Education -- Norway; School management and organization -- Norway
Certain conditions and customs prevailing in Norway make it necessary to
serve lunches at the school buildings. The morning sessions are long and
the dinner hour is far later than noon--generally two or three o'clock.
Furthermore, many children of poor parentage come to school underfed.
Opportunity to obtain a light lunch of nourishing food and a warm drink
at about 10:30 or 11 o'clock is an appreciated necessity. Hence most
buildings have lunch rooms arranged and equipped according to local
demands. Here, in the secondary schools, the family of the janitor
furnishes rolls, buns, cakes, cocoa, coffee, milk, etc., at a reasonable
rate. As stated before, the teachers have lunches served in their own
rooms. Some cities provide children in the primary schools with one meal
of wholesome food each day of school during the winter months--generally
from the middle of October until the first of May. This is free to the
needy children, and others obtain it at first cost.
In Christiania they have a central kitchen from which the city primary
schools receive supplies. This kitchen has a capacity for steam
cooking, ten thousand liters at a time. Only the best food is purchased.
This is carefully prepared and delivered every day in tightly sealed
cans to the several schools where it is served hot. The maintenance of
this kitchen is in answer to recommendations made by a committee,
appointed by the school board, after visiting various similar European
institutions and studying carefully into their operations. In equipment,
management, and good results it is not surpassed in any city in Europe
or America. In some of the schools, hundreds of free meals are dispensed
every day throughout the long winter. During the year 1908-1909, from
October 19, 1908, to April 30, 1909, (one hundred and thirty-two days),
the Christiania central kitchen furnished 616,821 free meals and 77,733
meals which were paid for by children in the schools. This work stands
as a testimonial to the beneficence of the people whose circumstances
enable them to maintain it.
The discipline of the school borders on the military order. The pupils
form in line and march in passing to and from classrooms and
playgrounds. While the work of instruction proceeds strict discipline is
maintained. Before entering a classroom where a recitation is in
progress, one invariably knocks at the door, whoever he is and whatever
his errand, and by the time he enters teacher and pupils are on their
feet. Turning to the one entering, they bow and continue to face him
until he is seated, which is a signal to them to sit. Should the visitor
withdraw before the class is dismissed, the pupils again rise to their
feet and bow him out; but, if he remains until they are dismissed, they
bow to him before taking their departure. Every activity indoors and out
of doors is closely supervised, and the control exercised over the
pupils is praiseworthy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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