back for Toastes (apparently later I found out Toastes usually have grass in them, so its a good thing we didnt go back with them haha- I guess sometimes they do, not always, but anyhow...) They came back to the hotel with us and sat in the lobby trying to teach us some Dutch words. Unfortunately, we had a 3 hour lecture the next morning and I wanted to get at least close to 4 hours of sleep beforehand, so i crashed pretty quickly. We were going to meet them the next day for lunch on our free time, but they ended up having work, so that was that. It was cool to talk with them though and correct some of the pre-conceived beliefs they had about Americans as well as learning more abotu Holland and Europe.

Iamsterdam~ Amsterdam was a bit different. Tallot (our teacher) warned us that Amsterdam was VERY easy to get lost in. We were given a map (that just cut off our hotel, so it wasn't very much help at all). Of course within 20 minutes we had completely turned ourselves around and couldn't find the restaurant we were supposed to meet the rest of the group in. Seriously, Amsterdam is very confusing. Every corner you turn looks exactly like the previous one you came from and tehre are little harbors everywhere. The maps don't even help much because the street names change so much. What a different city then Copenhagen this is. It's funny in a way and interesting how different cities are from each other all of europe, makes me want to see the different cities in the US more now too. But yeah, point made... very confusing. Thursday night Hanna took a train to see me. It was so good to have a familiar face around for once. I was so drained by that point from being around all girls for the whole week that I had really needed to get away from them. The two of us met up with the teachers in my program and one of the teachers in the EUP Program and had a couple drinks at one of the Irish Pubs, then we headed off on our own. We ended up staying in one bar all night, which was fine I am not usually a big drinker anyways. It was a good choice bar cause we just played pool all night. We challenged a couple guys who were from England and beat them the majority of the time(i think), then we played with two other Dutch guys for the rest of the night(my team won though i hear... don't ask how, cause i have no idea). Did you know in most places in Europe you have to pay to use the toilet? Yea, crazy I hate the idea. As far as I'm concerned... and I tried explaining it to the toilet monitor guy who really hated me at that bar... you can either charge me to put drinks in my stomach or charge me to let the drinks out, but definitely not both. Needless to say, the guy really didn't like me cause I kept coming back without money and still using the toilet. haha ooppps! Late that night we walked down the redlight district but it was after 3am so nothing was really going on, so we went again the next day.

The Redlight district- Such a different culture than in the US. I didn't know if i should feel sorry for the girls in the windows, or if they enjoyed it. I know, they do take it very seriously, for them it is a buisness, but in a way I wanted to just go and talk with one of them. I was kinda interested in how exactly the whole thing works, if they get all the money or have to put some of it down for the people who own the window, etc...

The Anne Frank House.... it was pretty empty and built really into a museum type atmosphere, but something I am glad I made it to see. It is hard to think that she once hid there during such a scary time in history and to think that the streets we walked down were the same streets the Nazi's walked down. It makes you think a lot about history. Reading about things are one thing, walking the paths that history took place on are another...

Holland Academic Visits and Reactions

Danish is spoken in Denmark guys... Dutch is spoken in Holland!

There is so much about life that I still don't understand and the trip this past week gave me so much to think about. Europe is so different from the US, in many good ways, as well as vise versa. Some differences are funny, some are unfortunate, and others are a bit of both.The Netherlands was much different than anything I was expecting from the stay and academic visits in Groningen to the historical sites and life of Amsterdam.

Eerste Opvand van de Woldstroom: This is a receiving school for refugee children ages 4-12 (located in Groningen). After looking back on this week, this visit was by far my most favorite. The school is set up by groups of children ages 4-6, 6-9, and 9-older. When children are brought to the Netherlands they must ALL learn Dutch. At this school their abilities are tested and they are taught in groups according to their age, not according to their language level ability. The staff members really don't speak any other language, therefore the only language spoken in class is Dutch. Boy and I thought learning French in HS was hard, and now still complain about learning Danish sometimes. These young children are forced to come to another country whether it be assylm seekers or refugees escaping genocide and have to learn Dutch in a classroom where the you are not allowed to speak your mother-tongue, at all. Because none of the staff members speak anything besides Dutch in the school, the childre learn through body language communication, computer programs, board games, books, and peer on peer relationships. This made our visit to the school and communication pretty easy because the children were so talented in understanding others through ways we have never had to experience. The children at the school came from so many different backgrounds. There were students from ALL over Europe. It's hard for me to imagine life in another country, and to hear stories about these children and the difficulties they face seem almost impossible to envision. There was a little boy there who came from the desert and needed to be taught how to use a toilet because he had never seen or heard of one before. It is one thing to think about something like this and another to try to place yourself in these childrens shoes; to be taught in another language, which you don't speak, how to use something you have never even seen before. The school is facing many difficulties and having incredible amounts of trouble staying open because of funding. Sometimes I wish I had the money to give these schools. They need to keep these places alive so we don't loose these children. It is so important to give the children a chance to adapt into a new society. The schools help them deal with post trumatic syndrome due to what many times will be an unplanned sygnificant life event carrying challenges unimaginable to us.

