Monday, April 7, 2014

National Prep Welcomes Danish Students!

Today we welcomed our international students from Denmark as part of our global, academic focus.  We spent the day learning about what life is like in Denmark, and, in return, we taught our Danish guests what life is like in the United States.  Our student visitors attend the Risskov Gymnasium; in Denmark, high schools are called gymnasiums.  Their school is located in the suburb of the second largest city in Denmark, Arhus. Risskov Gymnasium offers a three year upper secondary education; all students take international trips abroad to learn about other cultures.

There is an interesting difference in our two cultures: children do not go straight to college from high school in Denmark. After gymnasium (high school), students take a minimum one year sabbatical to explore and travel the world.  Some of the students live on farms, while others live in the city and/or suburbs.  During gymnasium, students must do well; there is no allowance for returning to school to get better grades.  How students perform academically determines whether they can pursue a degree in medicine or psychology, two of the highest paying fields.  We also learned they do not typically have or use business cards; they found our system to be a very efficient way of sharing information to stay in touch.  Like us, they have a facebook page, and we are looking forward to “liking” their page and sharing pictures from today.


We’d like to thank teachers Louise Kaae Soerensen and Birgitte Madsen for sharing their engaging students with National Prep for the day.  Dr. Brown addressed the students by welcoming them to the school, and sharing her own stories about her own educational journey.  Each student interviewed another about their life and what was unique to them.  Today was an internationally exquisite day at National Prep!

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