Forhåpentligvis

This week I had the most delightful time visiting with 10th graders at an ungdomsskole (lower secondary school) outside the city limits of Oslo. The train station was small, old, and quaint. There were no sidewalks lining the streets and bright, golden grain fields surrounded the little town. Inside the classroom, I immediately noticed a student-created mural in the back of the room; an open book with butterflies emerging from it. I created the same mural outside of my classroom when I was a sixth-grade teacher.

Student mural in a Norwegian ungdomsskole.

When I met the classroom teacher who requested my visit, they immediately asked if their students could veer from the lesson’s topic of analyzing online posts for bias, to address the assignation of Charlie Kirk the day prior. I honestly didn’t think that the students would have a lot to discuss, other than comment on another incidence of gun violence in the United States. However, each and every student knew of Charlie Kirk, and many followed him on social media.

They shared that they did not agree with Charlie’s statements or ideas, but that they enjoyed watching his debates on social media. They enjoyed the college-level questioning and engagement with students. Even if they didn’t agree with his political or religious views, the students thought it was interesting that Charlie interacted with young voters.

As with a school visit to a different school, the discussion veered to gun violence and the students questioned why it was so easy for people to get guns in the United States. The students knew about required background checks for purchasing new guns, and they were also aware of ways to avoid background checks through gun show purchases and private sales. To them, there was a simple solution- make guns less accessible. Yes, people could own guns for certain activities, such as hunting, but they asserted that the US needs to make it harder for people with mental health challenges to acquire guns. The students argued that there are people with mental health challenges in Norway, but if they wanted to shoot someone, it would be very difficult to find a gun to do so.

Gun ownership and politics are very different in Norway, so it was interesting to be here for the national parliamentary election at the beginning of the week. Norway currently has 9 major parties and about 9 smaller parties that don’t have a lot, if any, seats in Parliament. The students asked why there are only two major parties in the United States. They also questioned why politics in the US is so aggressive. They suggested that perhaps more political parties would create more voter options and reduce extremism points of view.

In the days leading up to the election in Norway, I saw representatives from different parties chatting with voters on the sidewalk not far from each other. Everyone was civil and respectful. There were no aggressive campaigners or signs or posters with profanity. The only campaign advertisements were digital posters from each party, showing their leader dressed in a suit and the party’s name highlighted.

So, then it was my turn to pose a question,

“How do people in Norway keep politics so civil?”

One of the teachers chimed in that politics is very important in Norway, but it is not something that people openly talk about in public. They shared that one year a candidate called another candidate a liar and the accusation was very offensive to the opponent and the public. That was the most aggressive comment the teacher could remember in Norwegian politics.

How would things be different in the United States if we could engage in civil and respectful discussion…disagree and still work together to solve problems…listen to learn and not just to respond? Even though the topic of discussion was heavy in that small, rural classroom, these bright, inquisitive, and forward-thinking students recognized the value of listening and civil discussion, even when others didn’t agree with their ideas.

After class, I checked my Norwegian learning app to see the new word of the day: Forhåpentligvis, which means hopefully, let’s hope, with hope. It reminded me of the classroom mural and a wordless picture book, Yellow Butterfly, by Oleksandr Shatokhin, depicting war through the eyes of a girl who finds hope in presence of yellow butterflies. There is a lot of turmoil and darkness in the United States right now, but these students’ questions, ideas, and enthusiasm for politics filled me with hope that our youth can think critically and respond respectfully when given the opportunity to do so. Hopefully adults in the US will soon learn to find the value in this as well. Forhåpentligvis.

A mural I created outside of my classroom when I was a sixth-grade teacher.