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Amongst other things, this is a love story.... the theme changes occasionally... this year it is fitness and learning to love yourself.

26 April 2013

W is for Wonderful wonderful Copenhagen. Healing with words. Day 23. #atozchallenge

wonderful |ˈwəndərfəl|
adjectiveinspiring delight, pleasure, or admiration; extremely good;marvelous 


I wasn't sure if I would make it back in time from my trip to Copenhagen to post for W, and there is no W card in my deck so Wonderful wonderful Copenhagen it is, just because that's where I'm at, and it's a cute song. 

Here's some things about this Royal city you may not know. It is the home of Hans Christian Anderson, (even though many New Yorkers seem to think he was American).  There is no gate around The Royal palaces, you can stand within meters of their front doors.  There are bikes everywhere

Most Danes believe there is no such things as bad weather only bad clothing, and nearly everyone speaks English (or at least understands it).  Some Danes I have met, say 'it's better to sit in a bar and think about church than it is to sit in a church and think about going to a bar.

While I was in Copenhagen there was the usual delights of any Europeen city, I will tell you more about it soon. A peculiar thing was that there were lots of teenagers and children wandering around town, because this month they have had no school, and it wasn't holiday time.

The teachers in Denmark were on a forced lock out for 4 weeks. Approximately 70,000 wonderful teachers were locked out of their schools because they wouldn't agree to working up to an extra 3-4 hours per day.

It was unprecedented and fascinating.  Mid term exams are drawing near and there have been no lessons for a month, students will have to repeat levels, there are many people training that will lose job opportunities. Some students will have to make up time after hours and on weekends, affecting families even further. Here's more information from Workers World here.

As of yesterday, the lock out has been called off.  A new law is expected to be passed soon, in reality the problem is still not over, and a lot of people want to know what is going to happen to the money, over 100 million dollars, the government has saved in teachers wages.

Today is a public holiday in Denmark, called big prayer day, (created to roll many religious holidays into one public holiday) so school resumes Monday, after 4 weeks off. The first feedback I saw from a student on my schools facebook page was 'finally the lock out is over, now we are locked in again."  A lot of students referred to the extended break as a luck in, my youngest bonus child missed his teacher but others are praying they never have to go back.

Check out Copenhagen's top 10 attractions here.

Here's a short clip of the song Wonderful Wonderful Copenhagen from the cast of Wallman's, a theatre restaurant in a century old circus building, where we are celebrating an annual family tradition, I will share some photos and tell you more about the trip soon.


What would you do if the government banned teaching in your country for a month (or more)?
How many hours a day do you think children should be at school?

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Find out how I chose my theme by reading the intro blog at A-Z challenge list. Words of change.  Please add more words to the list in the comments - and I'll gratefully link your words back to you.

21 comments :

  1. Copenhagen sounds wonderful - I would love to visit! Looking forward to seeing your pictures.
    A month of Blog...

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    1. I took a few, I'll let you know when they appear

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  2. Sad about the schools.

    My grandfather came from Denmark, so I am a quarter Dane. Sadly, I know next to nothing about the country.

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    1. I can tell from your profile pic that your 1/4 Dane must be a strong gene, it is never too late, if you ever make it here let me know, any excuse to get to Copenhagen or Aarhus is a good one.

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  3. That lockout is a strange tale! I don't think I've ever heard of something like that before. Kids always love opportunities to miss school, not realizing that they're the ones who suffer for doing so.

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    1. Very strange indeed Dee. Some of them got creative with keeping themselves educated.

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  4. Perhaps such a situation here would actually foster a stronger sense of community because so many parents work full-time and would be up a creek without a paddle were their children to suddenly need minding all day long. It would be very difficult for many parents, I'm sure.

    I have home educated most of my kids most of their years of school, except for my littlest one who is in public school, probably for the duration, as I think it works well with his Down syndrome to have that extra team of support. If i had to, though, I would be glad to teach him.

    So glad you had a lovely trip to Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen. I'm looking forward to more details!

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    1. Hi Susan, it sure got me thinking about alternate methods of education and child minding/rearing. It was hard for a lot families, in some ways everyone was affected because it is such a small nation (less than 6 million people)

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  5. Great! Now Copenhagen is on my list of places to visit. :D

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    1. If you come outside of Summer season, choose Halloween or Christmas, when Tivoli is open.

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  6. I spent two months living in the Netherlands right after I graduated from high school. I wanted to go up to Copenhagen, but my host parents wouldn't let me make the trip alone. Some day I will see Copenhagen!

    Thank you for all these insights into the teaching situation there. I'm so happy to find your blog thanks to the A to Z list. You must have so many amazing stories to tell about your life!

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    1. I hope you do get there one day, it has a lot to offer. I just read your post on Whorfianisms, I find it fascinating

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  7. Greetings Ida,

    Unfortunately, teachers being locked out was a common occurrence when I lived in British Columbia. It can be such a tough situation. Causes chaos for so many. How do working parents work around such a scenario. Thankfully, I've never had to juggle such a situation. I don't think children should be in school for more than six hours. In Britain, it seems the children are always on holidays. When they are in school, I just don't understand why so many people drive their children to school when a lot could easily walk their child to school.

    Sorry, I rambled. Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen, indeed.

    A peaceful Sunday to you.

    Gary :)

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    1. Hi Gary, I enjoyed every word of your ramble... I'm guilty of driving when I should probably walk, it's a good point you raise. I think 6 hours is a good number for kids, any longer and homework needs to be reviewed. I am a lovely weekend hope yours is peaceful too.

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  8. I want to travel but I am worried about getting somewhere and not being able to speak their language.

    Blogging A to Z
    http://www.AMomsPointOfView.com

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    1. Most European cities have enough English speakers around get by easily. Denmark is especially good because they don't dub the television shows, so it's in everyone's homes most days of the week.

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  9. I would love to visit Copenhagen someday!

    The lockout doesn't sound like a lot of fun for anybody--the whole idea of everyone being behind and having to make up classes, etc., would just annoy me to no end!

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    1. I still can't understand why it had to happen at all...

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  10. Hi Ida .. I'd love to visit Copenhagen sometime - not having school for a month ... and striking ... well the results will be interesting to read about. Difficult time with exams etc ..

    Cheers Hilary

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  11. I would love to visit Copenhagen someday... and the country itself.

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    1. Hi William, make sure you let me know when you arrive, come to the mainland. Copenhagen has a lot to offer but there is plenty more to see :)

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Enjoy