They like their school?

I have got through marking all the 2^nd year introductions and have been very pleased to read about how much students like their school! Many students wrote to me about how they enjoy their classes, about how they feel that their school is a great place to be where everyone is accepted for who they are, and about how they enjoy being in school in general. Teachers and students alike have told me that the school has a reputation for being welcoming and having nice students. I have felt very welcomed here and people have certainly been nice.

So now I have to wonder if Koge (the o should have a diagonal line through it) Gymnasium is a magical wonderland or is there something more going on here? I think there is something more. Students who attend Gymnasiums have made a choice to do so, they know that they are going to an academic institution and that is what they want (they apply and are only accepted if they will make the grade). Others at this age can go to technical school or can join the workforce. It makes a difference when students have made the choice to attend the school.

Does this mean that students are perfect? Of course not, they still talk out of turn (how many times do we see that at a staff meeting or pro-d?) and I get the feeling that they are fully aware that I don’t know how long a writing assignment should be in a 2^nd year Danish Gymnasium English class, or how long they should be given to complete an assignment. Still there is such comfort in knowing that I can kick a student out (hasn’t happened) and they will care about missing class because they are messing with the education they chose, that and too many absences will put the counselors on to them.