Presterød Ungdomsskole

On April 24, 2009, I visited Presterød Ungdomsskole in Tønsberg. Tønsberg is located about an hour and a half (by train) south of Oslo and is a town of about 38,000-40,000 people. Presterød Ungdomsskole is an 8th-10th grade school of around 480 students located in a wealthy part of Tønsberg.

I was to teach three classes of fifty 10th students each and they requested US Schools. I don't usually like putting several classes together into an auditorium because the students generally don't talk as much. However, these students were excellent in terms of talking and participating in the presentation even with two classes combined. I did the four corners activity and then showed the Oprah clip. These students were very strong in English and quite a few have travelled to the US.

I actually had one of the funniest comments made a by student. While we were doing the Four Corners activity and I had the statement "US teachers are nicer than Norwegian teachers" he and his friends all went to the STRONLGY AGREE corner. I told each group to come up with at least three reasons why they were standing where they were. When it was his turn to talk he said, "Well, this is strictly from what we see in movies, but US teachers always seem so nice. They are always really interested in the students lives.... they even sleep with them!" I laughed so hard I think I cried. Usually most students will say, "You seem nice so we think other US teachers must be nice."

Another student who was standing in the STRONGLY AGREE corner said in regards to the statement "US schools are better than Norwegian schools," that "Well, when you watch Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? those kids are REALLY smart so the schools must be really good. They knew stuff we haven't even learned yet!"

The students asked some great questions at this school as well. One student asked if I thought US teens felt more pressure than Norwegian teens. And another student asked if US teens listened to a lot of country music (he was wearing a Willie Nelson T-shirt).

Presterød Ungdomsskole was built in 2000. It had a small library area, a computer lab, and a large open commons area (pictured above) that the students who stay at school use for lunch. The picture of the school at the top doesn't do the school justice in that I was trying to capture the number of bicycles that were parked outside the school, but in doing that I missed all the green space around the school. It was actually a really beautiful school with large windows all around.