Faroe Islands Folk High School
The Community College of the Faroe Islands ( for everyone. Føroya Fólkaháskúli ) was in 1899 by Rasmus Rasmussen and Símun av Skarði in Klaksvík founded and now is based in Tórshavn .
The Faroese Adult Education Center was the first educational institution to teach in the Faroese language. Not least because of this, it plays a central role in the national awakening in the history of the Faroe Islands , which began with the Christmas meeting of the Faroe Islands in 1888 and was able to assert itself culturally in the Faroese language dispute.
prehistory
The idea on which the adult education centers are based comes from Denmark . The movement had its starting point in democracy, which had replaced absolutism in Denmark in 1848. NFS Grundtvig , who initiated the adult education movement, was of the opinion that if the people were to take part in the government of the country, they would have to be better informed than was possible in the elementary school. The people would have to get to know themselves, i.e. their history and culture. However, the principles that were applied in the actual universities should not apply. The point was not that all should be learned specialists. Instead of the book and memorizing, Grundtvig and Christen Kold , who was supposed to put the idea into practice, relied on the spoken word, which was to be delivered enthusiastically in the mother tongue.
The folk high school movement aroused great interest in the Faroe Islands. A large number of Faroese had attended Danish folk high schools since the 1870s . The Vallekilde Adult Education Center was particularly popular. In these folk high schools, of course, the Danish language , Danish history and Danish literature were the starting point. Both Faroe Islands residents and Danish folk high school representatives, who had a deep understanding of the national Faroese awakening, knew that if the Faroese national movement was to exist, a people-based community college would have to be established.
Símun and Rasmus
Two Faroese decided to stand up for the cause: Símun av Skarði and Rasmus Rasmussen. They are commonly called by their first name, and even the streets named after them are called Símunargøta and Rasmusargøta, unlike all other person-named streets in Tórshavn .
The two met in Denmark at the Askov adult education center in the 1890s. They agreed to work together and began to prepare for the task. They were students at the Askov Folk High School for two winters and two summers; later they attended the Pedagogical Training School (Statens Lærerhøjskole) in Copenhagen for a year. Símun studied history and languages in particular, while Rasmus studied natural history and mathematics.
The Faroese Adult Education Center - Føroya Fólkaháskúli - was founded in the winter of 1899 in temporary premises in Klaksvík that had been made available by a merchant. Rasmus married Símun's sister: Anna Suffía av Skarði . In the first few years she was a caretaker. In the same year the construction of the adult education center started. On a beautiful stretch of coast west of Klaksvík they found a suitable place under a steep mountain slope, which they named Fagralíð (beautiful mountain slope). Rasmus, who was a trained carpenter, built the building together with other men from the North Islands . The house was ready to move into the next winter, but the students could not come until November 28th. Sanna av Skarði traveled to the Danish Adult Education Center in Vallekilde this summer to acquire knowledge of housekeeping and manual work so that she could run and teach the household at the Adult Education Center in Fagralíð.
Many obstacles had to be overcome and all efforts had to be called up. The economic situation was extremely tense; however, the idea found broad popular support. The young idealists found a positive attitude towards the adult education center everywhere. Fundraising for the community college was being raised across the country and the school had many friends. The school environment was beautiful and idyllic. In the evenings the teachers could fish in the fjord with the students and hike in the mountains. This was possible as long as the teachers were young and strong. At the same time, however, it turned out that the remote location of the school was extremely impractical. There were no road connections, so that all goods, etc. a. Coal, transported by rowboat or carried on the back on the long way over the mountain from Klaksvík. Eventually the school had to be relocated to Tórshavn. By this time, 200 Faroese had already attended the adult education center. In 1909 the building was dismantled and rebuilt a little west of the capital. The Faroese Adult Education Center is still located here. The city has grown steadily since then, so that the adult education center is now in the middle of the city.
Development until today
In the first few years the spatial conditions were cramped, but from the 1950s and 1960s the school was expanded considerably. She has z. B. get a spacious dining room, a spacious kitchen, a large sports hall and modern classrooms. In the 1980s, the school was also expanded to include two neighboring buildings. The current director of the Faroese adult education center is the philosopher and poet Rói Patursson (* 1947).
The courses last from January to June. History, social studies, literature, Faroese, philosophy, music, singing, theater, photography, painting, cooking, weaving, ceramic, metal and woodwork are taught. There are three full-time teachers and the language of instruction is Faroese. In the case of occasional foreign students, lessons are also given in other Scandinavian languages or English. A year group has an average of 25–30 students, none of whom are younger than 17. They live together on campus during the semester. As usual in Scandinavia, the adult education center is a boarding school , where the students study together and spend their free time together. One semester costs each participant 15,000 kr , which is around 2,000 € . This includes board and lodging for half a year.
After the summer holidays in July, the adult education center opens again in August. Then there are one to seven week courses for older adults. In addition, the so-called Scandinavian culture package is offered to foreigners during this time. This is primarily aimed at people over 50 years of age and is associated with excursions.
In 2007 a summer school was set up for Faroese children living abroad. The aim is to help them learn the Faroese language during the summer holidays.
Web links
- Skulin.fo/ffh - Homepage (little information)
- Stamps.fo - The Faroese Folk High School - 1899-1999 (Public Domain and basis of this article)
Individual evidence
- ^ Sjónvarp Føroya , Dagur & Vika, July 23, 2007 (TV news show)