The second academic visit of that day was to a 100 year old typical Dutch Windmill that still is in operation as a corn mill. This was pretty neat I must say. I always see the big windmillls from a distance in Holland as well as in Denmark sometimes, but actually being able to climb up to the top of an old wooden one to learn about how it works and actually stand only feet away from the loud mills turning was an experience in itself. Windmills are very important to Holland and its inhabitants and I having the opportunity to see one so close up made the trip that much better. This mill serves to grind corn, remove excess water from the low-lying districts, and sawing timber. All of this is what makes Holland, Holland and gives many people not only the resources that windmills produce, but the way of life working one has to offer.

Tuesdays first visit talk with Will Kratsborn, a leacturer at The Teacher Training Institution of the Hanzehogeschool. Focusing on Multiple Intelligences, he discussed seven ways of musical learning and didactical applications, as well as individual and group work. I thought what he had to say was interesting and his perspective on teaching was definitely different, but I didn't agree with everything he had to say and I am still skeptical about some of his points. He writes music to teach subjects like history. Kinda confusing, sorta interesting, many times hard to believe though. Anyhow he gets ideas from work regarding the theory of multiple intelligences done by Howard Gardner a professor of education at Harvard University. Anyhow I would suggest to just look up information on their work if you are interested because it is kinda hard for me to explain and secretly it was a 3 hour powerpoint lecture, and they turned off the lights for a decent amount of it(i didn't fall asleep literally, but rule number one of teaching: never turn off the lights and put on a powerpoint, especially if the lecture is anytime before noon).

"De Starter" School: This is a public school, which educates children accoring to the Dalton Principles; freedom, independence, and working together. Dalton-principles mean that the pupils are working with a "task" as well as individually, in small groups or in a class setting. This school is 90% Dutch and 10% other so it is not very diverse. When the school first began it was about 50/50 but because it is specific area based and many families are no longer living in that area because of prices and whatnot, the schools diversity is suffering. The informative meeting we participated in seemed to give a lot of background information, so I was a bit confused as to what pretained to that school in particular compared to other schools similar to it. They did emphasize that every neighborhod is different, therefore every school is different. The schools cover ages 0-15 years old and have parental involvement and afterschool programs. These programs create more opportunities for the children. I did enjoy this school, but at the same time there was something missing. Something I find missing in so many places when I'm here in Europe, and something I miss so much from my life in the US-the diversity. Sometimes I question why I am studying Children in a Multicultural Context over here, because sometimes I dont feel like there is enough multiculturalism. The communities need to be more diverse. In many places throughout the world it starts with the communities. Because the assylum seekers are closing down the school have no way over becoming more diverse. Areas are doubling income and causing families who can't afford it to move. Honestly, in the long run I really think this is hurting them because their children are growing and learning in a one box environment. Rather than being mixed with other cultures to learn from and share ideas with, in a way they are being locked in a box with ones similar to them. Because of this I feel like no matter how much responsiblity the schools put on the children, no matter how organized they taught to be, regardless of the number of peaceful programs there are, the children will always lack something because they are missing such a huge aspect of life. In a way it is similar I think with the person I am now because I have traveled abroad. I have learned so much more because I have met other cultures and I realize now even that dispite how diverse of a culture I grew up in, there is always more people to meet, more to learn, and more to apprieciate.

Wednesday morning we went to the Groningen Institute for Education Research. This is a research institution in the field of education, pedagogics, and child development withing the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences of the University. Here we listened to two lectures which were very interesting and directly relating to what we are studying. The first on discussed the impact of immigrants on host societies. He discussed 4 different stages. What i really enjoyed was the way he focused on the effects and responses of the host societies as well as the immigrants. While I've been here I have been zooming in and educating myself so much on the challenges and perspectives of the immigrants and refugees, that I have totally forgotten about the challenges and views the host societies have. The man discussed host soceties that were relatively homogeneouls dominate cultures, some that decreasingly homogeneous, and those that were becoming culturally heterogeneous. The lecture touched upon how demographic development effects as well. It was a long lecture and very informative and most likely one of the most interesting ones we has say through so far. At the end we talked about how adverse reactions of societies may lead to marginalism, separation, etc..

Cultural Integration (paper by Kele and I)

Cultural identity is a defining factor in the lives of most people and can, therefore, create the greatest difficulties regarding their integration into a new society. To begin a discussion on cultural identity, it must first be defined. Cultural identity can be explained as a combination of a person’s language, country of origin, and religion, accompanied by various other factors. One’s cultural identity forms the basis for a person’s character, creates a source for independence as well as security, personal values, and individual importance. The defining of cultural identity of minorities, and their subsequent integration into society, has gained more widespread attention in recent years both in the United States and in Denmark, particularly in relation to the challenges it carries with it.

The first difficulty which minorities encounter is language. Language is an essential part of everyday life and thus forms the basis for a person’s identity. “[It] plays a huge role in most aspects of human life everywhere,” (Skutnabb-Kangas) and so language is essential in allowing the minority access to the new society. When an individual, especially a child, is presented with various issues about their language and different views on its worth to society, they are automatically presented with a re-evaluation of who they are. Language barriers tend to be the main blocks which most minorities face as the greatest problem when attempting integration into a new society. Due to the wide variety of languages spoken in the world, it is not possible for most people to immigrate to a place where their native language is spoken and so they are bound to face some difficulties.

