A school in Odense on the Danish island of Funen has prohibited students from speaking in their own languages during break time.
Pupils at Seden School have had the ban enforced after a recent series of incidents involving bilingual students who are alleged to have harassed and shouted at fellow students and teachers.
The ban was introduced by school management in conjunction with the teaching staff at the educational facility where some 30 percent of students are bilingual. Those pupils who choose to ignore the ban will find their parents called in for ‘consultations’ reports Politiken.
However, the ban has led to school Headmaster Carsten Hoyer being reported to police for breaches of the Danish constitution governing free speech.
“It is worrying that the headmaster of a school that has to educate pupils to be citizens in a democracy should introduce restrictions on the freedom of speech. This doesn’t belong in a democracy and is typically something that we see in police states,” said the editor of the website denmarkonline and Unity List party member Flemming Leer Jakobsen.
Bertel Haarder, the Danish Education Minister, said that students must respect teachers but declined to intervene. “I don’t think that this sanction is particularly serious or a violation. Bad language is not acceptable either in Danish or Arabic. The important thing it to stop it, and not what rules are in place,” said Haarder.
The ban will run until the 15th of January with the school also outlawing corridor loitering and increasing student monitoring.
huh gaaaaaaaaaaay
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It’s just a part of our “det må man ikke” culture here in Denmark. The powers that be are not intelligent enough to use reason and logic to motivate behavioural change so they resort to idiotic, half-baked knee jerk rules to forbid this, that or the other. Embarassing!!!!!
Western schools must teach the kids respect. Anton Semyonovich Makarenko anyone?
Rather than stop children speaking their own language at break times, wouldn’t it be easier to combine two Danish policies and simply pay those children to leave the country?
The headmaster should be sacked.
Not because he banned something (it’s really stupid) but because he is not up to his job. He is not capable to handle matters of the school for sure. It doesn’t matter what language is used by kids to shout at teachers.
I think they should hire one from China to teach kids some basic discipline as European “soft” methods are no longer working.
Reward and punishment – nothing better has been invented by humans so far.
I think Nato should react and bomb Denmark because of violating freedom of speech. That’s how it works, right? Or the system is not the same for all countries?
What is up with Europe? First Denmark is paying immigrants to leave the country, then Switzerland band minarets, and now this.