The Stavdals

We are really thankful that our boys are finally getting two Finnish lessons a week at school. As you know, our kids are simultanious bilingual speakers of Norwgian and Finnish. Unfortunately, it took us several years to discover that people with a Finnish or Sami-Finnish (Kvaen) background are entitled by law to have Finnsh as a second language at school. This right is only applicable to those living in the two northernmost counties, Troms and Finnmark, which suits us perfectly! Even better, when there are three or more pupils at the same school that are in the same situation, the school will provide the Finnish language training at their school!

From frustration to appreciation (we hope)

Our boys weren't all that happy about starting their Finnish language training to begin with, but after a couple of weeks of settling in, the complaining ceased and they seemed to be fairly happy about both the subject and fond of the teacher. From their perspective, attending classes is a more "serious" approach to learning the language than just speaking it at home and during holidays in Finland. Having formalized the language training as mandatory in a school setting, we believe this has encouraged our boys in realizing the importance of further knowledge and skill in the language as well as confirming their bilingual identity in a positive manner.

Additionally, the boys were for quite some time worried the Finnish classes would clash with other classes and that they as a result would loose out on other classes causing extra work and catching-up after school. This is in the process of being resolved owing to flexible teachers and a cooperative school administration. Salutations!

Our hope is that these classes will boost their Finnish identity and future opportunities as they are being equipped with the skills necessary to improve their grasp of Finnish language and culture.

We would also like to give a big round of applause to the administration at Ekrehagen elementary and secondary school for carrying through with this and also for going on a long but successful Finnish teacher hunt.

Actually, the thought of the boys forming one multigrade class with one teacher is rather charming. Now they have to get along and even learn together. We love it (...as parents), the boys will have to endure and as time passes learn to cope and perhaps even show a bit of appreciation for the situation..being in the same boat and all.

Below is a scan of Mathias' drawing of our family done during a lesson about family-vocabulary.