In addition to the barriers presented by spoken languages, there are also differences in body language and physical interactions that may cause additional misunderstandings between members of different cultures. According to Le Roux, body language, or kinesics which includes facial expression, posture, gestures, and other body motions may serve to express opposing views in alternate cultures. For example, in “Westernized” cultures such as many parts of Europe and the United States, it is expected that when people are engaged in a conversation that they maintain eye contact out of respect for the other person. In contrast, this same behavior is seen as confrontational and rude in many Asian cultures. It is evident that spoken language and body language may convey different messages in different cultural contexts, and so, as an increasingly global community, education about other cultures and their norms of behaviour must be promoted in order to better deal with the increase in diversity.

Not only do body language and spoken language present difficulties to integration, but physical appearances may also create problems. Various aspects of one’s physical appearance, such as hairstyle or clothing style may be accompanied with assumptions from others about that person. For example, a young Muslim woman wearing a head wrap may be regarded in a certain way because of the pre-judgment made by those outside of her culture who are not aware of the cultural significance of that item of clothing. According to Le Roux, aspects of clothing can carry stereotypes that convey certain attitudes about sex, cultural background and other culturally related values. For example, when walking down the streets of Copenhagen and observe the people whom you pass you unintentionally make judgments about their status in society based upon their appearance and the clothing they wear.

Along with the challenges we have discussed, it is necessary to approach the study of minorities in a multicultural context from another perspective as well. Immigrants are faced not only with these barriers created from within the majority society, but the minority also creates barriers for themselves which hinder their own integration. For example, some refugees and immigrants assemble together in groups that share similar origins, customs, and beliefs thus creating a sense of security and community within the new society, though still separate from the community at large. “Far too many immigrants and refugees still live passive lives on the fringe of society, and many experience prejudices and differential treatment in their everyday lives,” (The Ministry of Refugee). By willingly separating themselves from society, minorities may contribute to their own alienation.

Integration and the ways a majority culture deals with the mother tongue(s) of the minority culture(s) have been issues of controversy for the United States and have become increasingly important issues for Denmark in recent years. Mother tongue has so many different definitions that it is difficult to pinpoint just one. A mother tongue can include the first language learned, the language which one identifies or is identified with, the language one knows best, and the language one uses most frequently (Skutnabb-Kangas). Acquiring a second language can be the necessary step towards integration into a new society. Therefore, one must be willing to adopt a new language. Children are the first ones confronted with this pressure for language acquisition through the school system.

Transitional language programs provide instruction on the majority language and culture in both the mother tongue and the majority language. These programs would be the ideal solution to the difficulties encountered when dealing with integration; however, many majority societies choose not to offer such programs. Either the majority does not feel responsible for minority integration, but rather feels that it should be the job of the minority to integrate themselves. Or there are underlying fears that the integration of minorities may cause problems for members of the majority culture. These underlying issues and fears, which come from such antiquated mindsets as racism and other prejudices against a group’s language, religion, or origin, can also create roadblocks to minority integration. Members of the majority may feel threatened by the presence of a capable and competent group of minority individuals who are educated and ready to enter the work force. This fear comes from the perceived possibility that the minorities will interfere with majority employment opportunities or that the minority is “taking” funds and services that should be reserved for the “native” citizens rather than being used for “foreigners.”

It is evidently clear through the challenges which have been examined, how difficult it is for minorities to integrate into an unfamiliar society. Minorities are faced with these challenges on a daily basis which interfere with their ability to live a successful life. When some members of a society are faced with difficulties adjusting, the entire society is also affected. In order for everyone to be happy and live a comfortable life, as a whole society we must work together to educate ourselves and others about the various cultures that exist. We must learn to be open-minded, to accept others, and realize that each and everyone, despite their cultural differences, has something unique to offer.

References
Andersen, Suzanne. “Ethnica Children and Education in Denmark.” Københavnerstudier I tosprogethed 16, Danmarks Lærahøjskole, 1992.

Cummins, J. and T. Skutnabb-Kangas. “Minority Education: From Shame to Struggle.” Multilingual Matters Ltd., Cleveland, Philadelphia, 1988.

Dencik, Lars. “Modern Childhood in the Nordic Countries: ‘Dual Socialization’ and its
Implications.”

Group of Ministers on Improved Integration. “The Government’s Vision and Strategies for
Improved Integration.” Website

Le Roux, Johann. “Effective Educators are Culturally Competent Communicators.”
Intercultural Education, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2002.

Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove. “Linguistic Genocide in Education – or Worldwide Diversity
and Human Rights.” Laurence Erlbann Associates Mahwah, New Jersey,
London, 2000.

One Sticky Experience (paper)

Many times to see through the eyes of a child may seem simple, but I have learned with children it is nearly impossible to put your feet in their shoes. Not only does each child think differently, but the levels on which they do so are so extremely far, fetched for their abilities vary across such a wide spectrum that the concept of seeing things the way they see them is beyond just imagining yourself as a young child once again.

