Week 10 in Copenhagen

Personal Development

Week 10 hard to believe, over half way through my time here and this week has gone so quickly once again. This week I started at my placement school and also had a number of social things planned for the evening time. I really enjoyed getting into school and back into a routine after having a week off. It was great to see a bit more life about the city after it being almost like a vacant town for a number of days.

This week I was invited to a Danish couple’s home on Wednesday evening, who I have got friendly with from Fredricksberg, it was so kind of them to invite us to their home and it was great getting to know them a bit better. They both work in education so it was great sharing and exchanging experiences of education with them. It was also great to hear a little more about Copenhagen from local people. They also made us a lovely traditional Danish meal. Katie and I made cheesecake to bring with us to the meal, although the final product was delicious (even if I do say so myself) the state of our kitchen was similar to that of a disaster zone.



It was also really great to get back to the pool again. I am really lucky to have a 50m pool near to my flat and it is fairly cheap to go for a swim. One thing is that it is often difficult to find the time as the pool closes on a Monday and then is only open at certain periods during the rest of the week. It is amazing to have such a great facility so close.

I have loved that the weather has improved so much this week and the sun has been out almost everyday! I have even had sunglasses and flips flops on, quite a change from the hats, gloves and scarves from a few months ago.

Cultural Development.



This week we had another food event that was arranged by a number of our Erasmus classmates. Each country was to prepare something traditional from their home country. All of the recipes were put together in a cookbook and everyone helped to prepare the meals. All of the European countries made amazing meals. Northern Ireland were asked to prepare the coffee afterwards and we managed to burn the shortbread that we made and also the milk for the hot chocolate, good work team Northern Ireland! We did manage to save some of the shortbread so it was not a complete disaster, but a very funny and enjoyable evening!





I have also seen a lot of commercial areas during this week in Copenhagen, I went to Magasins and Illum two of the large department stores in Denmark, similar to that of House of Fraser or Harrods in some cases, especially in relational to the prices- they were so expensive. I also went one afternoon to Fields, which is the biggest mall in Scandinavia, it really was huge and so different to the smaller stores in Copenhagen’s city centre. On Wednesday, I also visited Bella Centre, which is on the metro line and where the Copenhagen Climate Summit took place, it was interesting to visit the newly developed area. It was clear that a lot of young professionals lived in this area and it contained a lot of very well designed apartments. A number of people from our class also arranged a trip to Ikea, as apparently you have to visit an Ikea in a Scandinavian country, however in my opinion it was identical to that of the one in Holywood exchange- it was great, however to get some cheap lunch at the store!



Professional Development.

First week in school and I could not wait to start to see how Danish schools worked after hearing so much about them over the last two months. I am in a state school not far from my town, the school has about seven hundred pupils from six to sixteen years, schools in Denmark are not split into primary and secondary like in Northern Ireland. On the first day we meet with one of our teacher tutors, unfortunately the other was ill this week, so I hope to meet her next week. We got a tour of the school and were introduced to a number of our classes. There is a lovely relaxed atmosphere in the school and the teachers are addressed by their first names and the children and teachers dress in casual clothing- which is obviously very different from home. There is a great pupil/ teacher relationship between the pupils and staff and it is so apparent to see the mutual respect and family atmosphere in the school.

I found it great to get to chat to the pupils and I was so impressed at their English, especially the younger children. On two of the days we were asked to give presentations from our home countries in the library and a number of classes came at different times to hear the talks from Katie and I (Northern Ireland) and Julia (Austria). It was amazing how interested the pupils seemed to be, and this was shown through their many questions, which were fantastic. We also got an excellent opportunity to ask the children questions about their experience of living and going to school in Denmark.

I spent the majority of class time with Grades 7 and 8, it was interesting to note and reflect upon the structure of a lesson in comparison to lessons structures in Northern Ireland. I think I have been given such a opportunity to gain more insight into what it means to be a reflective practitioner as I now not only have one view of an education system. One of the afternoons we spent in cookery class, this was an excellent chance to talk to the pupils and get to know them as well as picking up a few cookery tips. The classes in Denmark stay together through their school career, so it was obvious to see that the pupils knew each other very well. It is common in Denmark for school to start at 8 o’clock but on some of the days the pupils leave school shortly after lunch, if pupils stay in the afternoon the often have the opportunity to take part in handicraft, woodwork or cookery classes.

This week many of the classes had taken part in a music festival where they performed songs that they had written, we got the opportunity to see the show and it is clear that pupils in Denmark are very much encouraged to be creative in school and a lot of time and effort was put into producing these songs and the final show.

Next week we are going to be helping pupils with their project exams, which is a large part of the Danish school system and I am really looking forward to seeing how this is organised and what work the pupils will produce.

Hope that you have had a great week and are all looking forward to getting back to routine after your Easter break!

Speak soon. G.