'Let schools suspend pupils': Björklund

What a total farce as usual.

The swedish education system over here is so messed up these type of changes wont hold any bearing on improvement. If the swedish government really wants to improve the school system they should take a closer look into "skolverkets" rules and how they breach both government laws and guidelines, and breach human rights (article 2 etc).

If any non swedish parents are reading this.

Do NOT enroll your child in a public school in Stockholm.

byke, can you please elaborate? I'm a non-Swede with a young daughter who isn't yet school age. I haven't learned so much about the school system here yet, though I've found it interesting and useful to read posters' experiences, such as skåne refugee's a little while back. Are you a Swede? What are your experiences with the Swedish school system? Would anyone else care to share their insights?

unkle strunkle,

The list of problems are enormous and can not expressed in a short reply.

Basically the main rule to remember in education over here is to stay away

from any school under skolverket rules as the breach human rights, EU directives .. etc. And unfortunately the only way to circumvent skolverket is to go private.

Also beware that local skolverket laws do not allow bilingual schooling over here. Many parents get caught out (including fully swedish parents) that if they enter the children into a "dual sprak" (2 language school) that there child will get a step up in life with the basis of 2 languages. But the simple fact is that schools over here that offer this are purely designed as a stepping stone of integration and do not have any groundwork to allow "foreign" language education. Quite simply these schools are designed to help immigrants adapt into swedish society and does not offer primary education in mother tongue etc.

Also please be aware that education for children in sweden is approx 2-3 years latent in comparison to EU standards.

Reminds me of how some schools here in America keep "passing" failing students so that they don't have to keep them around. Sharkette teaches at public schools and says the reason why many students fail and act out is because either they have an undiagnosed learning disability, or their home life is not conducive to learning, they don't get the nurturing and support that they need. The school system also fails some students because they are too concerned with raw test score data than actually teaching the children something useful.

Education is a thorny issue in any country I would imagine.

There are a host of issues pertinent to suspension procedures in implementation.

For instance, how does the student make up the lost work? Does the suspension

aggravate an already bad situation? I favor the counseling route.

In addition, parents should be engaged actively at every stage in the process so that

suspensions are not necessary. Some students would benefit from expanded

library services and availability because the home environment cannot be made

conducive to learning. The library has the absolute silence necessary for

students to do productive work quickly. I know from personal experience that the

best place to do complex assignments is the school library or the neighborhood library.

There are other non-school related things to be considered. Upholding strict

environmental standards will help with all kinds of irritating disease processes

that children develop. Removing food additives is another route to better health.

Childhood diabetes is another issue so removing sugar from the school cafeteria

is an absolute necessity. Good substitutes are organic fruit, sugarless candy,

stevia and like kind products devoid of too much sugar.

Broken families are another problematic issue so that affirming child support

is a necessity and not merely a luxury. Lastly, strong peer review programs

are a necessity in schools. I believe in an active student council to help

oversee the students so that unruly students are accountable to their

student council peers.

Joseph S, Maresca

What people eat can indeed affect behavior. I read a study about prisoners being fed more fruits and vegetables and healthier diets. There was a noticeble drop in fights and unruly behavior. Perhaps you can find the study for us because I know I saw it somewhere.

Here's an interesting study on aspartame and other food additives.

http://www.wnho.net/link_between_junk_food_and_violence.htm