In previous weeks the three year olds at my daycare roasted hotdogs over a fire using metal spears, so I figured they would be able to use sticks this time with no problem. After seeing pictures of young children using a knife on their own and making cookies with little assistance I had expected my cooking experiment to go more smoothly than it had. During the activity though, the children depended on me much more than I had expected.

Once I started to help one child it seemed as though the other children would then rely on me to help them as well, even with the simple tasks. This taught me the importance of realizing that participating in an activity with children does not mean doing the activity for them. Rather than beginning an activity with pre-conceived beliefs regarding the children’s performance ability after reading articles in class about different ways of observing I have learned to use other experiences I’ve had to reflect on how children are developmentally similar and different (Nicolson & Shipstead, 2002). I realize through this activity that no two children have the same capabilities. The first child I made the smores sandwich with depended completely on me to make the entire smore for him. Part of this may be due to the food choice. The children had never seen this snack before, therefore were not familiar with how to prepare it. I am sure this made everything a bit more confusing for the children as well. As I started to work with the next few children though, because at first I assumed they would have the same difficulty as the previous ones I was surprised when the second child grabbed the stick to put the marshmallow on herself. Trying to imagine how children will react to things is only the first step though; next you must realize that individually each child will be very different.

I failed- I was seriously convinced at the end of the project that my idea to make smores went all wrong. Sometimes as adults we feel failure when everything does not go exactly how we planned. I bought so many marshmallows, crackers, and chocolate and only used about ¼ of all of it because less than ¼ of the group we had even participated. How could I consider an activity I created to participate in with all the children a success when less than 7 children participated in it and 3 or so more dropped out half way through?
I’ve learned failure is something you create. The children who did participate in my activity loved the smores! One girl even came back for seconds and thirds. I watched as another girl got tangled up in the sticky roasted marshmallows and gave me a dirty look when I tried to help her get cleaned up. One of the boys helped make the smore sandwich then offered it to another one of the children. So, although my activity did not incorporate all of the children’s participation and even though some of the children who started to help did not want to finish, when I came home and put my pictures on the internet it was nearly impossible to tell myself that this activity was a failure. The children were all smiling and gathered around watching as their fellow friends made their treat as well.

The structure of the day care is very carefree and the children are free to choose what they would like to do throughout the day. This made the activity a little easier for me because instead of having the entire group as I was expecting of 20 children to work with at the same time I only had a few. Some of the other children were watching, but most were off doing their own thing. This classroom structure made the experience go well for the children as well because it gave the shy and quiet children the opportunity to observe what was happening before deciding if they wanted to try it. After the activity was finished and cleaned up some of the children curiously came over wondering what they missed. It is interesting to observe how some children take initiative and are the first to step up to participate in an activity and then compare that to others who hold back, observe, and then decide whether or not to take part. If all the children were expected to participate I would not have been able to reflect on the experience as well for it would have been much more chaotic to try to help many children at the same time while remember how each of their individual experiences were.

As we have discussed in class, different ways of observing will invariably give you different results to reflect upon. Solberg talks about studying children’s work while taking part in the work herself. When you are directly involved with an activity you want to reflect on later you gather more specific detailed information (Solberg, 1996). For example, when I worked directly with the children as opposed just watching how they performed I was able to gain a frame of reference and observe the child’s experience from the position they were in. This creates an opportunity to describe the activity well and identify specific details which later could be used to enable a reader or friend to form vivid mental images of what you saw take place (Nicolson & Shipstead, 2002). I not only watched their frustration as they tangled themselves in the sticky marshmallow, but I knew how they felt because I myself was trying to clean my hands as well. Through this I was able to gain first hand knowledge regarding the children’s ability and was able to compare the difference in amount of initiative taken by each child individually. This is what made all the difference during my activity.

References
Nicolson, S & Shipstead, S. G. (2003): Through the Looking Glass- Observations in the
Early Childhood Classroom (3.ed). Pearsons Education, Inc. New Jersey.
Chapters 1,2, 5.

Solber, A. (1996): The Challenge in Child Research: From ‘Being to Doing’. From
Brannen, J. & O’Brien, M. Falmer. Children in Families: Research and Policy.
Falmer Press.

Western Denmark Tour

As promised I have found the time to add a new post. The past weeks have been so busy. On Thursday we left for a 3 day field study to Western DK. We set out to visit areas in Denmark with high concentrations of immigrants, refugees and their descendents to learn first hand about the problems of these segregated areas and the challenges the minorities face integratind in the the Danish society. Through several academic visits we were able to learn about approaches teachers and consultants use to teach Danish language to ethnic minority children. The schools we visited ranged from schools with high population of ethnic minorities to more traditional Danish fold schools with almost no ethnic minorites.

