– Singing is an important part of cultural heritage, but we must not overrule this from the state side, says Minister of Knowledge Tonje Brenna – Vårt Land
– In principle, a student can leave primary school almost without having sung anything. It is absolutely possible in a Norwegian school, says Ulrika Bergroth-Plur.
She is the day-to-day manager of Musikk i skolen, a membership and interest organization which, among other things, is eager to strengthen the place of singing in Norwegian schools. It was founded by music teachers in 1956, and since the 1960s has run courses for both aspiring and established music teachers.
Bergroth-Plur believes that song and music have played second fiddle in Norwegian classrooms for several years. She wants to turn up the volume.
– There are a lot of teachers and students who have strong vocal shame. There is a bit of singing, and everything the child listens to is in autotune. We must take action – if not, we will have a serious problem for our country’s identity.
[ «Umusikalsk om sang i skolen» ]
Eager Danes
Earlier in January, Danish culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt proposed introducing morning singing in school.
“Let’s make sure we get our song treasure out into the big community where it no longer thrives. Music binds us together and creates community”, he explained to the newspaper Berlingske.
The Danish Minister of State wants the entire Danish primary school to sing a selected song on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Also the “singing activist” in this country, Ulrika Bergroth-Plur, is from the community allsang brings with it. She believes Danes have a greater understanding of the importance of singing.
I wish political leadership was clear that school owners, school management and teachers are allowed, indeed should, prioritize the practical-aesthetic subjects
— Ulrika Bergroth-Plur, daily manager of Music in the school
But at the same time as she shouts a warning that the singing should stop, she is skeptical of the Danish Minister of State’s proposal.
– Correcting requirements is problematic. In any case, because through the Knowledge Promotion, schools are given so much freedom to design the content of the teaching themselves. You trust that the management and the teachers themselves want the best for the students, she says.
Culture Minister Anette Trettebergstuen (Ap) will not say anything about her Danish colleague’s proposal, pointing out that education is under the Ministry of Education.
“Singing is an important part of cultural heritage and must have a natural place in school. This is clearly shown in the curricula in both music and Norwegian. Norwegian teachers have a lot of room for action within the framework of the curriculum, and we must not overrule this from the state’s side”, states Minister of Education Tonje Brenna (Ap) to Vårt Land via his state secretary.
The discipline school of the 50s
The Danish Minister of Culture is not the first to push forward on behalf of the song. Back in 2009, the Danish People’s Party wanted to oblige the country’s schools to have weekly singing sessions, writes Berlingske, and last year Nye Borgerlige tried to do morning singing compulsory in schools in Copenhagen. The proposal was voted down by the city council in the Danish capital, and the Copenhagen Teachers’ Association was critical of imposing quick tasks on the schools.
“Preferably more singing, but not by force”. This is Sunniva Holmås Eidsvoll, city councilor for education and knowledge in Oslo municipality, answer to how she would stand for a possible vote such as the one in Copenhagen. In her ears, too, the detail management the Danish Minister of State is proposing sounds sour.
“Making morning singing compulsory in school gives many associations to the discipline school from the 50s. Politicians agreeing that all students must stand in line and sing the same song is an outdated way of running schools. I think the school’s staff and students are the best at deciding how they want to start their days”, she writes in an email to Vårt Land.
She further writes that the current city council in Oslo has strengthened the practical-aesthetic subjects, and that this is something they plan to continue with.
“But rigid rituals will only lead to fewer people feeling at home at school, when what we need is to strengthen all students’ motivation and enjoyment of learning”, concludes the city council.
Making morning compulsory in school gives many associations to the discipline school from the 50s
— Sunniva Holmås Eidsvoll, city council for education and knowledge in Oslo municipality
[ Høyesterett skal behandle pilotsak om Tono-vederlag ]
Not measurable
An important part of Music in the school’s work is professional training for and training of teachers who teach music. They are also responsible for Singing School, a program which offers courses and online resources to teachers with ambitions to sing on behalf of their own class. General manager Ulrika Bergroth-Plur learns that most people want to make room for singing, but that the reality is different.
– It is about time, organisation, lack of competence, insecurity. It is very random where singing is present, and it is very dependent on the availability of competent teachers.
She believes that the care of singing is too dependent on the individual, and that when a leading teacher leaves, «suddenly everything falls apart». When it has to be prioritized, as it should be, the aesthetic subjects are the first to suffer, according to Bergroth-Plur.
– The schools choose the things that are measured, and then singing is not exactly given priority.
The Education Directorate’s Curriculum Framework defines five basic skills: reading, writing, numeracy, oral skills and digital skills. Bergroth-Plur believes that this is still very much a leader for what happens in the classroom, and that the impression left behind is that singing is “pastime”, something you do if you have a little time to kill, something you resort to “to break . up the day a little”.
– I would like political leadership to be clear about school owners, school management and teachers is allowedYes, actually ought to, prioritized the practical-aesthetic subjects. The government has expressed that they want the school to become more practical, and give room for more ways of expression, but this does not happen by itself. And in any case, it does not happen without very clear signals – from departmental level down in the system.
[ Avslutter du setningene dine med punktum? Da kan ungdommen oppfatte deg som passiv-aggressiv ]
A super glue
According to Bergroth-Plur, singing is not just important for the child’s development, but a necessary social life. Yes, she goes so far as to call it “dangerous for society” if the song in the classroom sings the last verse.
– Singing is a tool in society to build community and to strengthen identity. If we don’t sing at school, we miss out on a common repertoire. If something were to happen, we won’t have songs like “Mitt lille land” or “Til ungdommen” that we can sing together. It is an invisible ownership, a glue that contributes to unity, and something that does not come by itself.
She highlights “the singing revolution”, which refers to a series of events that led to the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania becoming independent from the Soviet Union in 1990 and 1991. In 1988, around 300,000 Estonians gathered for a spontaneous demonstration under the country’s traditional song festival and voted in the country’s then-banned national anthem.
– Singing contributes to the country’s culture and identity not crumbling, says Bergroth-Plur.
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Singing at school
- “The subject of music must prepare students for participation in a social and working life that requires practical and aesthetic skills, creativity and social interaction”, writes the Directorate of Education about the relevance of the subject.
- Oral skills are one of the five basic skills after the subject renewal from 2020. In the music subject, this skill is about «being able to use the voice in a variety of ways in singing and other vocal expressions to improvise, reproduce and convey the musical material».
- Practicing music is one of the core elements of the music profession. This should “give students experience in playing, singing and dancing in different contexts”, says the curriculum for the subject.
Source: udir.no
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[ Se oversikt: Disse sangene spilles mest i norske begravelser ]
The singing muscle
– It seems that everyone agrees that singing is important, but that no one wants to direct the teachers in detail. Then you stand on the spot resting, Ulrika Bergroth-Plur?
– One move is to strengthen music and singing training in primary school teacher education. In addition, the signal effect is strong. If there had been a government signal saying something about singing being an important and absolutely central element of the school’s teaching, and that it is important for the children to receive competent guidance in singing, I think the school would have taken action.
– The Norwegian song treasure is perhaps not so attractive for a 4th grader who has just discovered TikTok?
– Of course, children and young people are busy singing songs they have heard. But I have also learned that if you take singing seriously at school, show that it has value and organize well for it, then you can choose almost anything. In order to get better, it is also about training. If you’re going to hit the gym, you have to train, she says.
– That’s how it is with singing too.