Class meeting

I wish I could have taken better notes because tonight's meeting was like no meeting I have been to in the U.S.  To begin with, the meeting started on time and no food was served.

Here is a little background information that might help.  The kids' school is made up of grades 0-8.  The grades and ages of the kids here are a little different because they start grade zero at age six.  Some kids start a bit later so R. and A. are in classes with kids their own age and up to a year older.

Each grade has about three classes with about 20 students.  Each class is given a letter (1.a, 1.b, 1.c) and kids stick with the same letter and the same kids for nine years.  What has been unusual this year is that R.'s grade had two large classes last year and this year they split them into three groups (6.k, 6.l, 6.m), mixing up the kids.

The driving age in Denmark is 18 and the drinking age in 16.  I cannot find documentation, but I heard that very soon there will be new laws saying those under 18 can buy only beer and wine.  There is a strong drinking culture in Denmark and teens are known for drinking more often and more heavily than other European teens.

Tonight there was a meeting at school for the parents of the grade 6 classes (12- and 13-year-olds) to discuss alcohol.  This was not a talk about the evils of alcohol or to wring hands about teen drinking, but to discuss how to deal with the reality of the situation.  We discussed at what age is it okay for kids to start drinking with their friends and the consensus was 15-years-old.  What would you do if some kids want to drink and some kids don't?  The other parents said that it depends on the person because there are some kids who don't drink and are treated with respect and some kids who don't drink and are given a hard time, but drinker and non-drinkers are both invited to parties.  Even so, it seems that non-drinkers are thought to be a little different.

What I finally understood after a series of these questions was that the kids have parties and invite everyone in their class.  The different letter classes don't mix much, so when your kid has a party, the people invited are the ones you have known for years.  If there is a problem, the teacher can call the parents in for a meeting or post something on the class intranet.  It is a very small group of people who are known to each who are involved in solving the problem.

After the drinking discussion we went to the classroom for a general meeting.  This included discussing the class camping trip for the fall (like the one written up here) and which third language the children will start learning next year (German or French).

The whole evening gave me an understanding of how relaxed things are here and how life is different.  There is no worry about school kids drinking and driving because not only aren't they old enough, the price of cars and gas (>$8.70/gallon) are prohibitive.  There are obviously other problems with teen drinking in Denmark, but most people seemed to think that you drink as a teen, you make some mistakes, but then you learn how to handle yourself.  Afterward you go about drinking in moderation, with the exception of boys/girls night out, a wedding, someone's birthday, a holiday, the weather is warm, the weather is cold, etc.