– This is the worst shit we have been exposed to, including everyone who works in the school system!
Assistant professor and teacher at Laksvatn Oppvekstsenter Ketil Stokkan is highly critical of the form that teachers from Balsfjord Municipality in Troms and Finnmark have been asked to fill out.
And you debate post to Nordnorskdebatt.no Last week, Stokkan made harsh criticisms of what he describes as a relationship mapping tool.
– We feel perplexed when they ask for this to happen. It’s possible? he tells Dagbladet.
If you are wondering if teacher Ketil Stokkan is the same Ketil Stokkan who devastated both the charts and the Grand Prix in the 1980s, then you are right. In 1986 he even reached the Norwegian final with the song “Romeo”.
Longer: – Scandal
Stokkan has worked as a teacher for many years and says he has never seen such a form.
– It is a scandal to create a “flat answer” on how to build relationships with students. It is a completely wrong strategy. Building relationships is something that happens every hour, every day, every week. It does not take place through a form in which students are classified according to color codes.
The module is divided into four color codes:
In the debate post, he also attached comments on the different colors. He is particularly critical of the black color code.
– If I use one of the student descriptions in the black category, I have nothing to do with the school system!
Have you filled out the form?
– I filled it in green on all students. At the bottom I added a comment: “Madness”.
Turn around for criticism
Special education professor at the University of Tromsø (UiT), Mirjam Olsen, was responsible for disseminating the model to schools in Troms, writes northern Lights.
In one post, he responded to Stokkan’s criticism. You are clear on what the purpose of the form is.
– This tool was developed by Kari Pape to be a basis for conversations in the professional community, i.e. between employees of kindergartens and schools. The goal is not to classify children, as Stokkan concludes his post, but to classify the relationship that the adult lives with different children, she writes on Nordnorskdebatt.no.
Dagbladet presented Stokkan’s criticisms to Olsen. In an email, he confirms that they will no longer use the form.
– At the Institute for Teacher Training and Pedagogy (ILP) we had a meeting to get an overview of the collaboration project between ILP and the municipality of Balsfjord. We see that the method used to color relationships is inappropriate. The method appears to be unsuitable for educational work with relationships. At ILP, we do not wish to continue using this method in our collaborative projects, Olsen writes in an email to Dagbladet on Thursday morning.
Stokkan is clearly pleased when Dagbladet informs him that the ILP will no longer use the method that was severely opposed.
– It’s absolutely great to listen to. I think I’m speaking for the entire college when I say we’re satisfied that reason has prevailed, says Stokkan.
– Are you surprised?
– In a way they are, but on the other hand I would think that the pressure on the UiT has been so overwhelming that it would not have been possible for them to continue with that model. I think it’s a very sensible decision, she concludes.