Our first stop was in Odense, the second largest city in Denmark, about a 2 hour bus ride from Copenhagen. Here our group of 40 students was split into smaller groups and sent to different schools. My group consisted of the full year students, about 9 of us. We were sent to a Egehuset Treatment Center which is located in Vollsmose, an area where about 10% people are Danish and the other 90% of the population is from other countries. Egehuset is a treatment center is for children 0-14 years old with social special needs, those who are abused, have alcohol problems in their family, mothers who had been sexually abused, etc. Basically this is the "last chance" place for families to seek help before their children are taken away. The treatment center is made up of 15 staff members. Egehuset is currently working closely with 8 schoolchildre,n 12 children between the ages of 2 and 6, and about 10 mothers with babies. The center works closely with parents and children in the community, where both the child and the parent receives individual treatment sessions. Their basis is to build a good relation there are any damages. Every morning there are different specialized sessions for the children 2-6 designed to meet their specific needs. The children 6-14 have a trained staff memeber visiting their schools as well as their houses to have sessions with their parents. The treatment center focuses on creating an environment of trust, both towars parents and children. The stress to parents that their objective is NOT to take their children away, they want to integrate the families back into society slowly. The families come to them during the day then go back their homes at night. Staff are trained to educate the families, whether it be on how to bath a baby, sit with a young child, cradle them, put them to sleep, etc. They use clay to bring the children and parents closer to each other, creating activities for them to share time doing. I found this center very interesting. Their goals were clear and the ways they went about things were very interesting. They had one situation where they were working with a young boy was out of control. After years of working with him, rolling around on the floor for hours just holding him close, craddling him for hours at a time, they asked him why he stopped fighting with them. His response was "cause I know you like me" It is things like this that give me so much to think about and many times bring tears to my eyes. A 5 year old boy fought for years and was so unhappy simply because he did not feel like he was liked. Sometimes we all just need to take time out of our lives to pay attention to things like this. Not everything is so black and white, somethings need to be looked at for longer, because for everything I do think their is a solution... we just need to dig deep enough to find it.

Our next stop was the Hans Christian Andersen museum , then we stayed in hostel in the city that night. Random short funny story... we went out to wander around the town that night and met some random drunk guy who talked with us for an hour or so about how he visited King Tuts tomb and took some coins back with him. He was a coin collector, and actually carried around 3 coins dating back from the 1600's... it was pretty crazy. I dont know how much of that visiting king tuts tomb was right cause he made some comment on how if you steal a coin its bad luck (its only good luck if it is given to you), but when i brought up the curse on those who steal from king tut he said that he and the king have an understanding with each other.... thats where things got a little sketchy. I'm not quite sure where the whole conversation was going, but he wanted us to guess hid granddaughters name, somehow i think i guessed right, don't ask how or why, but it was Nefertiti (have no idea how to spell it). it was a weird night, i was so intrigued by him though, while my friends were trying to escape the whole conversation. The really funny part though is... he offered to give us his name and number in case we wanted to talk to him in the future, so for the sake of remembering the whole experience I said yes... little did i know he pulled out a bank statement with all his information on it and wrote his number on it... it was SOOO weird, and NUTS!

Friday we went to visit a typical Danish folk school (kindergarden-9th grade) The school had 805 students, with less than 2% ethnic minorites. The priority is the students education and well being. They believe that students with low self-esteem are often subjected to bullying and that bullying then inhibits learning. Therefore they created this program to prevent bullying. They have the students once a week massage each other under the principle that 'the one you touch, you won't bully'. Apparently, the % of bullying has gone down over the years due to this program and the school has become well known for being the first to create it... I came home and talked to my host family about it and my host sister who is 13 has done it in her class here in Farum. My thoughts on the program... at first i was a little skeptical, but after we tried it i must admitt the back massage was pretty sweet and i can see how it might help. It's hard to explain without doing though... anyways, so things I found pretty different with this school than with the US schools... the children had cooking classes, where they took their shoes off and walked around barefoot. to being with you have to understand that these children come to school everyday and bring an extra pair of shoes because it keeps the school clean if you dont wear the outside shoes, indoors. Seriously though, we went into classes where kids just simply had on socks or slippers, or nothing at all! It was the CRAZIEST thing ever! but, i have pictures of it!! In the cooking room, young children were using the oven on their own without assistance at all. We walked into one classroom and saw young children playing chess and danish scrabble. I must say I am 21 and have no idea how to play chess. Scrabble i thought was a great idea because it helped the young kids with learning danish.

After visiting this school, we went to the ARoS, an art museum in Arhus, the second largest city in Denmark. ARoS was given a unique gift from the artist Ron Mueck who had created a landmark for ARoS with the sculpture "the Boy". Soon I will post some pictures of this sculpture as well, it was pretty incredible. When looking at his face, you'll see that his mouth is covered, so all that shows are his eyes. Therefore, your first impression is usually that the boy is frightened or angry, but if you walk around the sculpture you will see that he actually has a bit of a smile on his face. It's pretty neat.... when i put the pictures up you can see it all, and how big the statue is. just imagine how tall he would be if he weren't croutched down....

"Den Damle By" (The old town)- This was an open air museum we stopped at. It was comprised of 75 restored buildings brought from all over Denmark and reconstructed as a provincial town, complete with a working bakery, silversmith, bookbinger and so on. Most of the buildings there are half-timbered 17th and 18th century houses. There is also a water mill, a windmill and a few buildings from the late 19th century. It was such a change to be to an open-air museum, actually my first time too!

