School Life

School life is very different in Norway than here in the US. First off, they go to kindergarten before age 6 and have no classes, they just play all day, then they go to elementary school for grades 1-7, then to a junior high school from 8-10 grade. After that they go to high school for grades 11-13.

High school is very different for them than us. When they go to high school, they must think about what they want to do for the rest of their lives. High school for them is kind of like college for us. There are separate high schools for people who want to be a cook, a secretary, a teacher, etc. There is an entirely different high school for careers that require more education, like that of a doctor or a lawyer. This is also where people who are undecided in what they want to do, where they can take more in depth generals.

All classes are divided into sections: A, B, and C, and depending on the number of people, sometimes D and E. This is just a random classification to keep class sizes down.
In Norway, there are no school colors or sports. They don’t have yearbooks like we do, they are just books with pictures of each class, no extra things or candids like what we have in the US.

The teachers don’t really show an interest in the students. In the US, we often form something of a bond with some teachers, talking to them about random things and teasing each other. In Norway, the teachers don’t do this. They don’t even do anything if people use their phones during class. Students often text throughout class in plain view of the teacher, and some even take or make phone calls when they’re supposed to be working on work.

One last thing that’s different is lunch. In Norway, they don’t actually serve the students lunch. They can buy things from the cafeteria, so most students bring their own lunch or bought food from the mall near the school.

~My source is my Norwegian friend Becca