It takes a village to raise a child.


This sentence, that we have heard so many times, has a rich meaning. We, as teacher, are helping students to flourish and becoming strong and responsible persons in a world that we don’t know fully what will look like in years to come.We went on a visit today to Sævar Halldórsson, an Icelander that has been living in the Faraoe Islands for fourty years. He was so enthusiastic showing us all of his surroundings, from the boats he takes care of to the skerpukjöt and everything in between. When we stepped into his workshop we lost our breath. His perfectly organized chaos, his stones that he knows exactly the origin of, the beautiful collection  of handmade birds, the old radios, the electricity mending, the pictures and phone numbers on the walls surrounded by all kinds og memories. While we stayed there we saw many people coming for a visit, sitting down, sipping on a coffee and eating a waffle, made with love and unconditional understanding of the community and it’s heartbeat. It is a place that is stuffed with human nature, a place where people come to talk about nothing and everything. We wouldn’t have thought that in this small house we could feel, see and smell the essence of the community but we did indeed.

That made us think about how we as teachers can use, not only nature, but also the world that is in the community. All around us we have got people and places that are filled with opportunities for all kinds of understanding. After all, mathematic, language, biology and all othet subjects are just a key to teaching the students the main goal of education: to respect, to search for a meaning, to work together, to communicate and to listen in a way that every person develops into an individual that can be a functional part of a fast changing society.

We, as teachers, should always remember that our students should not be tought how to fit into a premade box of a certain size. They should be tought in a way that they flourish on their on premises and to do so, we should aim at using everything outside of the classroom. The man on the corner might teach students something that can help someone becoming a person with a strong identity and focus. We should take that into concern.

After all, it takes a village to raise a child.