That night we stayed at a youth hostel in Skanderborg. It was kinda in the middle of nowhere, back in the woods, but was sooOOOOooOoO nice. We had little cabins right on the lake. I must say though, if you're in europe... its a tradition! If you swim, you swim nude... that's just the way it is.... need i say more?

Saturday was the last day of our field study. We drove to Jelling-the city of the Kings to visit the runic stone. A thousand years ago in the middle of the viking period Jelling was the residence of the Danish kings. Two kings for certain lived there, Gorm known as "Gorm the Old" died in 958 and his son Harald "Blatand" (Bluetooth). These kings left monumnets: two enormous mounds and two runic stones, a large one and a smaller one. Gorm is famous because the list of kings in Denmark originated with him, and the present queen of DK is related to him in complicated ways.

The last stop on Saturday before we returned to Copenhagen was to LEGOLAND. This is the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside of Copenhagen. More than 1 million guests go there every year. The children look at legoland like our children look at disney world in the US. Many danish children actually beg their parents to take them to Disney World oneday when they hear about it. Personally I think LEGOLAND is way cool though! I wanna go back!! they had this one build you own ride there. you wait online and get a little card which you put into a machine and you can choose the speed of the ride and the different combination of motions you want the ride to go through. It was sooo cool. Then you go in and put the car in the machine, buckle yourself into the ride, and get tossed around, spun around, flipped upside down and more. So basically you have complete control over how fast it goes and what moves it makes. Let me tell you, after a PB and J sandwich and 5 scoops of ice cream, the ride was still crazy awesome! :) I loved it man... so cool!

Well, that was the end of our trip.... it was pretty sweet though. Definitely a nice break from schoolwork and classes. This Sunday our Danish class is going to a fodbold game (soccer). So that should be sweet too. Well, I think that is about it for this blog. There really is so much more I want to talk about, but it is all so hard to fit in (and I know this is still very unorganized, but thats just how it is going to be). When i get back to school though I am hoping to be able to make some sort of presentation, maybe look into putting together a Bergren Forum about the Danish School sysytems. Just a way to present all that I have learned and experienced because there is sooo much I want to share with people! So, that's it. I am hoping to write about my experience at the daycare I attend everyweek in my next post :)

Analysis of The Ugly Duckling (paper)

The greatest thing about literature is the many ways in which it can be read, analyzed, and interpreted. Works can be looked at from numerous different perspectives. I have chosen to write about the Ugly Duckling by observing what I believe has become its surface structure and its deep structure and then to use these two perspectives to discuss how they reflect the roles that exist in society today. In doing so, I hope to give you a new insight to a story within a story.

On the surface, “The Ugly Duckling” is a story of drawn from Hans Christian Andersen’s life. It is clear that he structures the plot and draws parallels between how the ugly duckling in the fairytale feels and how he himself may have felt while facing his own life challenges. From the beginning of the fairytale, when the last and largest egg is hatched, to the end of the story when the “duckling” surprisingly finds himself accepted by every creature around, we can identify events the duckling faces with those experiences Hans Christian Andersen himself faced throughout his own life.

Han’s Christian Andersen, born into a poor family, grew up constantly mocked by others because of his tall, but awkward, body structure. At a young age he moved to Copenhagen to start a career as actor. Throughout this career he faced many challenges which lead to his rejected from the theater just as the ugly duckling in his fairytale was rejected from the group of ducks (presumed to be his own family) due to his appearance. He was a clumsy fellow with little talent. It is evident that many events and challenges the author created for this little duckling reflected these times of hardships in his own life. He grew up in poverty, having parents who were not very well educated. Hans Christian Andersen did not have an adult figure to push him in school; therefore his educational schooling was curtailed. He faced much mockery because of his gawky, awkward appearance and had to survive on his own while fighting to ignore the rejection he received so many times, and the ways he was judged by those around him. In the fairytale, the cat played the role of those people in Han Christian Andersen’s life. That character diminished everything the duckling tried to say by stating that he [the duckling] had no right to have an opinion when sensible people were talking. Here, the sensible people were the cat (of course) and the hen. It is an interesting point to observe that they are not, in fact, “peoples” themselves. Perhaps this was just another way Andersen tied his life to the duckling’s, not only drawing parallels but also by the personifying the characters he created in his fairytales. In Andersen’s life, similar situations arose when he found that no matter what he wrote, or what he did, people were not impressed. Although he was very good at different things, they were not the things that others recognized and he was rejected for not fitting in when it came to things that other in society were familiar with.

This analysis of the fairytale’s plot structure and elements is a well known way of looking at the story, as it has been a popular way of not only looking at this fairytale of Mr. Andersen’s, but several other fairytales or his. It is, however, an analysis only of the surface structure. The story can also be analyzed for a deeper meaning by comparing the surface structure to the way all of society works. Hopefully, in the end, society can benefit from it.

