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EDUCATION

Germany’s first ‘democratic kindergarten’ gives tiny tots a vote

Should preschoolers have a say in their day care routines? A new kindergarten in northern Germany is taking the idea to a new level.

Germany’s first 'democratic kindergarten' gives tiny tots a vote
File photo of an unrelated kindergarten. Photo: DPA.

The Dolli-Einstein-Haus in Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein seems like any other preschool facility in Germany, but its main concept is quite new, the Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported on Monday.

The kindergarten – which in Germany starts at age three – allows its tiny pupils to vote on certain aspects of their daily routine, often revolving around food.

Kids will, for example, place little glass stones in differently marked boxes to vote for which flavour of cake they want to eat next, the Hamburger Abendblatt reports. A majority vote decides the outcome.

“For us it’s a matter of having normal, basic work that functions when adults understand on what they can allow the kids to decide,” school head Ute Rodenwald told the SZ.

The aim is to teach the kids early about rights and the democratic process.

“Children can differentiate between and deal with various situations very well,” deputy head Heike Schlüter told the Hamburger Abendblatt in January.

The little voting conferences happen once a week, and also include hotly debated topics like new toys for the outdoor play area. The kids also get to choose a representative from their groups to bring their decisions to the greater “kids’ council”. And the election process ensures that votes are kept anonymous.

The school got its official certificate to launch in January, but its founding educators had worked for years to produce a “constitution” for the kids. Within it are seven fundamental rights for the children, and explanations of the limits of what the kids can vote for. For example, they may not decide whether or not they need diapers.

“A child cannot assess what it means to run around the whole day with the same diaper,” said school worker Melanie Markner.

When deciding on meals, the children are also limited in their choices. They may, for example, vote on designated choices of fish sticks with lots of side dishes, or fish sticks with just peas, or perhaps just peas with mashed potatoes. They could even vote to have none of the above, which can be testing for the kindergarten staff.

“You have to tolerate this,” said Rodenwald.

State social affairs minister Kristin Alheit praised the concept.

“People can and should learn about democracy,” Alheit said. “When kids take part and are taken seriously, that shapes them for life.”

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EDUCATION

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

Children between ages 6-9 years should be allowed admittance to after-school recreation centers free of charge, according to a report submitted to Sweden’s Minister of Education Lotta Edholm (L).

Inquiry calls for free after-school care for 6-9 year-olds in Sweden

“If this reform is implemented, after-school recreation centers will be accessible to the children who may have the greatest need for the activities,” said Kerstin Andersson, who was appointed to lead a government inquiry into expanding access to after-school recreation by the former Social Democrat government. 

More than half a million primary- and middle-school-aged children spend a large part of their school days and holidays in after-school centres.

But the right to after-school care is not freely available to all children. In most municipalities, it is conditional on the parent’s occupational status of working or studying. Thus, attendance varies and is significantly lower in areas where unemployment is high and family finances weak.

In this context, the previous government formally began to inquire into expanding rights to leisure. The report was recently handed over to Sweden’s education minister, Lotta Edholm, on Monday.

Andersson proposed that after-school activities should be made available free of charge to all children between the ages of six and nine in the same way that preschool has been for children between the ages of three and five. This would mean that children whose parents are unemployed, on parental leave or long-term sick leave will no longer be excluded. 

“The biggest benefit is that after-school recreation centres will be made available to all children,” Andersson said. “Today, participation is highest in areas with very good conditions, while it is lower in sparsely populated areas and in areas with socio-economic challenges.” 

Enforcing this proposal could cause a need for about 10,200 more places in after-school centre, would cost the state just over half a billion kronor a year, and would require more adults to work in after-school centres. 

Andersson recommends recruiting staff more broadly, and not insisting that so many staff are specialised after-school activities teachers, or fritidspedagod

“The Education Act states that qualified teachers are responsible for teaching, but that other staff may participate,” Andersson said. “This is sometimes interpreted as meaning that other staff may be used, but preferably not’. We propose that recognition be given to so-called ‘other staff’, and that they should be given a clear role in the work.”

She suggested that people who have studied in the “children’s teaching and recreational programmes” at gymnasium level,  people who have studied recreational training, and social educators might be used. 

“People trained to work with children can contribute with many different skills. Right now, it might be an uncertain work situation for many who work for a few months while the employer is looking for qualified teachers”, Andersson said. 

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