As the ugly duckling in the fairytale finds himself transformed into a beautiful swan surrounded by all of the other swans and creatures who once rejected him, he hears a young child exclaim that He is the most beautiful. Throughout the story, the ugly duckling calls the swans he sees “royal birds.” At the end he becomes one of these birds and exclaims “such happiness I did not dream of when I was the ugly duckling.” In society, I think many people are constantly comparing themselves to others every chance they get. There are only few to accept who they are and then work each and everyday to their fullest potential to become the best they can be; to challenge themselves, question everything they do, and then reflect upon each experience in the end. Society is full of ugly ducklings that cross paths with cats and hens, however few have the attitude that the ugly ducking in Andersen’s fairytale has. Most people dream of looking like someone else, wishing they would be treated as the others they see are, and find themselves trying to live up to others standards, rather than their own. The ugly duckling gave all he can to life and fought for himself rather than listening to the other animals. Andersen did the same while striving to stay true to himself and not listen to what others had to say. He and the duckling tried not to bother others and just exist as they were, never even wishing to be someone else, no matter how happy others seemed or how easy their lives appeared. He used all of his inner strength to be himself, something many people cannot do. He survived a long and cold winter on his own and in the end, after doing what he thought was right, despite what others said, he came out with an attitude that would astonish many; “he was too happy, but not proud, for a kind heart can never be proud. He thought of the time when he had been mocked and persecuted. And now everyone said that he was the most beautiful of the most beautiful birds.”

Literature is so uniquely written with the ability to represent ones life, or more important life as a whole. Perhaps if more people took what they learn from analyzing the surface structure of “The Ugly Duckling”; the way Andersen’s life can be compared to this story, and apply that to comparing the way society is, they would learn a great deal. We need to open our eyes in society and in a way be more like the ugly duckling. Perhaps there are just too many cats and hens running around that we find it too hard to be ourselves since we are always judged.

Broadened Horizons (paper on expectations and goals)

The opportunity Alfred University has given me to travel to Denmark has been incredible. I am hoping to teach and learn from everyone I meet and be able to reflect upon this experience myself carrying all of its lessons wherever my future brings me.

My goal is to take what I learn about another culture, society, and educational upbringing through this course, and apply it to what I do in my future. As an Assistant Taekwondo Instructor in my hometown, I work with a very diverse group of children on a daily basis. At my practicum site they devote an entire part of the school to children of different backgrounds. I am looking to develop skills through working with these children to help me become a better instructor for the children I teach. Through observing the multilingual children at Majebo Bronby, I will have the opportunity to learn from the pedagogues, see how they communicate with the other children, and share ideas with my peers. By the end of this course I want to be able to reflect on what I will have learned to use it in next semester’s program. I am hoping to tie together the different styles of teaching I come across, apply what I learn from my supervisors, and bring suggestions and new ideas back to my professors and peers at Alfred University.

Many people are not aware of other approaches to education. I have chosen this program because it is giving me an opportunity to examine a different approach to early education and childcare in the context of social system I am not familiar with. This practicum will give me another way to educate others and I will be facing a language barrier with the children I work with. I am expecting to give insight and experience to the children I work with while having the opportunity for the children to give something back to me as well.

Week 1.... Cloudless Sky's in Denmark

What a beautiful week this has turned out to be in so many ways! The flight to Denmark was long, but overall pretty nice. A Swedish guy sat next to me for the flight from Neward to Stockholm. He was just finishing a several week visit to the US which he set up and traveled by himself. It was interesting to hear what he had to say comparing the two countries. Hearing from someone who was just finishing a similar experience definitely made me feel more at ease about the journey I was about to embark on. So, after talking about cultural experiences, the Swedish and Danish relationships, European geography, and even similar interests we shared with martial arts, I tried to drift off to sleep in hopes of fighting this jet lag I knew would come too soon. Unfortunately though, sleep did not happen, but sooner than I knew it, our plane was landing in Stockholm, Sweden. It was about 8:30am on the east coast in the US when we landed. I had met up with my very first friend whom I must mention because if it weren't for him we would have ended up in the wrong passport check line (thanks dan!). Of course, apparently it was tradition to buy beers when we arrived there (why i'm not sure), but seeing that it was still morning as far as I was concerned and I don't really drink much, I figured I'd just get my butt kicked by some CA, MN kids in ''bullshit'' sober... figures. By the time we reached Copenhagen it was 10:30am (of course Europen time). The skies were blue with few clouds, unlike Sweden where it was raining. Customs went fine, we exchanged money and met up with more DIS students. The group I had found on this flight was pretty good. All 5 of us American students were very different which made the time we had even better. We hung around with each other for most of that day until the end of orientation when we were picked up by our families. Then I had to actually go somewhere on my own! I will admitt I was pretty nervous.. what was I getting myself into?

My family... Farum, Copenhagen... I live with a mother and father who have two children. Charlotte is 13 and Pernille is 21, but she lives on her own about 25 min from us by car. The houses here in DK are much smaller than those in the US and their lifestyles are very different. Sometimes we have breakfast together in the mornings, but because we are all leaving at different times, it does not always work as planned. My host mother runs a daycare out of her house, so each morning about 3-4 toddlers come over for the day. Her kids are between 0 and 3 years older. In a later post I will talk about the different possibilities for childcare in DK, because their school system is very different from ours, so different you will be very surprised! The train station is 15 min from the house by foot or 5 by bike. Then there is a 40-45 min commute for me to the city of Copenhagen. The DIS building is not far from where the train drops me off, but then again what is considered far in DK is probably unheard of for most Americans. People in Denmark walk.... a lot, period. There is no question about it, at the end of the day your legs will be killing you. Biking is very popular though. Think of NYC and imagine 6 bikes for every taxi cab you see and you might be able to imagine how many bikers are in DK. It is hard to think about being in another place without really being there. Were my thoughts about this experience different then what I am actually experiencing now? For the most part, yes. The people are very different here in Denmark and even though i had heard and read much about the culture, it is very different to see it firsthand. There is a big language difference even though almost all Danes speak english. Sometimes I walk through the streets listening to their language... Danish seems more than just a language though, for the Danes to me it looks more like a way of life. Perhaps that is hard to understand without being here. I guess in a way I feel like it is not just the fact that they are from DK and I am from the US that seperates us, but rather the language. As much as i try to relate to them, there is always a barrier up, a wall that separates us because I do not understand everything they do. For example, the danish language does not have a word for excuse me, so you'll find many times that the Danes will tend to just push past you if you are not walking fast enough. Is it rude? Perhaps to an outsider it. I am always still very surprised, but I have found myself almost falling into doing the same thing, which let me tell you feels so weird! I usually just remind myself that they speak english too so will understand me when i say ''excuse me''. Although, the last thing you want when you are in another country is to stand out.

This week has been jam packed with so many tours. I feel like I never really have time to relax much. Yesterday (Saturday) we went on a canal tour which was pretty sweet. Many of the sights we had seen while on the walking tours, but seeing things from the water was pretty cool too. Copenhagen is really a neat place. Sometimes I feel like rushing and trying to see as much as i can as soon as possible, but i do have a year to spend here. Talking to my family and friends at home is hard sometimes because I just want so bad to tell them everything in great detail about what i am seeing.

Saturday night I rode the train and bus for 3 hours. I'd like to say it was because I was trying to get somewhere and that was the only way, but that would be a lie. No, I don't really enjoy riding the trains and buses either, in fact now I hate riding them even more than I used to! I caught the last train back to Farum, but fell asleep and woke up just as it was pulling away from my stop.... figures. So i took it all the way back to Vestergade (45 min) and hopped on the night bus which takes and hour and 15 min to get home. I must say though, everything is an experience. I was able to speak with an older couple while on the train ride back. We talked a little about politics and New Orleans. On the night bus some random drunk guy, who seemed homeless to me excitingly told me his political views on the US government, but half way through the story started to confuse things. In the end I wasnt quite sure what his views actually were either. BUT, there is one thing you learn while anywhere in Europe... i'm just going to say it simply... be careful what you say about your political views. It is interesting to hear what the Danes and other Europeans have to say though. Everyone in the EU wants to talk about politics when they get drunk, so chances are if you are out, you'll hear about it.

The city is so beautiful during the day and so lively as well. The building are all different colors and there are many side streets full shops where cars do not drive. Sometimes during lunch we'll sit in the Gammel trov by the fountain and eat. Everyone is outside on nice days and the first week was filled with bright sunny cloudless sky's. For Denmark that is really luck since almost everyday it rains. We have really been fortunate!


Okay well, I'm closing for this week... a lot of that was rambling on, but hopefully once I get the internet hooked up in my house I will be able to right more... and tell more about differences between the US and Europe!

Life is Fun... an explanation

"Pooh can't describe the Uncarved Block to us in words; he just is it."

There are so many things in life I have questioned lately. Alfred University, though draining at times, has opened my world and forced me to question everything I do. Sometimes I think it is one of my flaws, that I think too much, but I cannot accept things as they are or as they are presented. Basically I just feel there is more to this thing called, Life. "When you discard arrogance, complexity, and a few other things that get in the way, sooner or later you discover that simple, childlike, and mysterious secret known to those of the Uncarved Block: Life is Fun." The Tao of Pooh
For the next year I will be studying in Denmark. Many people ask me why Denmark and to be honest, I really don't know. Life can be similar to climbing a tree. For me though, my life has always been compared to Holmdel Park and for those of you who ran XC with me in High School, I'm sure you've all heard this plenty of times. Each race has a beginning and and end, and let me tell you, what's in between goes differently everytime you run it. The only way to actually run your best in one race though, is to train on other courses. And so, in perhaps this cheesy metaphor I'm trying to say that similarly with running, in order to live your life to the fullest, you need to train on other courses too, go to other places to see what they have to offer and use that training when you return back to the original course. I suppose that's why I chose Denmark.
The plan is to post here once a week. I assure you though this is not going to be full of drama. I myself am usually against all these online journals and reading about other peoples drama filled lives has never really excited me. This is basically to give others another perspective on life and the way things are, somewhere else, on the other side of the world. Feel free to e-mail me too if you have any responses or are just bored and want to chat. It's crazy that I'm going to be so far away and I'm definitely going to miss people!!